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re: How were the British so successful militarily?
Posted on 8/7/23 at 2:24 pm to Shamoan
Posted on 8/7/23 at 2:24 pm to Shamoan
Look at most wars they fought. It was rare that Britain fought equal rivals (France, Germany, Russia) over their one of the equal's home territory.
Many of Britain's battles were against much less sophisticated nations (in terms of guns, ammo, weapons) for territory that would help them extract natural resources and crops. It's not hard when you bring a gun to a knife fight.
Even then there were plenty of awful defeats due to utterly clueless generals promoted based on friendships and the old boy network. Just because the sun never set on the British Empire does not mean there weren't frequent defeats in places like Sudan, Afghanistan, South Africa, United States, etc...
Many of Britain's battles were against much less sophisticated nations (in terms of guns, ammo, weapons) for territory that would help them extract natural resources and crops. It's not hard when you bring a gun to a knife fight.
Even then there were plenty of awful defeats due to utterly clueless generals promoted based on friendships and the old boy network. Just because the sun never set on the British Empire does not mean there weren't frequent defeats in places like Sudan, Afghanistan, South Africa, United States, etc...
This post was edited on 8/7/23 at 2:25 pm
Posted on 8/7/23 at 2:26 pm to ApexHunterNetcode
quote:
Plus slave labor
Huh?
Posted on 8/7/23 at 2:27 pm to Shamoan
They conquered retards for the most part.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 2:28 pm to sta4ever
quote:
Because believe it or not, they were the richest and had purchasing power to acquire the greatest military technology around at the time.
FIFY
Posted on 8/7/23 at 2:29 pm to Shamoan
You answered your own question. The Royal Navy was a force to be reckoned with.
This post was edited on 8/7/23 at 2:30 pm
Posted on 8/7/23 at 2:30 pm to Shamoan
quote:
the 8th air force saved the whole of Europe,
More accurate
Posted on 8/7/23 at 2:32 pm to jizzle6609
quote:
No one ever makes any progress without Americans
Can you please refer to yourself as a United statesian from now on? Calling yourself an “American” is very offensive to others on the American continent thatre technically Americans like latinx people
Posted on 8/7/23 at 2:35 pm to Shamoan
As much as I hate to admit it, there's only one service that has made us a superpower, the squids. When you can move goods and forces across the ocean and the other guy can't, you win.
The Brits never had to worry about being conquered from the days of Elizabeth I til now because of the Royal Navy. They could bottle up their foes economically, while never suffering from economic blockade themselves. And, in the Victorian era, their army was facing unsophisticated savages, for the most part.
The Brits never had to worry about being conquered from the days of Elizabeth I til now because of the Royal Navy. They could bottle up their foes economically, while never suffering from economic blockade themselves. And, in the Victorian era, their army was facing unsophisticated savages, for the most part.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 2:37 pm to Leavebritneyalone
Ruthlessness. From Belfast to Mirbat.
The white man is a ruthless creature when he wants to be as I am afraid many are going to have to learn the hard way since they no longer learn it in schools or at home.
The white man is a ruthless creature when he wants to be as I am afraid many are going to have to learn the hard way since they no longer learn it in schools or at home.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 3:16 pm to Spoonbilla
quote:
Ruthlessness. From Belfast to Mirbat.
This. Plus that big, bad, beautiful navy. Also doesn’t hurt that in about 450 AD a group of Germanic warriors set up shop and started to run the place. Feistiness came with the territory after they took over and that feistiness never really left.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 3:22 pm to Oilfieldbiology
quote:
They controlled the water and they were truly master liars, I mean, diplomats.
They pitted locals against each other and played the diplomacy game better than any country/empire in the history of the world.
They also co opted the locals into their system. Most of the former British colonies in the third world are more or less functional. The former colonies of other European powers, not so much.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 3:23 pm to Shamoan
Being an island nation in a region of the world with volatile and unpredictable weather patterns makes it difficult to mount a successful invasion from the mainland. Combine that with the prowess of the Royal Navy and you have the ingredients for success.
The British were an economic power (made possible by their navy) who had the gold to pay their allies on the Continent to fight their military conflicts on the land while the Royal Navy dominated the competition on the ocean. Britain was Napoleon Bonaparte's arch-nemesis during the Napoleonic Wars yet he only squared off with the British Army once in his entire career as the commander of an army - at Waterloo. The British mainly financed the various Coalitions on land while they kept the French navy at bay.
The British were an economic power (made possible by their navy) who had the gold to pay their allies on the Continent to fight their military conflicts on the land while the Royal Navy dominated the competition on the ocean. Britain was Napoleon Bonaparte's arch-nemesis during the Napoleonic Wars yet he only squared off with the British Army once in his entire career as the commander of an army - at Waterloo. The British mainly financed the various Coalitions on land while they kept the French navy at bay.
This post was edited on 8/7/23 at 3:24 pm
Posted on 8/7/23 at 3:34 pm to RollTide1987
quote:
Britain was Napoleon Bonaparte's arch-nemesis during the Napoleonic Wars yet he only squared off with the British Army once in his entire career as the commander of an army -
And would have beaten them if not for the timely arrival of the Prussians.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 3:39 pm to Shamoan
Britain was half the size of France in 1800, but it defeated Napoleon. England had a professional army, France has a conscripted one. England had Wellington, and Wellington knew how to defeat Napoleon.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 3:41 pm to MrBobDobalina
quote:
The quality of food and women in the UK combined to make the British the best sailors the world has ever known
Posted on 8/7/23 at 3:47 pm to nicholastiger
quote:
British would not have pushed Germany out of France and would not have made inroads into Germany without USA help in WW 2
But holding on gave the US army and air force a staging area. Waging a trans-Atlantic war would have been much more difficult.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 3:50 pm to Shamoan
1) Longbow
2) Navy Fighting the British was like a elephant fighting a whale
3) Chose their enemies and allies well
2) Navy Fighting the British was like a elephant fighting a whale
3) Chose their enemies and allies well
Posted on 8/7/23 at 3:53 pm to Shamoan
The rest of the world loved their accents.
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