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How Did The British Run An Empire With Such A Small Army? - Foreign Affairs (3) - Nairaland

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Re: How Did The British Run An Empire With Such A Small Army? by mkmyers45(m): 12:12pm On Jul 25, 2011
Organisation and Intelligence
Re: How Did The British Run An Empire With Such A Small Army? by Nobody: 1:05pm On Jul 25, 2011
Richfella:

Hmmm, bros. Kindly check your facts. E no reach $1 Billion or did you mean to use naira? shocked

It is Around $700million if i could recall, the only one that is at $1Billion dollars is the B-1 Spirit, capable of penetrating the Russian Airspace without being seen on radar screen
Re: How Did The British Run An Empire With Such A Small Army? by adxkla(m): 6:45pm On Jul 25, 2011
First of all, great thread topic and discussion.

I think the British were able to hold on to such a large amount of the world (at it's height, the sun always shone on part of it) through a combination of indirect rule, appeasing/supporting the elite in the societies they ruled, and usage of mercenaries. Why send 12 people to oversee a country when you can employ the 12 local emirs/obas/chiefs already ruling, as subordinates, and just send one guy there to make sure everything runs well? By encouraging education of the very elite, prepping them for posts in colonial society, they gathered support from a respected group of society. But if push came to shove, they were able to pull troops from other regions and equip them with superior officers, tactics and guns.

World War 2 was the turning point. Britain could no longer hold on to the colonies after then, as it was too bankrupt, so it sensibly prepared the colonies for independence, with a few blunders (India/Pakistan, Israel/Palestine). Unlike the French, who waged war after war trying to hold their colonies, losing men, money and the chance to forge bonds with their former territories.

owobokiri:

Nigerian military is designed to fight internal wars like Tiv wars, Odi wars, Okigwe wars and Boko Haram wars. They dont need all these tools. What they have is a bad mannered infantry that knows how to beat up civilians at check-points.

I laugh in Swahili, great description

9jaganja:

China is the new world power and American ego won't allow them to admit it, All they can do is paddle submarines to chinese waters and then say they invaded the waters without Chinese knowledge,

China openly tests all of it's weaponry and are ever ready for war, The USA needs to just take a bow and go back to the drawing board,

Their military artillery is privatized so they buy weapons! Do you know how many American companies did business with hitler? Their lack of morals and ethics will be their downfall!!!

The US Aerospace/Defense industry is the most advanced in the world, developed through years of experience, funding, strong, vibrant support from the academic/research sector, and a well tested supply chain, which few countries (not China) possess. It will take years for China to get to where the US is at today, talk less of where the US will be once China reaches the US's current point.

Do you know what is being developed now? You can't throw money at a desert and expect B2 bombers, supersonic cruise missiles, hypersonic kinetic weapons, and stealth technology to rise. You need expertise, research, a strong heavy industry base, and years, to reach that level. Guess what? The US has a 50 year start. Don't expect China to catch up in 10.

I like this section of Nairaland.
Re: How Did The British Run An Empire With Such A Small Army? by EzeUche(m): 8:46pm On Jul 25, 2011
Divide and Conquer was there technique.
Re: How Did The British Run An Empire With Such A Small Army? by odumchi: 8:54pm On Jul 25, 2011
Its $1Billion USD each, look it up.

Richfella:

Hmmm, bros. Kindly check your facts. E no reach $1 Billion or did you mean to use naira? shocked

Israel's population isn't up to 10 million, so how do they have 13 million adults?
About Nigeria, that amount is only the amount of active military personnel. Nigeria has hundreds of thousands of reserves and if necessary can draft up to 90 million males (if they can be fed,trained,armed) and females. Egypt or Ethiopa have at most 20-30 million males each. Egypt has a limited amount of troops because Islam has certain regulations with women in the military.
But despite this Nigerias military is the largest in Africa.

kodewrita:

Its standard procedure in Israel to always alter the american f-16s they recieve with more high-tech accessories. They also have a national fighter jet called the Kfir( the original Kfirs were modelled on the french Dassault fighter jet) which is also very fast and specifically designed to handle Migs.

They are world leaders in drone tech too.

89k+ troops doesnt count as being the largest. Ethiopia has way more i believe (will confirm and edit this post). The trend in more advanced countries is to have a trained populace capable of fighting wars if given the necessary weapons and having a small dedicated professional army.

Example: Switzerland has been at peace for 300 years but this peace is guaranteed by the fact that every swiss male recieves compulsory military training and a package containing uniforms and a rifle always kept in an accessible location at home. Notice of an invasion would bring instant mobilization of the ENTIRE MALE POPULACE. Israel too. Young students spend a year in compulsory military training. If necessary, the entire adult population of this tiny 13 mil strong country can go to war if threatened. Thats POWER.
Re: How Did The British Run An Empire With Such A Small Army? by Nobody: 10:30pm On Jul 25, 2011
odiaero:

It is Around $700million if i could recall, the only one that is at $1Billion dollars is the B-1 Spirit, capable of penetrating the Russian Airspace without being seen on radar screen

@ Bolded Bulls-h-i-t.

The F-22 Raptor costs about half as much as the $700m you stated. Secondly, there is no B-1 Spirit, na B-2 spirit dey (there is a B-1 lancer though).

odumchi:

Its $1Billion USD each, look it up.


I think you should do the looking-up. Google is your friend. I hate it when people pull 'facts' and 'figures' from their behind.
Re: How Did The British Run An Empire With Such A Small Army? by Voxitt: 2:26pm On Jul 26, 2011
The British had a disciplined well trained fighting force. A lot of emphasis was and continues to be placed on professionalism and not just fighting capability. Hence with little resources in comparision with the US, Britain is reputed to have the best trained army in the world.
Re: How Did The British Run An Empire With Such A Small Army? by martinosi: 1:32pm On Jul 28, 2011
owo2390:

They had the most advanced navy at the time. And they had ambition.

GREAT POINT, They controlled the seas, via their navy and that gives
you an indication of what their travelling ambitions were all about: Trade & Plunder of others lands resources,

They also built the most advanced mercenary force (playing off
different groups against one another for a fee) and they employed
divide and conquer tactics Plus most people did not know they
were creating an imperial domain due to poor communication between people at the time. Plus they had the most advanced techonology at the
time. Whoever has the advanced technology, better organisation skills. Well discipled military and heart wins,

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