'If we fail to act, we risk falling further behind': Veterans minister who warned British Army will be wiped out in 'six months to a year' if drawn into a large scale war is backed by top generals who

The entire British Army would be wiped out in as little as six months in a major conflict, the veterans minister has warned. Mr Carns, a Military Cross recipient who served five tours of Afghanistan, said yesterday: ‘In a scale of war – not a limited intervention but one similar to Ukraine – our Army, for example, on the current casualty rates, would be expended in six months to a year.’ He based his forecast on the size of the British Army – which is at its smallest since Napoleonic times – and the losses being suffered by Russia in Ukraine. UK Minister for Veterans and People, Alistair Carns said the entire British Army would be wiped out in as little as six months in a major conflict Russia is estimated to be losing as many as 1,500 troops a day – wounded, killed or fleeing the battlefield His emphasis on the importance of ‘absolutely central’ reservists was even more embarrassing as the Government has recently cut budgets to train part-time soldiers. He said the military needed to ‘rethink’ its use of reserves and simplify complicated call-up procedures, adding: ‘The stakes are clear: if we fail to act we risk falling further behind.’ Carns, MP speaks with army personnel, on October 29, 2024 in Salisbury, England The Conservatives set out a timetable to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product by 2030 Despite the UK’s exposed position on defence spending, Foreign Secretary David Lammy told allies yesterday it was time to ‘get serious’ The British Army's new Archer Mobile Howitzer gun, as British Army soldiers take part in training near Rovaniemi in the Arctic Circle, Finland, November 19 The regular British Army stands at 71,347 personnel and, as Defence Secretary John Healey admitted recently, could dip beneath 70,000 in the months ahead. Despite the UK’s exposed position on defence spending, Foreign Secretary David Lammy told allies yesterday it was time to ‘get serious’.