British troops will be outmanned in any future war and enemy forces will also have better technology, the former head of the Army has said.
General Sir Patrick Sanders said modernisation would take time that was in “short supply” as the Army seeks to become more lethal.
He also said British troops had found themselves in a similar position in previous conflicts and declared: “We have always fought with our backs to the wall. This is who we are.”
He made the comments, which were first reported by The Times, to officer cadets at Sandhurst Military Academy on Friday.
The general has repeatedly warned of the dangers of an expansionist Russia.
Earlier this year he said Britain needed to “train and equip” a citizen army and boost troop numbers in comments which prompted Rishi Sunak, the then-prime minister, to rule out the return of conscription.
He told the officer cadets: “When I took over as CGS [chief of the general staff] I raised my head above the parapet, describing a 1937 moment, calling for mobilisation. What was controversial then is now no longer in dispute.
“Confronted by an implacably hostile and expansionist Russia, which is aligned with and supported by an axis of nuclear-armed autocracies, all actuated by ‘might is right’, you join the profession of arms at a watershed moment and an army that is more relevant than at any time in my career.
“So if you fight, and my experience has been that you will, sooner or later, it will likely be as the British Army always has: isolated, over-matched in numbers, equipment and technology, with tenuous supply lines and before the country has mobilised.”
Sir Patrick Sanders made the comments to officer cadets at Sandhurst Military Academy – Sgt Jimmy Wise
He went on to say the British army had a “gilded reputation for military prowess based on an extraordinary record of success” despite these conditions.
He added: “Our country is proud of us and our adversaries and allies respect us,” he said, adding this was because of the army’s adaptability, fighting spirit and leadership.
He also branded claims new recruits were part of a woke generation are “nonsense.”
Sanders was succeeded by General Sir Roly Walker, who went on to warn in July that Britain must be ready to fight a war in three years.
In October John Healey, the defence secretary, said Britain was not ready to fight a war while earlier this month Alistair Carns, the veterans minister, said the whole British Army would be wiped out within six months to a year of a war with Russia.
Ministers have announced a strategic defence review but it is unclear whether troop numbers will be boosted.
A government spokeswoman told the Times: “This government will always do what it takes to defend this country with threats increasing, the world becoming more volatile and technology changing the nature of warfare.”
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