(Updated below 5th July 14.00) Sky News is reporting the identities of five infantry battalions to be scrapped in the massive shrinkage of the the British Army that has caused senior serving officers to speak out against its strategic military intelligence.
First up is bad news for Argyll.
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders – already, like other former Scottish regiments, reduced to battalion strength as 5 Scots, the Fifth Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, is to go.
100 men will be drawn from other regiments as required and used to become, in the name of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, ‘a ceremonial company for Scotland’, whatever that means. Something as vacuous as the Swiss Guard at the Vatican, we assume. (Editors update 5th July: we understand that the remnants of the Arglls will now indeed do guard duty – at Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and at Balmoral Castle.)
Along with the Argylls are going:
- one battalion of The Yorkshire Regiment
- the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
- the 3rd Battalion of The Mercian Regiment (The Staffords)
- the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Welsh Regiment.
Just yesterday, 3rd July, following a leaked document identifying the battalions to be lost to cost cutting, Brigadier David Paterson, the honorary Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, said he was ‘bitterly disappointed’ by proposals to slash the battalion’s troop numbers, by just under 50%.
It had been said that it would be battalions unable to recruit adequately which would go – and that would have seen the Argylls in trouble.
But the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Brigadier Paterson confirmed, is t0day ‘the best manned battalion in the Army, with recruits waiting in the wings’.
In a letter seen and reported by The Daily Telegraph yesterday, written to Chief of General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall, Brigadier Paterson said that he would now have: ‘… to explain to my Fusiliers in a fully manned battalion why they are likely to be posted to battalions that cannot recruit. This will not be an easy sell.’
What will be controversial – and belies logic – is that the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was a two battalion regiment. The loss now of its 2nd Battalion leaves it a very curious military instrument indeed – a one battalion regiment.
Quite how a single battalion can also be a regiment is the sort of nonsense only the British can confect.
It will not be alone, though, The Royal Welsh Regiment will be another such one-limbed regiment.
Mind you, we are talking of a government that already thinks it is perfectly sensible to have two new aircraft carriers with no serious aircraft to carry; and a government which prematurely scrapped serviceable aircraft carriers, selling off cheaply their Harrier jump jets, just out of expensive refit, only to go ‘Woops. Mistake’. It is looking now at having to buy far more expensive kit in their place – and years away.
Sam Kiley, Sky News’ defence and security editor, has parrotted the MoD line on these decisions, saying:: ‘While this is a cultural blow particularly to the people who have served in these units in the past, nowadays they are part of bigger regiments in any case.’ What ‘bigger’ regiments we have now would be a tough call to identify.
No one has yet explained how we need so many fewer soldiers when we are in a phase where we seem to be committing ground forces simultaneously to a variety of theatres of conflict.
The plan is to shift a lot of responsibility for armed conflict to the reserve, the Territorial Army. That can only result in a higher attrition rate than we already have – but what do the desk generals of the MoD care about that?
And are the Territorials normally equipped to the same level as the frontline force?
The Ministry of Defence makes smoke by talking loudly about a fast, flexible, new ‘integrated force’ – which sounds more like a commando unit than an army – which is not far short of the reality.
The loss of the Argyll’s will be met with anger and resentment, made worse by the lack of apparent military logic in the face of the sort of the confrontations of choice of today’s governments.
The ‘thin red line’ is fading into invisibility as we write.
Update 14.00 5th July 2012: Political responses
Michael Russell MSP for Argyll and Bute has said today: ‘Like many people in my constituency I had a father who served in the Argylls during the war. Others will have had brothers, uncles, sons or other family members. All will be outraged at this further attack on the regiment, which is being reduced to almost nothing.
‘The great irony of this is that in an Independent Scotland there would be a need for such regiments, operating at much greater strength and as a key part of a conventional defence strategy.
‘The horrendous cost of a totally unnecessary and immoral nuclear deterrent is at least in part the reason for further army cuts of this nature.
‘The Unionist attack on independence is often focussed on defence issues but in reality the destruction to almost nothing of the armed services in Scotland is happening because we are still part of the UK . We should also not forget that this further blow to our area comes from a decision of a Westminster Tory and Liberal Government supported by our local Lib Dem MP. He should be hanging his head in shame. ‘
Stuart McMillan MSP for West Scotland, has today called for the community of Helensburgh to unite to save the Argyll Battalion from the UK government’s axe, saying (with a core scripted party line – see identical second and third paragraphs in the statements issued by each): ‘All will be outraged at this further attack on the regiment, which is being reduced to almost nothing.
‘The great irony of this is that in an Independent Scotland there would be a need for such regiments, operating at much greater strength and as a key part of a conventional defence strategy.
‘The horrendous cost of a totally unnecessary and immoral nuclear deterrent is at least in part the reason for further army cuts of this nature.
