The Rise and Fall of the British Army, 1975–2025

Ben Barry examines the successes and failures of the British Army across the last half century of its history.

About the event

Over the last 50 years, society, technology, the character of conflict and the British Army itself have all change greatly.

From a low point in the 1970s, the Army’s war fighting capability increased during the 1980s in the face of a prospective war with the Soviet Union. It then continued to evolve through conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, right up to the current challenges the Army faces today.

Drawing on his own personal experience, as well as a wide range of written sources and interviews, Ben Barry provides a new interpretation of this period that challenges previous narratives.

Additional information

This event is eligible for our 20% ticket bundle discount.

Book tickets to three or more different events across the festival and you can save 20%. Tickets must be purchased in the same transaction and the discount will automatically be applied within the basket.

About the speaker

Brigadier Ben Barry is a Senior Fellow for Land Warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Before this, he served in the British Army, where he commanded an armoured infantry battalion and a multinational brigade on United Nations and Nato operations in Bosnia. He is the author of the acclaimed book ‘Blood, Metal and Dust: How Victory Turned into Defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq’.