History of The British Army - Second World War (1939-1945)

Second World War (1939-1945)

The British Army in 1939 was a volunteer army that introduced conscription shortly after the declaration of war with Germany. During the early years of the war, the army suffered defeat in almost every theatre it deployed. With mass conscription the expansion of the army was reflected in the creation of more army corps, armies and army groups. From 1943, the army's fortunes turned and it hardly suffered a strategic defeat.

The pre-war British Army was trained and equipped to garrison and police the British Empire and, as became evident during the war, was woefully unprepared and ill-equipped to conduct a war against multiple enemies on multiple fronts. At the start of the war the army was small in comparison to its enemies', and remained an all-volunteer force until 1939. By the end of the war it had grown to number over 3.5 million.

The army fought around the world, with campaigns in Belgium and France in 1940 and, after the collapse of both countries, in Africa, the Mediterranean and the Far East. After a series of setbacks, retreats and evacuations the British Army and its Allies eventually gained the upper hand. This started with victory over the Italian and German forces in Africa. Italy was then forced to surrender after the invasions of Sicily and mainland Italy. Then in the last years of the war, the army returned to France, driving the German Army back into Germany and in the Far East forced the Japanese back from the Indian border into Burma. Both the Germans and Japanese were defeated by 1945, and surrendered within months of each other.

With the expansion of the British Army to fight a World War, new armies had to be formed, and eventually army groups were created to control even larger formations. In command of these new armies, eight Generals would be promoted to Field Marshal rank. The army commanders not only had to manage the new armies, but also a new type of soldier in formations that had been created for special service, which included the Special Air Service, Army Commandos and the Parachute Regiment.