‘The Westminster anti-independence parties’ attack on independence is often focussed on defence issues but in reality the destruction to almost nothing of the armed services in Scotland is happening because we these decisions are still being made by their parties at Westminster.
“Our communities must unite to fight against allowing this battalion falling victim to the cruel Tory axe.”
Editor’s Note: It should be noted that the feeling in the military in England is reported as being that Scotland has got off unduly lightly in the infantry cuts, because the Prime Minister was fearful of the impact of the loss of historic units in the independence debate.
Scotland had been understood to be about to lose two battalions. However as we reported here after our visit to the Army Engagement Team’s event in Oban recently, this plan had undergone change. Brigadier George Lowder’s address that night made it clear both that it would be fair for Scotland to lose an amount proportionate to the overall reduction to the army; and that the Argyll’s were in the frame.
Scotland’s only regiment, the young Royal Regiment of Scotland, created by amalgamating several former regiments, including the Argylls, each of which became one of the five battalions of full time infantry. The other two battalions in this regiment, 6 and 7 Scots, are reserve forces, the Territorial Army, now to double its recruitment to just under 40,000.
England – Yorkshire – has lost the Green Howards, a regiment formed in 1688, downgraded to a battalion in 2006 and then, as 2 Yorks, the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards), absorbed into The Yorkshire Regiment at the same time.
This was the same year in which the same preparation for later abandonment was inflicted on The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, reduced to battalion strength as 5 Scots, the 5th Battalion of the new Royal Regiment of Scotland.
The origins of The Argyll’s, one of the most famous regiments in the world, date back to 1759 when its two antecedent regiments were raised in that same year – the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot and the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders.
The Green Howards are almost 70 years older than the Argylls.
Neither Argyll nor Scotland has been especially done down in the proposed rearrangement.
The issue is whether these cuts in fighting forces are the right sort of cuts. The majority of informed opinion is that this is militarily unwise and that all we will be able to do with the planned force is go into a theatre of war for a short time, hoping to be quickly effective. We will not have the resources to stay there, should optimistic expectations be disappointed.
I am repeating myself, but there are Tory grandees spinning madly in their graves at this pathetic excuse of a Tory government’s destruction of the British Army. My understanding is that they want the TA to supplement the Regulars. That will never work. With due respect to the Terriers, they can never be as well trained and prepared as regulars. And worse still, what employer in their right mind will employ, or allow their staff to join, the TA? TA troops will be away from their full time job most of the time to cover the short fall, leaving an employer to cover for the gap that will be created.
As an ex-Royal Marine and a (soon to be) ex-Tory voter I could weep
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“Cost cutting” that’s a laugh! Why do you need high numbers of military when you have new technology and a world army at your finger tips?(UN and NATO come to mind) smoke and mirrors
Is it not like Salmond’s one size fits all national police force (militia){ may like to look at PACE law), yeah Argyll needs the same type of policing as Glasgow or Edinburgh?
But don’t worry people we are in safe hands our masters in Europe have a plan! Welcome to Germany 1942 oops sorry Britain 2012.
Its time our army and police forces pulled their service to the corporation that is the government, tell them to get stuffed I bet the people of this island would support them fully.
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Try telling Anne annis the mother of Simon annis who died in Afghanistan for queen and country but also his battalion he loved the second battalion royal regiment of fusiliers
Disgrace to the memory’s of the fus that died for our battalion
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http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1582796_mum-of-fusilier-killed-in-afghanistan-simon-annis-slams-decision-to-axe-battalion
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This Steve Bell cartoon (http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/cartoon/2012/jul/05/steve-bell-defence-cuts) says it all but Rudyard Kipling said it better when he wrote “Tommy”.
“For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country,” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
But Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool – you bet that Tommy sees!”
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The Army website currently says:
‘Joining the Army as a Territorial means that you do all your training and military duties in your spare time.’
We understand that Territorials will have to take one year off out of five to retrain.
This statement also obliterates the impact on employers and the imperative for their active collaboration in the present scheme to place much heavier reliance on the role of a volunteer force in active operations.
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Getting rid of the fusiliers and down sizing the Army means my uncle died for nothing during the last war. We cant down size the Forces they are needed to protect this country. What we need is to get rid of the useless polititions who now nothing about the orderniry people.
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Pingback: Argylls to be scrapped – along with the best recruiting battalion in the army › About the Army
Edie, complaining that your uncle “died for nothing” makes it sound as if this is the first time since the last war that cuts in our armed forces have been implemented. Our forces have been undergoing down sizing ever since the last war. It is nothing new. There were 375,000 in the armed forces in 1962 (50 years ago) Cuts have happened several times since then and none of those, like the current proposals, are anything to do with why your uncle died. He did so, like far too many other brave men, to save a country, not an army.
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