An ill-equipped Britain must not sleepwalk into another disaster

As we approach Monday’s anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, it is hard to escape the conclusion that today’s Armed Forces are in the same wretched state of unpreparedness as they were on that fateful day in 1914 when Britain declared war on Germany.

The Royal Navy, admittedly, was ready for battle with its fleet of all-powerful dreadnoughts, not least because Winston Churchill, in his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty, had the foresight to ensure the Navy enjoyed supremacy over the Kaiser’s fleet.

But the Army, which bore the brunt of the fighting in the opening exchanges, was overwhelmed by the Germans’ murderous onslaught when the British Expeditionary Force arrived in France.

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