Wavell Room Audio Reads

You may have thought that another book on Arnhem was not necessary or that it could not possibly tell you anything you did not already know about this iconic battle from World War Two. However, Gary Buck's new book, A Risk Too Far, takes a new and novel approach to the subject that has you reappraising the commonly held views and your own long-held conceptions.Whilst past commentators have been...

The recent Defence Committee report, Defence in the Grey Zone, brings renewed focus to the challenge of hostile activity below the threshold of conventional war. The term 'Grey Zone' suggests a novel ambiguity, a modern strategic dilemma born of new technologies; this ambiguous environment challenges not only our strategic doctrines but also our classical ethical frameworks for conflict. However,...

Aligned to His Majesty's Government (HMG) priorities of curtailing irregular migration and associated connections to human trafficking from Albania, efforts to address the drivers of migration and organised crime at source are underway. The British Army's ongoing specialist survey work in Albania's Kukës Subterranean Complex (KSC) may lead to livelihood creation, mitigating some of the risk...

This brief presents a strategic imperative. The development of the IMF is consistently bound by a very complex set of messaging - not just within the MoD but also across its supplier base - whereby interlinking technology, organisational and institutional change is hindering scalability across 'The Stack'.Increasingly, the three components of technology, people, and change need to be brought...

In the not-so-distant future, a U.S. military commander in the Indo-Pacific could be forced to fight two major wars at once - one against a Chinese assault on Taiwan, the other against a North Korean attack on the Korean Peninsula. This dual-front crisis scenario, long considered unlikely, is now routinely modeled in wargames and quietly debated in high-level policy circles.Yet the United States...

The rapid advancement of military technology continues to transform the operational landscape of modern warfare. Cavalry operations (CavOps), traditionally focused on reconnaissance and rapid manoeuvre, now increasingly rely on sophisticated sensor systems and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to maintain battlefield superiority.This article explores the integration of the Observation Targeting and...

IntroductionLike many of us, I love listening to our veterans' tales, exploits and adventures. They regale stories from their long careers, dits about the changes in warfare and the disruptions following the digital transformation of our armed forces. Suddenly, I feel my age as they talk about some of the equipment I worked on, but in the past tense. As I reflect on this, I think that maybe the...

The British Army faces a pivotal moment as it navigates the evolving demands of modern warfare within the framework of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) expected in spring 2025. The SDR places NATO at the core of the UK's defence posture, requiring the Army to maintain credible, deployable forces capable of deterring peer adversaries, particularly in high-threat regions like the High North and...

The four-day India-Pakistan military crisis showcased a real-world glimpse of how near-peer militaries will face each other on the future battlefield. This high-tech military showdown was of immense significance for the People Liberation Army (PLA), which has been monitoring the global conflicts, Russia-Ukraine war, Nagorno-Karabakh and Syrian civil war, to draw operational lessons, adaptation...

I first discussed Lawrence of Arabia by Ranulph Fiennes over an evening mezze in Jordan with a senior civil servant. With myself stationed in Jordan - Lawrence's old backyard - and him working on Middle Eastern defence policy from the UK, we find ourselves, somewhat sheepishly, admitting a shared disappointment. We both expected more. What we encountered was a curious blend of personal memoir,...