Q&A: Why not integrate the British and French armies

Should the British Army integrate with France in the way Dutch formations work with the German Army?

No. On that model, British and French institutional habits could reinforce the same outdated continental-war assumptions instead of producing complementary roles.

The suggestion compares British-French cooperation with the integration of Dutch formations into the German Army. The analogy is rejected because both the British and French armies are portrayed as prone to planning for another Second World War-style campaign in Germany. Combining them without first changing that institutional habit could amplify duplication rather than create a complementary NATO capability. This is a contemporary judgment about service culture and doctrine, rather than an argument against all practical cooperation between the two countries.