UK army combat units 40% below strength as recruitment plummets

Exclusive: Defence secretary Ben Wallace urged to turn ‘shocking trend’ around as matter of urgency. Britain faces an army recruitment crisis, with frontline combat units operating as much as 40% below strength, figures obtained by the Guardian reveal. Data released by the Ministry of Defence under freedom of information laws shows the number of soldiers in the British army’s infantry regiments has declined steadily over the past five years. There are more than 2,500 fewer pers