Earlylands in Conversation - Ep. 23 - Brigadier (Ret.) Ben Barry on the Rise and Fall of the British Army

For this episode we turn our attention back to the ever-evolving topic of European security. Rather than focusing on developments in Ukraine, we instead take a detailed look at the troubling state of the British Army, traditionally one of Europe’s most capable fighting forces and also one that is likely to play a leading role in any European stabilization force in Ukraine.

Our guest today is Brigadier Ben Barry, a retired British Army officer who published last year The Rise and Fall of the British Army, 1975–2025. Noted military history Allan Mallinson in reviewing the book called it “an impressively detailed chronicle by an analyst well up to the task. Read it and weep.”

Following a 35-year career in the British Army, Ben since 2010 has been a fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London and is the author of a number of highly praised books looking at British Army operations in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Ben is also a visiting professor at the Department of War Studies at King's College London.   

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Books Mentioned In the Podcast

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

Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe's Triumph

Peter Elstop, Warriors for the Working Day

Barney Campbell, Rain

Harry Parker, Anatomy of a Soldier