What was the New Model Army (1645)?

England's first professional, full-time army

What was 'pike and shot'?

Pikemen protecting musketeers while they reloaded

Flogging in peacetime and the buying of officers' commissions

Armies were raised through feudal duty: lords brought knights and soldiers. Later, kings paid soldiers and used 'commissions of array' to gather men from each county.
Knights on horseback were the elite, but the longbow changed battles: English archers won at Falkirk (1298) and Agincourt (1415).

Cannons and handguns (muskets) spread. Armies used 'pike and shot': pikemen protected musketeers while they reloaded.
In the English Civil War, Parliament created the New Model Army (1645), England's first professional, full-time army. It won the Battle of Naseby (1645).

Muskets with bayonets, then accurate rifles, and stronger artillery. At Waterloo (1815), Wellington's army helped defeat Napoleon.
In the Crimean War, the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava (1854) showed poor leadership. Newspaper reports by William Howard Russell and Florence Nightingale's nursing changed public attitudes.
The Cardwell reforms (1868–74) ended flogging in peacetime and the buying of officers' commissions, and shortened service.

Conscription began in 1916 in the First World War; conscientious objectors had to face tribunals. Trench warfare, machine guns, gas and tanks shaped battles such as the Somme (1916).
The Second World War was total war: civilians were bombed, rationed and conscripted. National Service continued after the war; the last men were called up in 1960.
Since then Britain has used a professional volunteer army, with technology such as smart weapons and drones, in wars such as the Gulf War (1991), Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Blitz (September 1940 to May 1941): German bombers attacked London for 57 nights in a row at first. Londoners sheltered in Anderson and Morrison shelters and in Underground stations; in 1940 a bomb at Balham station killed many sheltering there.
Children were evacuated, and from 1944 the V1 flying bombs and V2 rockets hit London. Churchill ran the war from the Cabinet War Rooms.

Feudal duty: The obligation of lords to provide soldiers for the king in return for land.
Longbow: A powerful bow that let English archers win battles such as Agincourt.
Pike and shot: Pikemen protecting musketeers while they reloaded.
New Model Army: Parliament's professional army, created in 1645.
Cardwell reforms: Army reforms of 1868–74, which ended peacetime flogging and the buying of commissions.
Conscription: Making people join the armed forces by law.
Conscientious objector: Someone who refused to fight for reasons of conscience.
Total war: War involving the whole population and economy.
National Service: Peacetime conscription after 1945; the last call-ups were in 1960.
The Blitz: The German bombing of British cities in 1940–41.

Which weapon helped the English win at Agincourt (1415)?: The longbow: English archers could fire quickly at long range.
What was the New Model Army (1645)?: England's first professional, full-time army: It won the Battle of Naseby for Parliament.
What was 'pike and shot'?: Pikemen protecting musketeers while they reloaded: Early guns were slow to reload.
What did the Cardwell reforms (1868–74) end?: Flogging in peacetime and the buying of officers' commissions: They aimed to make the army more professional.
Who reported on the Crimean War and changed public attitudes?: William Howard Russell: He wrote for The Times.
When was conscription first introduced in Britain?: 1916: The Military Service Act of 1916, in the First World War.
When were the last National Service call-ups?: 1960: Britain has used a volunteer army since.
When was the Blitz?: September 1940 to May 1941: London was bombed for 57 nights in a row at first.