Since the latter part of the 17th century, the Army and the Royal Navy have co-operated in many wars. In the 18th century, this co-operation took on a more co-ordinated form. The majority of the conflicts, which Britain was involved in during the 18th century, were fought in Europe, with the French being our principle enemy.

The main wars of the 18th century were as follows: -

The War of the Spanish Succession (1704 - 14)
The War of the Austrian Succession (1740 - 48)
The Seven Years War (1756 -63)
The American War of Independence (1775 - 83)

The Seven Years War was a little different to the others, as it was the first conflict in which Britain fought in parts of the World far beyond its own territory. The fighting took place in Canada, Africa and India. Success in this war led to the consolidation of the initial territorial possessions, which would be the basis of the British Empire.

An interesting point about the regiments of the British Army in the first half of the 18th century is that they were known by the surname of the Commanding Officer. However, after 1751, every regiment of the Infantry of the Line was given a number. This new system was adopted because some regiments had Commanding Officers with the same surname.

The next major war in which Britain was involved was the conflict against France that began in 1793 and ended in 1815 with the Battle of Waterloo. This war was to be the first conflict to become known as 'The Great War'. From 1808-14 the British fought the French, and for a short time the Spanish, in Portugal and Spain (The Iberian Peninsular). Therefore this period of fighting became known as 'The Peninsular War'.

Some of the more significant battles of The Peninsular War were: - Corunna, Talavera, Fuentos D'Onoro, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nive and Nivelle.

The later stages of The Peninsular War were in fact fought in Southern France. The fighting ended in 1814 and a multi-national Army of Occupation controlled France for a short time.

Then in early 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from his exile on the Island of Elba. This event began the 100-day campaign that culminated in the Battle of Waterloo. After this battle Napoleon was exiled once again. This time to the Island of St. Helena where he died in 1821.

This period also included a second war against America from 1812-15, and a campaign against the Spanish in South America in 1806.

Over time, my knowledge of both the history of the Armed Forces and their current activities began to expand and therefore improve. Initially, I was interested in the many and varied wars fought by the British during the latter part of the 19th Century. These conflicts ranged from the Crimean War (1854-56), to the Second Boer War (1899-1902).

The Crimean War exposed many serious problems in the British Army. Two of them being a very badly organised supply system, and it's poor medical service. The latter was subjected to radical change due to the work of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910).

The Alma, where the Brigade of Guards distinguished itself. Balaclava (Balaklava) which became famous for the Charge of the Light Brigade, and 'The Thin Red Line' when the 93rd Highlanders stood firm against a large Russian Cavalry attack. The same battle included The Charge of the Heavy Brigade that was more of a success than its more infamous counterpart. Inkerman, which was the last battle to include major movements by either army.

In 1855, the Allied Army (Britain, France, Turkey and Sardinia) laid siege to Sebastopol. This was in fact the final engagement of the conflict as whilst it was in progress both sides began peace negotiations.

The Second Boer War was another conflict, which was to bring reforms to the British Army.

By the time of this war, the Army had undergone certain reforms. For example, since 1881 each infantry regiment was composed of both regular and volunteer soldiers, and was at least five battalions in strength. This would mean around 5,000 men. As many of the regular battalions of infantry were fighting in South Africa, all the other overseas garrisons were taken over by the Militia Battalions of the Infantry Regiments. Each Regiment has at least one Militia Battalion.

This war was famous for the siege of Kimberley, Ladysmith and Mafeking. It also made Robert Baden Powell a household name. Also, in order to counter the guerilla tactics of the Boers, the British began using Mounted Infantry. They moved from one place to another by horse, and then dismounted to fight.

The volunteers mentioned above were allowed to fight in the war if they volunteered for overseas service. This was significant as until that time the volunteers were used for home defence only due to the criteria under which the Volunteer Force was created. One reform brought about by the war was an improvement of the Lee Enfield bolt action rifle. Another was that the Army had to improve the marksmanship of its soldiers.

I then became interested in the two World Wars. The First World War is the conflict many people think of as 'The Great War'. It has become infamous for the trench warfare of the Western Front. Some of the more intense battles occurred near the town of Ypres in Belgium, and in the area of the River Somme. However, it was fought on many other fronts, such as the Middle East and East Africa.

The fighting in the Middle East included the landings at Gallipoli, which was the first campaign in which the British attempted a truly combined operation. It also included The Arab Revolt led by TE Lawrence 'Lawrence of Arabia', and the campaign in Mesopatamia, now modern day Iraq.

