British Army Would be Wiped Out in 6 Months if Forced to Fight a War on the Scale of the Ukraine Conflict, Warns Defence Minister
Defence Minister Alistair Carns has warned that the British army would be “expended” within six to 12 months if it were forced to fight a war on the scale of the Ukraine conflict, with a rate of casualties similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Carns, a former Royal Marines colonel, stated that Russia is suffering losses of about 1,500 soldiers killed or injured a day.
Carns emphasized the need to “generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis”, which could be achieved by placing a greater emphasis on the reserves. He stressed that the reserves are “critical” to the process of generating mass, and without them, the army cannot meet the plethora of defence tasks.
The number of personnel in the army has steadily declined over the past 14 years, with the current strength standing at 109,245, including 25,814 volunteer reservists. The UK government has come under fire from opposition parties for the decline in army numbers, with the Labour Party accusing the Conservatives of cutting the army to its smallest size “since Napoleon”.
The ongoing war in Ukraine and the possibility of Donald Trump’s re-election as US President have led to fresh calls for substantial investment in the military, amid concerns that Trump may end America’s military and financial support for Ukraine, leaving NATO allies in Europe to fill the gap. The UK government has responded by investing billions of pounds in defence and undertaking a strategic defence review to ensure the country has the capabilities and investment needed to defend itself.