Invisible Army Winning the War

This according to the BBC:

There was a time when British military might or capability was measured in terms of battleships. This practice was triggered exactly 100 years ago, with the launch of the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought.

Kember was held for 117 daysEverything about Dreadnought was new: the steam turbines which gave her an unprecedented 21 knots; the 12-inch guns twin-mounted in revolving turrets; even the speed with which she was completed.
Launched by Edward VII in February 1906 and ready for trials that October, Dreadnought represented the cutting edge in naval technology, so much so that every nation wanted several and a dreadnought race began.
Earlier vessels became known as pre-dreadnoughts and decades later, the American big-gun battleships that operated in the first Gulf War in 1991 were still known as dreadnoughts.
Today, military might is not measured in battleships or submarines, carriers, tanks, aircraft or missiles, although silhouettes of all of these have featured at some time in books comparing the world's armed forces.

We have moved on to measuring strength in terms of capability. The key capability that Britain possesses at the dawn of the 21st Century, and which absorbs a huge proportion of the annual military budget, is the UK's Special Forces.

Excellent article on these shadowy figures!