Month: April 2024

The MoD is currently weighing the wisdom of deploying the Royal Marines to help deliver humanitarian aid to the starving population in Gaza. There is no doubt the commandoes are the most suitable troops to undertake this risky task, but would their involvement develop into something bigger? As Field Marshal Inge once said metaphorically about peacekeeping in Bosnia, there is a high chance of “putting our hands in a mangle”.

History tells us that this has happened before. In April 1918, a party of Royal Marines landed in Vladivostok to protect the supplies that were sent by the British Government in support of our Allies. Thus began an entanglement in Siberia that lasted until the British headquarters left in May 1920, with the Royals becoming deeply involved in the Russian civil war and earning many distinguished awards for their fire support to the White Army on the Kama River.

Given the complicated situation in Gaza, it is not beyond the bounds of imagination that the Royal Marines will still be there in two years time, if the government deploys them in May.

Captain Tom Jameson of the Royal Marines with the White Fleet commanders in Siberia

The anniversary of the first American military overseas intervention takes place this week. Six months before the Battle of Trafalgar, the US Marine Corps launched a land attack on the important Ottoman port of Derna. This operation was planned because the crew of the captured frigate, USS Philadelphia had been held hostage in Tripoli for over a year.

The expedition was authorised by the President, Thomas Jefferson, who had been recently re-elected for his second term of office. The marines were commanded by 29 year-old Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon from Virginia, who had also recruited a multicultural force of Greeks and Arabs in Alexandria. Under the overall leadership of the envoy, William Eaton, who had persuaded the brother of the Tripoli Pasha, Hamet Qaramanli to accompany him, they marched 521 miles along the coast, passing the “pretty port of Toubrouk” on the way.

On 27 April, Eaton divided his force into two and co-ordinated fire support with Captain Isaac Hull from the frigate, USS Argus. Hamat Qaramanli approached the port with the Arab force from the west, while the marines attacked the fort from the east. Passing through a shower of musketry, the battle was soon over and the USA flag was raised over a captured city on foreign soil for the first time.

Soon afterwards, a diplomatic solution was agreed with the Pasha in Tripoli and the hostages were released. Meanwhile, the American troops returned home as national heroes and the phrase “To The Shores of Tripoli” was added to the flag of the US Marine Corps.

Today, HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent has handed over as Regimental Colonel of the Scots Guards to HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh. His record-breaking tenure has seen dramatic changes in the makeup of the regiment with LGBT, beards and women now allowed where once they were banned. However, the best tribute to his achievement is that before he took over, it was unusual for the monarch’s close family to hold the Guards’ colonelcies, now all but one are in the hands of HRH The King’s immediate family.

Sir Allan Adair was Colonel of the Grenadier Guards until 1974 – now it is HRH Queen Camilla; the 3rd Baron Methuen was Scots Guards Regimental Colonel until he handed over to the Duke of York in 1932 – now it is the King’s youngest brother; the Earl of Gowrie was Regimental Colonel of the Welsh Guards until handing over to the late Duke of Edinburgh in 1953 – now it is the HRH Prince of Wales; the Irish Guards did not have a royal Regimental Colonel until 2011 – now it is the the Princess of Wales. The only Guards regiment without a royal regimental colonel is the Coldstream Guards, but perhaps this is understandable because their original loyalty was to Oliver Cromwell.

For my part, I am sad to see the Duke of Kent retire. He held enormous respect in the British Army because he was a professional soldier in his own right, so he could empathise with those serving in the armed forces. In 1998, I had the honour of teaching him how to ride a traditional toboggan in Switzerland. As you can see from the photograph, we were both quite nervous when I launched him into the Cresta Run, but fortunately, he survived unscathed and enjoyed telling me about it later, when he presented me with the Scots Guards Cup.

HRH The Duke of Kent on the Cresta Run

My long involvement with NATO began in 1980 with its extreme cold weather exercise, Anorak Express in Norway and took in the largest Dutch fighting troops tank exercise as well as major Reinforcement of Germany training such as Certain Strike and Iron Hammer. Cold War manoeuvres gave way to peace support operations in the Balkans, partnership for peace in Eastern Europe and security assistance in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. These were all primarily political deployments, albeit with strong military forces attached to the missions.

The misunderstanding that NATO is purely military stems largely from incorrect media sources such as Britannica and Wikipedia, which fail to explain that it is primarily a political alliance that uses military means as a last resort for the purpose of collective security. Even today, the BBC described NATO as a “military alliance”. This is dangerous on two counts. First, it panders to Putin’s version of the truth about the risks to Russia if Ukraine joins NATO. And second, it promotes the pretence that we can rely on others for our defence, rather than ensuring we have Armed Forces that are capable of operating independently for our own good.

Politics is all about perceptions and I have to admit that I hold a different view to the Secretary General about the “alliance of authoritarian powers” (which sounds like a rehash of the 2001 “axis of evil”). More than 50 countries have not supported the West in their recent foreign affairs’ decisions, including most of Africa and Asia. Does this mean that India, South Africa (and Brazil) are also enemies now, or are we the ones that are missing something?

NATO Allies In Action