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Delve deeper into stories of the Army and its soldiers, exploring events across the globe and down the centuries.

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Ration party, Menin Road, 1917

Battle of Passchendaele

In July 1917, the British and French launched a massive offensive near the Belgian city of Ypres. The bitter struggle that followed came to symbolize the horrors of trench warfare.

Units of the Dutch Brigade moving up to the attack, 1944

Victory in Europe

During 1944-45, the Allies endured months of fighting against a determined enemy. This bloody struggle eventually ended in the final defeat of Nazi Germany.

A Jewish refugee ship in Palestine, 1947

The British Army in Palestine

In the aftermath of the Second World War (1939-45), the British Army in Palestine confronted an escalating conflict between two rival nationalist movements – Jewish and Arab.

German soldiers raise the swastika at the Acropolis, Athens, April 1941

War in the Balkans

In 1941, the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia and Greece. British and Commonwealth intervention and evacuation followed, before a vicious partisan conflict broke out.

Coastal defence, 1940

Home Front

Following the fall of France in the summer of 1940, Britain was faced with the threat of invasion. Soldiers played a vital role in defending the shores and skies.

Awaiting evacuation, Dunkirk, 1940

Defeat in the West

In the summer of 1940, the Germans defeated France and drove the British out of Western Europe. Following their evacuation from Dunkirk, the British found themselves facing the threat of invasion.

On patrol during the Kenya Emergency, c1955

Kenya Emergency

The Kenya Emergency, or Mau Mau Revolt, was one of the British Army's bloodiest and most controversial post-war conflicts.

Rebel sepoys, 1857

Why did the Indian Mutiny happen?

In 1857, Indian soldiers rose up against their British commanders. The reasons behind the rebellion stretch back to the very origins of British involvement in Indian affairs.

Hudson's Horse at Rhotuck, 1857

Decisive events of the Indian Mutiny

The rebellion that broke out in 1857 was the biggest threat to Britain's colonial power during its rule of the Indian subcontinent.

Storming of Amoy, 1841

First China War

Between 1839 and 1842, British-Indian forces fought a war with Imperial China that served the interests of opium smugglers. Their resulting victory opened up the lucrative Chinese trade to British merchants.

Armoured car in Cyprus, 1950s

Cyprus

In the early 1950s, a revolt in favour of union with Greece began in British-controlled Cyprus. British troops remain on the island to this day as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force.

Edward Walker: Eyewitness to civil war

Edward Walker: Eyewitness to civil war

Sir Edward Walker was Secretary at War to King Charles I during the British Civil Wars. His papers provide a first-hand account of the Battle of Lostwithiel and offer many other illuminating insights on the wider conflict.

Stories of remembrance

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Peace and commemoration

After the Armistice in November 1918, millions of soldiers hoped they would soon go home. But demobilising so many troops was a huge task. How best to mark the Allied victory also became a subject for debate.

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Honouring the fallen

After the First World War, British society had to come to terms with the loss of huge numbers of its service personnel. Across the country, people found ways to commemorate the fallen at a local and national level.

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The Unknown Warrior

The grave of the Unknown Warrior contains the remains of an unidentified British serviceman, interred in 1920 to honour the fallen of the First World War. The secretive selection process remains shrouded in mystery.