"Brits have Rangers again" Topic

Britain forming a Ranger Regiment:

link

Already in progress

TMP link

The link to the Nov. 26th topic discusses the parent organization, not the Ranger Regiment.

Rick

Yes and the badge bearing a passing resemblance to that of the Selous Scouts has caused howls of outrage and fury on a slow news day. At least it's not a Celtic regiment. 🤣

So these forces will be light Infantry with some support I take it ?

Challenger Three?
Sounds like the production line does this or gets mothballed.
120mm smoothbore?
Are they adopting the long rheinmetal after forty years?

Boxer instaed of Warrior,,,that is new to me.

Four battalion Ranger regiment.
Couldm't have just called it Commando Brigade could they?

Teir two means conventional like the US Rangers, but they also want the ability to use them as trainers for foreign troops/forces like the Green Beret role too.

Teir two means conventional like the US Rangers, but they also want the ability to use them as trainers for foreign troops/forces like the Green Beret role too.

Well if they do have those capabilities, they will be Spec Ops troops …

This is so depressing.

Combat Readiness comes down to … "No Bucks .. No Buck Rogers …"

indeed Rangers "again" but taking the US modern military meaning in the name of the western world's taste of raising Special Forces Commandos Warfare styled-units while such title existed in the British Army for several old disbanded regiments such as Connaught Rangers and Royal Irish Rangers and others Yeomanry & Territorial corps

According to the British Army, the Ranger Regiment's name comes from an 18th Century unit that saw action in North America, using "irregular tactics".

The first Ranger groupings fought in the French and Indian War, between 1754 and 1763, including the unit of Robert Rogers, who wrote '28 Rules of Ranging'.

These early units specialised in "unconventional warfare", such as forest ranging, and environments usually inaccessible to other forces, as well as carrying out reconnaissance roles.

Rangers were also used by both sides during the American War of Independence, with Robert Rogers' unit eventually evolving into a British Army regiment, the Queen's Rangers.

Following that conflict and loss of the North American colonies, the British Army was without a suitable environment to employ a ranger unit, and the ranging capability ceased to exist in the same way.

According to the Army, regiments which incorporated the 'Ranger' name over the following decades included: Central London Rangers, The Connaught Rangers, The Royal Irish Rangers, and The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry.

contrary to what suggests the penultimate statement the name survived for many others corps after 1783 and before these last 4 of the 20th century such as in the Napoleonic Wars the Royal York Rangers, Royal West India Rangers and Corsican Rangers, as well as in the Yeomanry Cavalry and Militia of that time existed at least 11 further 'Rangers' corps Coquetdale, Galloway, Cumberland, Oswestry, Norfolk, Newburgh…

Of course, the US Army Rangers draw part of their linage from Roger's Rangers who fought for the Crown during the French & Indian War.

But later during the AWI, Roger also supported the Crown. IIRC, he offered his services to the Washington's American forces, but was denied. So he stayed "loyal" to the King!

The US Army somewhat modeled our Rangers after the UK Commandoes. Today's Army Rangers wear the Tan Beret similar to the UK's SAS. They wore a black beret but switched to "SAS" Tan when the entire US Army started to wear the Black Beret.

Note our US Special Forces, the vaunted "Green Berets" took their green beret based on the UK WWII Commandoes' green berets.

So even though the USA is no longer under "the Crown". We still take some of our military customs, etc., from the UK …

Roger's 'Rangers' were so-called because like the keepers of royal forests, they 'ranged' the backwoods beyond the colonial frontier. Their role,however, was to protect the King's subjects rather than his game. The name of the German jäger had a similar origin. This role was perpetuated by the Queen's Rangers formed on the model of Roger's original companies in the early stages of the AWI. Ironically their role, fighting in league with German jagers contracted to fight for the Crown forces in America, had ceased to be protective of the king's subjects in the colonies but instead to chastise and force the rebel faction back into loyalty (YMMV). With the end of the war and the loss of the 13 Colonies, the role of the ranger in British service effectively ended.

When new units bearing the name 'ranger' were formed in the next generation, some might genuinely have fulfilled the role of scouts and skirmishers or otherwise as light troops in general, but others did not. The term 'ranger' had acquired a kudos separate from its original meaning and was adopted simply as a snappy title to aid recruiting and promote esprit de corps, as in the case of the Connaught Rangers and the various local units cited.

The same was true of the Royal Irish Rangers formed in 1968- a fine snappy title for a regiment uniting the surviving Irish regiments in the regular army by drawing on the tradition of the Connaught Rangers, reputedly the most Irish of Irish regiments but, ironically, disbanded nigh 50 years previously in 1922. Ironically too, of the three regiments forming the Royal Irish Rangers, only one- the Royal Ulster Rifles- could claim a 'light infantry' tradition (albeit short lived and somewhat token) while the other two were Fusiliers. To be sure, the Royal Irish Rangers (1968-1992) did not range the forests any more than any other British infantry regiment.

In American- i.e. US- service we see the frontier protection role resumed by the Texas Rangers and the US Rangers, precursor of the US Dragoons and US Cavalry, who also evolved as a frontier protection force.

As for the UK Ranger Regiment/ Brigade of 2021, we shall have to wait to see what part forest or frontier plays in their remit.

Roger's 'Rangers' were so-called because like the keepers of royal forests, they 'ranged' the backwoods beyond the colonial frontier.

Yes, they operated deep in forests and closed terrain not normally entered or traversed but many standard line troops. Roger's Rangers, use tactics & technique learned/borrowed, etc., from & similar to the indigenous peoples. We used to call the American Indian*.

We still use some versions of those techniques, etc., today. And is in the US ARMY Ranger Handbook, etc., (well it used to be?) The US ARMY Ranger Rgt, draws part of it's linage today from the LRRPs used in Vietnam and before that in WWII with the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) i.e. Merrill's Marauders. link And again from Roger's Rangers in the French & Indian War*.

In American- i.e. US- service we see the frontier protection role resumed by the Texas Rangers and the US Rangers, precursor of the US Dragoons and US Cavalry, who also evolved as a frontier protection force.

Yes, I believe you are correct. And again the US ARMY did not have "Rangers" until WWII. The US Rangers today are elite Light Airborne Infantry/Commandoes.

as with the British Army, the Americans had also raised many others 'Rangers' Corps than the very limited famous cases mentionned here since 1783
during the ACW the Confederate States had all a great number of 'Rangers' and 'Partisan Rangers' Cavalry or Infantry Regiments or Battalions,
the title is very less common in the Union Army only some states had 'rangers" units as for 4 New York Infantry Regiments

To what extent were the Confederate 'rangers,' rangers in fact. I can think of Mosby's unit. Was 'rangers' principally a synonym for 'raiders' operating in border counties and acting against enemy LoC?

The term "RANGER" has been used rather loosely thru out history. In many cases …