re: How were the British so successful militarily?

Depends on the period you're talking about but in the Revolutionary War period, they drilled their redcoats till they could perform their job no matter what was in front of them. Very few armies could do that like the Brits. It was key to massed firepower. They had that philosophy across their entire military.

The Royal Navy was the most professional armed force on the planet for a long time. Partly because of conscription and not letting sailors off the boat in home ports. Partly because the officer class was incapable of accepting loss so they trained their crews till they could work the boat and their guns blind, deaf, and half stunned with concussions. They had plenty of time to do this sailing back and forth off the European coast daring anybody to come out and fight for years on end. When the Americans won their first naval battle it was like the USA getting hit at Pearl Harbor or 911. The country was stunned. And when it happened again they basically started doubting themselves, even though the American Frigates were much stronger and larger than their British counterparts. They simply couldn't fathom it because nobody had seen it happen before. Then the Americans broke their army and it was the direction of things to come.

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British would not have pushed Germany out of France and would not have made inroads into Germany without USA help in WW 2

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might have to watch Patton again...

Johnny Horton should enter the chat.....

Navy. On land they went places that they had a technological advantage over the natives

Naval and economic power may be the primary answers but don't overlook the sneaky fricks at the British Foreign Office/Ministry. Their rumor-mongering and fake bank deposits planted a lot of distrust and animosity between Napoleon's officers but their masterpiece was the use of weaponized Islam to destroy the Sikh kingdoms of northern India and severely destabilize Ottoman Turkey. That al-Saud/al-Wahab alliance that still plagues us today was British doings.

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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.

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They make the mistake of confusing our genorosity with weakness. A mistake that will cost them dearly.

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When you get down to the foot soldier/sailor level there was a pronounced tendency of laziness and drunkenness making the leadership all the more impressive in hindsight.

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Actually, in the 17th and 18th centuries the sale of commissions made the officer class rife with incompetence.

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How were the British so successful militarily

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B/c they had the greatest navy the world has ever seen and ever will see.

They ruled the seas for nearly half a millenia.