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===Scottish Units in the British Army=== ===Scottish Units in the British Army===
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====Former Scottish Units in the British Army==== ====Former Scottish Units in the British Army====

Revision as of 20:17, 1 December 2006

File:93thinl.jpeg
The Thin Red Line of 1854.

Historically, Scotland has a long military tradition that predates the Act of Union with England. Its armed forces now form part of those of the United Kingdom and are known as the British Armed Forces.

History prior to the Union

Royal Scots Navy

Main articles: Royal Scots Navy and History of the Royal Navy
The Scottish Red Ensign, flown by ships of the Royal Scottish Navy
A model of the Great Michael in the Royal Museum

The Scots Navy was created around AD 1000 to combat Viking invasions. Initially it consisted of Longships, some captured from the Vikings. After the signing of the Treaty of Perth, the navy fell into perpetual neglect, only becoming properly re-established in the wake of the Scottish Wars of Independence. The Navy steadily increased in size and strength through the reigns of the Stewart Monarchs, from King James I to that of King James IV, when the navy consisted of a fleet of thirty-eight vessels, including the carrack Great Michael. After this point the Royal Scottish Navy again fell into a steady decline, and only consisted of three vessels when it merged with the English Royal Navy in 1707.

Scottish armies

Main articles: Warfare of Scotland in the High Middle Ages and Gaelic warfare

Prior to the Scottish Civil War in 1644, there was no standing army in the Kingdom of Scotland. Prior to that, troops were raised by the King when required, a development of the feudal concept of fief (in which a lord was obligated to raise a certain quota of knights, men at arms and yeomanry, under greater control of the King). After the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France played a large part in the country's military activities, especially during the Hundred Years' War. In 1650, part of the New Model Army invaded Scotland to fight Scottish Covenanters at the start of the Third English Civil War. The Covenanters, who had been allied to the English Parliament in the First English Civil War, had crowned Charles II as King of Scots. Despite being outnumbered, Oliver Cromwell led the Army to crushing victories over Charles's Scottish army commanded by David Leslie at the battles of Dunbar and Inverkeithing. Following the Scottish invasion of England led by Charles II, the New Model Army and local militia forces soundly defeated the Royalists at the Battle of Worcester, the last pitched battle of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the Interregnum, Scotland was kept under the military occupation of an English army under George Monck. They were kept busy throughout the 1650s by minor Royalist uprisings in the Scottish Highlands and by endemic lawlessness by bandits known as mosstroopers. Following Cromwell's death, the Restoration of Charles II saw the New Model Army kept as a standing force, and the King raised further regiments loyal to the Crown. On January 26th, 1661 Charles II issued a Royal Warrant that created the genesis of what would become the British Army, although the Scottish and English Armies would remain two separate organisations until the unification of England and Scotland in 1707. The Crown still officially controls the use of the army. However the Claim of Right Act 1689 stated that: "that the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law...". Successive British governments were able to circumvent the intent of the Bill of Rights through annual continuation notices, and the technical legality of the British Army, in times of peace, still rests on these annual notices. A large standing army had come into existence by the mid-18th century; the British government of the day continues to command it and both declares and wages wars.

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Wars and battles

Castles

Main article: Castles of Scotland

Part of the British Armed Forces

Main articles: British military history and History of the British Army

After the Act of Union in 1707, the Scottish Army and Navy merged with those of England. The new British Army incorporated existing Scottish regiments, such as the Scots Guards, The Royal Scots, King's Own Scottish Borderers, Scots Greys and the Royal Scots Fusiliers. The three vessels of the small Royal Scottish Navy were transferred to the Royal Navy. The new Armed Forces were controlled by the War Office and Admiralty from London. During this period, Scottish Soldiers and Sailors were instrumental in supporting the expansion of the British Empire and became involved in many international conflicts, including the latter stages of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Seven Years' War, the American Wars of Independence, Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, Boer War and the two World Wars.

Sensitive defence establishments

In the wake of the Jacobite risings, several fortresses were built throughout the Highlands in the 18th Century by General Wade in order to pacify the region, including Fort George, Fort Augustus and Fort William. Later, due to their topography and perceived remoteness, parts of Scotland have housed many sensitive defence establishments, with mixed public feelings. During World War II, Allied and British Commandos trained at Achnacarry in the Highlands and the island of Gruinard was used for an exercise in biological warfare. Between 1960 and 1991, the Holy Loch was a base for the U.S. fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines. Today, Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde, 25 miles (40 km) west of Glasgow, is the base for the four Trident-armed Vanguard class ballistic missile submarines which are armed with approximately 200 Trident nuclear warheads. Since the decommissioning of free-falling bombs in 1998, the Trident ICBM system is the UK's only nuclear deterrent. HMS Caledonia at Rosyth in Fife is the support base for navy operations in Scotland and also serves as the Naval Regional Office (NRO Scotland and Northern Ireland). The Royal Navy's submarine nuclear reactor development establishment, is located at Dounreay, which was also the site of the UK's fast breeder nuclear reactor programme. HMS Gannet is a search and rescue station based at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire and operates three Seaking Mk.5 helicopters. RM Condor at Arbroath, Angus is home to 45 Commando, Royal Marines.

Three important Royal Air Force bases are in Scotland today. These are RAF Lossiemouth, the RAF's primary base for the Panavia Tornado GR4 strike aircraft, RAF Kinloss, home to the Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft and RAF Leuchars, the most northerly air defence fighter base in the United Kingdom. The only open air live depleted uranium weapons test range in the British Isles is located near Dundrennan. As a result, over 7000 radioactive munitions lie on the seabed of the Solway Firth. This has led to many environmental concerns. The large amount of military bases in Scotland has led some to use the euphemism "Fortress Scotland". In 2004, the MoD land holdings in Scotland (owned, leased or with legal rights) was 115,200 hectares representing around 31% the MoD's UK estate.

Royal Navy bases in Scotland

Former Royal Navy bases in Scotland

Royal Air Force bases in Scotland

Former Royal Air Force bases in Scotland

Scottish Units in the British Army

Within the British Army, the Scottish infantry previously comprised a number of 'county regiments', each recruiting from a local area. In 2006, the remaining regiments, known collectively as the Scottish Division, were amalgamated to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The amalgamation was vigorously opposed by supporters of the old regiments. Scottish Soldiers also serve in all Combat Support Arms and Services, Special Forces, the Household Cavalry Regiment and the Parachute Regiment of the British Army, with the following current Formations and Units having specific Scottish connections:

Former Scottish Units in the British Army

Regular British Army Units currently based in Scotland

Scottish Units that are not part of the British Army

Reference

  1. House of Commons Written Answers, Hansard, 14 Jul 1998 : Column: 171
  2. BBC Scotland News Online "DU shell test-firing resumes", BBC Scotland News, 2001-02-21. Retrieved on 2006-09-13. (in English)
  3. Parliament of the United Kingdom - Debates 7 February 2001 Depleted Uranium (Shelling)
  4. Mackay, N and Wilson, A. (2004-02-29). "MOD "lied" over depleted Uranium". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 2006-09-06.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Spaven, Malcolm (1983) Fortress Scotland. Pluto Press in association with Scottish CND. London
  6. UK Defence Statistics, 2004 .

See also

External links

Category: