The British regular Army will be cut to its smallest size in over a century after 2015, British Defense Secretary Liam Fox announced July 18, saying the Army will lay off 10,000 soldiers. This is on top of the 7,000 troops that the Strategic Defense and Security Review (sdsr) has announced will be cut, meaning the Army will shrink from 101,000 to 84,000 by 2020.

The Treasury has promised that in return, it will give the armed forces more money to spend on equipment after 2013. The government will also channel more money to the reserve forces, making them better equipped and better paid. They will also be expected to fight more often.

“This definitely amounts to a major capability cut for the Army,” the Financial Times quoted a senior Whitehall source as saying. “The plans to boost the Territorial Army might compensate a bit. But people will still be very worried about the equipment the Army will have because cutbacks in recent times have been so huge.”

“The sdsr has failed to deliver a fit and balanced solution for how UK armed forces should be configured in 2020,” he said.

“Liam Fox will use the reserves review to put a brave strategic face on the Army cuts, arguing that a more effective and more deployable TA will more than compensate,” writes Matt Cavanagh in the Spectator. “But the fact remains that once again it is money, rather than strategy, which is really driving the decisions. Reserves are far cheaper than regulars, and neither ministers nor officials have been able to find another way of making the sums add up.”

These cuts will leave Britain with less international influence and more reliant on its European allies. It is also a warning to America: Government debt leads to military cuts. For more information on Britain’s dangerous position, see our article “The Aircraft Carrier That Had No Planes.”