Gen. Patrick Saunders, the new commander of the British Army, informed his troops that they were preparing for war with Russia in a possible third world war. According to the Rai Al-Youm newspaper, Saunders said that the Russia-Ukraine war has shaken the foundations of global security. The British general promised to prepare the army in such a way that he could defeat Russia in battle. He stressed that British troops must have “the courage to prepare again for war in Europe.” In his first message to the British Army after taking command of the British Army, Saunders said that world change had begun since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Will the UK go to war with Russia?
It remains unlikely that the UK will go to war with Russia any time soon. The latest statements stress the army’s preparedness, rather than any intention to act imminently. Gen Sanders is expected the say: “In all my years in uniform, I haven’t known such a clear threat to the principles of sovereignty and democracy, and the freedom to live without fear of violence, as the brutal aggression of president Putin and his expansionist ambitions. “This is our 1937 moment. We are not at war – but must act rapidly so that we aren’t drawn into one through a failure to contain territorial expansion. “I will do everything in my power to ensure that the British Army plays its part in averting war.”
He will liken the current situation to the run-up to the Second World War, saying Britain must be prepared to “act rapidly” to ensure it is not drawn into a full-scale conflict through its failure to contain Russian expansionism. If Ukraine was part of NATO, the military alliance that is made up of 30 member states, including the UK and US, every NATO nation would have to launch an armed attack against Russia. NATO uses a system of collective security, whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. But Ukraine is not a part of NATO, so the Western response to Russia’s invasion will continue to focus on sanctions and the provision of military resources. If Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, decides to extend his attacks beyond Russia and into a neighboring NATO state, such as Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia, then the UK would be bound to directly enter the conflict.
The new commander of the British Army informed his troops to prepare for war
UK’s new top Army general General Sir Patrick Sanders has asked every soldier to prepare to fight against the Russian army in a potential World War III. General Sanders, who took over from General Sir Mark Carleton Smith on Monday, told the British soldiers that they must prepare “to fight in Europe once again” as the conflict in Ukraine continues. “There is now a burning imperative to forge an army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle,” Sir Patrick said.
The warning came in his first speech since he became Chief of the General Staff this month, taking overall control of the British Army. “We are the generation that must prepare the Army to fight in Europe once again.” “I am the first Chief of the General Staff since 1941 to take command of the Army in the shadow of a land war in Europe involving a continental power,” General Sanders added. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underlines our core purpose — to protect the UK by being ready to fight and win wars on land.” The remarks come at a time when General Saunders will be leading the smallest British Army in the last 300 years after the government cut the force to 73,000 troops. The 56-year-old has previously commanded operations in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. He has also promised to accelerate plans to modernise the Army and to deploy overseas more often to respond swiftly to crises.
NATO is boosting its power to deal with the future threat
NATO will boost its number of troops on high alert by more than sevenfold to over 300,000, its secretary-general said on Monday. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has sparked a major geopolitical shift in the West, prompting once-neutral countries Finland and Sweden to apply to join NATO and Ukraine to secure the status of a candidate to join the European Union. Mr Stoltenberg said NATO in future would have “well over 300,000” troops on high alert, compared to the 40,000 troops that currently make up the alliance’s existing quick reaction force, the NATO Response Force (NRF). The new force model is meant to replace the NRF and “provide a larger pool of high-readiness forces across domains, land, sea, air and cyber, which will be pre-assigned to specific plans for the defence of allies,” a NATO official said.
Mr Stoltenberg said NATO combat units on the alliance’s eastern flank nearest Russia, especially the Baltic states, are to be boosted to brigade level, with thousands of pre-assigned troops on standby in countries further west, such as Germany, as rapid reinforcements. “Together, this constitutes the biggest overhaul of our collective deterrence and defense since the Cold War,” he said. The NATO official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the moves would enable the organisation to respond with more forces at short notice should the need arise. The official added that the precise scale and composition of the force were still being worked on and that the transition was planned for completion in 2023.
Conclusion
Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine has sparked a major geopolitical shift in the West, prompting once-neutral countries Finland and Sweden to apply to join NATO and Ukraine to secure the status of a candidate to join the European Union. Britain faces its “1937 moment” and must be prepared to act rapidly to prevent the spread of war in Europe, according to the new head of the Army. In a speech today, General Sir Patrick Sanders, the Chief of the General Staff, will say he had never seen such a clear threat to peace and democracy as the “brutal aggression” of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Sanders warned that Britain faced its “1937 moment”, referencing Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery who wrote that year, two years before the outbreak of the Second World War, “There is no need to continue doing a thing merely because it has been done in the Army for the last thirty or forty years—if this is the only reason for doing it, then it is high time we changed and did something else.”
