General Sir Michael Walker, Chief of the Defence Staff, writing in The Times today, says that while the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force are capable of handling one large-scale operation and a secondary peacekeeping role, any further commitments would be untenable.

With all three Armed Forces facing cuts in manpower and equipment, the magnitude of the reductions announced by the Government yesterday was even larger than had been predicted.

A total of 20,000 men and women will have to go, 10,500 of them from the three Armed Forces, the remainder from the Civil Service, Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, told the Commons.

Warships, aircraft, tanks, artillery and other equipment are also being axed in the most savage cuts since the Options for Change cuts announced by the Conservatives in 1990.

General Sir Mike Jackson, Chief of the General Staff, who gave details of plans to cut four infantry battalions and to merge some regiments into larger formations, acknowledged: “I am acutely aware that this will be sad and unwelcome news for at least some of the infantry.”

Admiral Sir Alan West, the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, who is to lose 12 warships from his fleet and 1,500 personnel, said: “I do not instinctively welcome the early disposal of good ships and these have been most difficult questions.”

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of the Air Staff, whose force is to be cut by 7,500, said: “The RAF has a proud tradition and an enviable record of operational success. We will not compromise these.”

General Walker writes in The Times that he and his fellow Service chiefs were “satisfied” that they had the resources to carry out the roles set by the Government. However, he says that this depends on “our operational commitments” remaining broadly within the agreed limits — one large-scale operation and one long-term smaller peacekeeping mission.

The scale of the changes and cuts announced by Mr Hoon could not be accomplished “without some disruption and some will lose their jobs”.

The hardest task yesterday fell to General Jackson, who had to explain to the men and women serving under him why he was changing the whole structure of the Army, and why many of the infantry battalions now face merging into new larger formations.

Despite speculation that famous regiments such as the Black Watch, the Royal Scots and the Duke of Wellington’s might be axed, General Jackson insisted that under his proposals, none of the battalions would lose their historic and traditional identities.

“The Black Watch is not about to go marching off into the sunset,” he said. However, 19 regiments which have only one battalion to their name face the likelihood of being merged into grander regimental families, based on regions.

General Jackson said that the exact formula for the new structure had yet to be worked out. Regiments would be told in the autumn. He promised to do his best to preserve the identities of famous regiments.

The only details he gave were that four battalions had to go, to reduce the Army to 102,000 soldiers, one of which would have to come from the Scottish Division, and three from the King’s and Prince of Wales’s Division in England.

General Jackson said that the restructuring would bring greater stability for servicemen and their families, as each regiment would have two or three battalions and would be given a permanent location and a set role.

Instead of retraining every two or three years for a new mission, the larger regiments with their multiple battalions would stick to single roles. Soldiers within the regiments would be able to swap around between the battalions if they wanted a change of job.

General Jackson said that families would benefit from the new-look Army, which will come into effect within four years, because they would be able to stay in one place, settle down in a home and send their children to schools without having to “upstick” every few years.

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