Conflict in Europe

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Conflict in Europe

This gallery explores the Army’s role in maintaining stability in Europe from the 1700s to the present day. It charts the ebb and flow of power and influence, and also demonstrates how fighting on the Continent has impacted the fate of the British Isles.

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Allied soldiers on the roof of a captured A7V tank, 1918

1918: Year of victory

The German Spring Offensive saw mobile warfare return to the Western Front. Despite early gains, the Germans exhausted themselves, setting the stage for a successful Allied counter-offensive.

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Dropping parachutists and supplies, Arnhem, September 1944

Operation Market Garden

In September 1944, the Allies launched a daring airborne operation to cross the Rhine and advance into northern Germany. Market Garden remains one of the Second World War’s most famous battles.

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John Moore: Alone with his glory

An army reformer and pioneer of light infantry units, General Sir John Moore's inspired leadership at Corunna in 1809 saved an army from destruction, but led to his death in action.

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War of the Spanish Succession

The campaigns of the Duke of Marlborough in the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-13) stopped France from dominating Europe. They also brought about the first popular recognition of the British Army’s fighting powers.

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Battle of Salamanca

The Earl of Wellington's victory at Salamanca in July 1812 defied his reputation as a purely defensive general and shattered French dominance on the Iberian Peninsula.

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Battle of Blenheim

The Battle of Blenheim in 1704 saw a decisive defeat for a Franco-Bavarian force by the allied English, Dutch and Austrian armies commanded by the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy.

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Battle of Loos

The Battle of Loos took place on the Western Front in September-October 1915. At the time, it was the largest British offensive of the First World War.

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Mark I tank C19 in Chimpanzee Valley during the Battle of Flers Courcelette, 1916

Attack of the tanks

In September 1916, the face of battle changed forever. On an unsuspecting enemy, Britain unleashed its new secret weapon - the tank.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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