| rdfs:comment | - The British Army during the Second World War was, in 1939, a volunteer army, that introduced limited conscription in early 1939, and full conscription shortly after the declaration of war with Germany. During the early years of the war, the army suffered defeat in almost every theatre in which it was deployed. With mass conscription, the expansion of the army was reflected in the formation of larger armies and army groups. From 1943, the larger and better equipped British Army hardly suffered a strategic defeat.
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| abstract | - The British Army during the Second World War was, in 1939, a volunteer army, that introduced limited conscription in early 1939, and full conscription shortly after the declaration of war with Germany. During the early years of the war, the army suffered defeat in almost every theatre in which it was deployed. With mass conscription, the expansion of the army was reflected in the formation of larger armies and army groups. From 1943, the larger and better equipped British Army hardly suffered a strategic defeat. The pre-war British Army was trained and equipped to be a small mechanized professional army. However, its main function was to garrison the British Empire and as became evident during the war, was woefully unprepared and ill-equipped for a war with multiple enemies on multiple fronts. The army at the start of the war remained small in comparison to its enemies and up to 1939, would remain an all volunteer force; by the end of the war over 3.5 million men had served in the army. The army was called upon to fight around the world, starting with campaigns in Europe in 1940, and after the Dunkirk evacuation fought on in Africa, the Mediterranean and the Far East. After a series of setbacks, retreats and evacuations, the British Army eventually, with its Allies, gained the upper hand. This started with victory in Africa and then Italy was forced to surrender after the invasions of Sicily and mainland Italy itself. In the last years of the war, the army returned to France driving the German Army back into Germany, while in the Far East forcing the Japanese back from the Indian border into eastern 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 were formed, and eventually army groups were created to control even larger formations. In command of these new armies, eight men would be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. The army commanders not only had to manage the new armies, but also a new type of soldier in formations like the Special Air Service, Army Commandos and the Parachute Regiment.
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