In 2006, the British Armed Forces British Armed Forces had approximately 196,000 soldiers in active service. This number included and still is the British Royal Marines, which is organisationally subordinate to the Royal Navy, and thus the British Navy. It is assumed that historically the first unit of British marines was established in the second half of the 17th century, and soldiers of this formation took part in many armed conflicts, including both world wars. It is most often assumed that in World War II, about 75,000 people served in the Royal Marines, who took part in the raid on Dieppe (1943) or during Operation Overlord (1944). It is worth adding that after 1945, the Royal Marines constituted an important element of the British armed forces and took part, for example, in the Suez crisis (1956), especially during the Falklands War in 1982, where they showed their best high combat value, considerable professionalism and good discipline. In 2006, the Royal Marines numbered approximately 7,400 soldiers. Currently, the unit consists of one brigade and several support units. The basic weapon is the L85A2 assault rifle, and the FN Minimi and L86A2 machine guns are used as support shooting weapons. The distinctive feature of the Royal Marines uniform are berets - Navy Blue for recruits, and green for Commnado soldiers.
The Falklands / Malwiny War Falklands War ) took place from the beginning of April to mid-June 1982. Its cause was the occupation by Argentina, then ruled by a military junta, of the British islands in the South Atlantic - the Falkland Islands. It is assumed that the intervention was carried out to improve the position of the junta in Argentina itself and to improve public mood. It was assumed that the entire operation would be short and successful, and Britain would accept the loss of distant territories. However, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher decided to respond by force to the Argentinean actions and sent significant British forces to the Falkland Islands, the backbone of which - at sea - were two aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible. Despite the losses suffered by the Royal Navy as a result of the Argentinian air force (including the loss of the destroyer HMS Sheffield), it was able to de facto gain an advantage in the theater of operations and prevent the delivery of major reinforcements to the islands. This gave the British land units (primarily the Royal Marines) an advantage over the Argentinean troops and indirectly led to British victories - primarily Goose Green (late May 1982) and the capture of Port Stanley (first half of June 1982). The war ended in an Argentine defeat, and as a result the British side lost about 1,100 wounded, killed and captured, while the other side - about 13,000 wounded, killed and captured. It was also instrumental in overthrowing the military junta in Argentina and strengthening Margaret Thatcher's political position in the United Kingdom.