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| History of the British Isles
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The military history of the peoples of the British Isles is long and varied, extending from the prehistoric and ancient historic period, through the Roman invasions of Julius Caesar and Claudius, with the subsequent Roman occupation of most of the island; warfare in the Middle Ages, including the invasions of the Saxons and the Vikings in the Early Middle Ages, the Norman Conquest of England, wars between Scotland and England and between England and France; through the early modern period, wars against Spain and France, and the English Civil War, and the beginnings of the colonial British Empire in India and North America; and into the modern period with the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War and into the 20th century with the Boer War, World War I and World War II, the Cold War the Korean War; and, most recently, Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and military operations in the Balkans and the Middle East.
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The Auld Alliance refers to a treaty of mutual defence concluded between France and Scotland in October 1295. It was renewed in 1326 in the Treaty of Corbeil and at several points thereafter. It provides for assistance if either of the parties to the treaty is attacked by a third nation. Though no third party nation is named, the treaty was most often invoked against England. In the early 1330s the French king Philip VI offered active military support to his ally during the Second War of Scottish Independence, amongst other things providing a refuge for the infant David II. In 1346 David, who had returned home in 1341, invaded England to take the pressure off the French, recently defeated at the Battle of Crécy, only to be defeated himself at the Battle of Neville's Cross. In 1421, at the Battle of Baugé, French and Scots forces defeated an English army, their first such reverse in open battle during the Hundred Years War. In 1429 Scots came to the aid of Joan of Arc in the relief of Orléans; many went on to form the Garde Écossaise, the bodyguard of the French monarchy. Many Scottish soldiers chose to settle in France, although they continued to consider themselves Scots. In 1513 Louis XII, under threat from Henry VIII, asked James IV to launch a diversionary attack on northern England. James complied, only to meet defeat and death at the Battle of Flodden. The alliance was finally ended by the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. By this time the Scots saw the Catholic French as a greater threat to their liberty than their fellow Protestants in England.
The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance between England (succeeded by the United Kingdom) and Portugal, signed in 1373, is the oldest alliance in the world which is still in force. Many times in history, this alliance has served England (and later Britain). This treaty largely influenced the British involvement in the Iberian Peninsular War. The last time that this treaty affected British history was during the 1982 Falklands War, when the facilities of the Azores were again offered to the British Royal Navy.
The War of the League of Cambrai (1508–16), sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars. The Kingdom of England participated in the alliance of the Holy League against France (1511–13). The Kingdom Scotland briefly took part in the war as an ally of France.
The Triple Alliance of 1668 consisted of England, Sweden, and the Republic of the United Provinces (the Netherlands). It was formed to halt the expansion of Louis XIV's France in the War of Devolution.
The Grand Alliance (known, prior to 1689, as the League of Augsburg) was a European coalition, consisting (at various times) of Austria, Bavaria, Brandenburg, England, the Holy Roman Empire, the Republic of the United Provinces (the Netherlands), the Palatinate of the Rhine, Portugal, Saxony, Spain and Sweden. The league was named the 'Grand Alliance' after England had joined it. The primary reason for the League's creation was to defend the Palatinate from France. This organization fought the War of the Grand Alliance against France from 1688 to 1697.
The Triple Alliance was an agreement between United Kingdom, France and the Republic of the United Provinces (the Netherlands), against Spain.
The Triple Alliance of 1788 was an alliance between Great Britain, Prussia and the Republic of the United Provinces (the Netherlands) against France.
The Anglo-Japanese Alliance was signed in London on 30 January 1902 by Lord Lansdowne (British Foreign Secretary) and Hayashi Tadasu (Japanese minister in London). The alliance was renewed and extended twice, in 1905 and 1911 before its demise in 1921. It officially terminated on 17 August 1923. This alliance helped the British contain Russia and helped the United Kingdom's navy by providing coaling stations and repair facilities.
The Entente Cordiale (French for "friendly understanding") is a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904, between the United Kingdom and France. It resolved differences concerning influence and control in various countries including Egypt, Morocco, Madagascar, Newfoundland, Siam (Thailand), West and Central Africa. The agreement also acknowledged the right of free passage through the Suez Canal. The year after its signing, the UK's sympathetic attitude toward France's position in Morocco helped to ward off a challenge from Germany to the status quo in the North African kingdom (the Tangier Crisis). The agreement also paved the way for the diplomatic and military cooperation that preceded World War I.
The Triple Entente was the alliance formed in 1907 between the United Kingdom, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente. France and the UK had already signed the Entente Cordiale in 1904, and France had signed the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894.