The First World War was the first conflict in which the British, and indeed other nations, used airpower on a large scale. Both the Royal Flying Corps (part of the Army) and the Royal Naval Air Service were involved in the campaign on all fronts.

In the Middle East where the British and French fought the Turks, the battles were spread over a very wide geographical area. Therefore, certain aspects of the three services were at times overstretched. One point about the conflict in the Middle East is that it did not end until late 1920, two years after the Armistice on the Western Front.

Possibly my first completely clear memory of a military operation was the raid by the Special Air Service Regiment on the Iranian Embassy in Kensington, London, on May 5th 1980. As the trouble at this Embassy had been a major news story, the raid was shown live on television. Immediately afterwards, both the media and certain books began to reveal a great deal of information about this unit which had hitherto been unknown to the British Public. The surnames of two of the senior SAS officers involved in this operation were de la Billiere, and Rose. Twelve years later, in 1991, General Sir Peter de la Billiere was the Commander of the British Forces in the Gulf War, and in 1995 General Sir Michael Rose would be appointed to command UNPROFOR in Bosnia.

The SAS was, I found out, a very secretive formation, which had a structure that was completely different to any other infantry regiment. Also, it specialised in secret operations in Northern Ireland and in many other conflicts, which occurred in countries with which Britain was friendly. Also, part of the Regiment was always (and is always) on standby to participate in any operation which may occur in the mainland of the United Kingdom. As shown by the Iranian Embassy siege, the SAS does not wear conventional uniform at such times. Furthermore, many other countries have called upon its expertise.

At about this time I began to expand my knowledge of the Armed Services of other countries and how lessons could be learned from the wars they had fought. I also realized that the tactics used by Army Commanders in ancient and medieval times could still prove useful in modern wars.

Another topic, which I had begun to take an interest in, was the many relatively minor wars that the British had fought since 1945. Most of them having occurred in the British Commonwealth as these countries were trying to gain their independence. Two other conflicts, which the British Forces participated in during the early part of this period, were the Korean War and Suez, both of which were conventional conflicts. The great majority of the campaigns mentioned above were fought at a very low level. This means that major weapons systems such as main battle tanks and heavy artillery were not used.

Also the Army had to employ many of the tactics as well as the strategy of guerilla warfare to fight their opponents effectively. In addition, such warfare does not allow for any large scale battles.

As my knowledge of this period increased I also learned a great deal about the many changes which had occurred in the Armed Services since World War Two. These changes included the closure of many overseas bases, which had been used by British Forces for many years.

During this era, the Army and the Royal Air Force established themselves in West Germany as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. At the same time British Forces were committed to the South East Asia Treaty Organisation. This latter multinational structure was disbanded in the mid 1970s.

In the years immediately after the Falklands War, I read and heard a great deal about the conflict. Some of what I read dealt with the fact that the war had been caused by a failure to recognise the warnings suggested by intelligence sources. Thereby, I learned how important intelligence is to all conflicts, past and present.

The conflict showed how important it was that the United Kingdom should have the correct balance of forces to be able to project the necessary formations anywhere in the world to protect its interests.

It also allowed me to gather a great deal of knowledge about the Middle East in ancient times.

A year later, Radio 4 broadcast a series entitled 'The Desert War' that dealt with both The Gulf War, and the military and political direction of the conflict. This was achieved through interviews with the senior politicians and service personnel who both made and executed the major decisions.

One point about the US led coalition which may be of some interest is that it included countries which were as diverse as the USA, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Although the USA led the war the United Nations determined its direction.

Since the end of the Gulf War, I have followed major world events such as the major changes in Russia, and the ever-evolving wars in the former Yugoslavia.

With regard to the latter subject, I have followed events, as the British Army has become involved in these conflicts. In the first instance they were part of the UNPROFOR in Bosnia. Then, when NATO took over control of operations in Bosnia, and more recently in Kosovo, once again both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy have become involved in the operations.

Over the last ten years I have become more and more interested in the many aspects of Britains Armed Services as they prepare for a time when warfare will involve an extremely high technological input. This will require personnel who are adopt at even the most basic IT skills.

Furthermore, the future will also witness an increasing number of peacekeeping, peace enforcement, peace support and humanitarian operations. Whilst these operations will also require the skills used in high intensity warfare, some of the skills required and the equipment deployed will be very different. However, I would suggest that only armed services trained and equipped for high level warfare, and able to integrate themselves into either pre-planned or ad hoc coalitions will be able to undertake such operations.