The first set of Articles of War for the British Army were written under William III, taking the place of the medieval Rules and Ordinances of War, a list of regulations issued by the king at the beginning of every expedition or campaign.
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The naval Articles of War were originally issued by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty in 1653 as fighting instructions after defeat at the Battle of Dungeness.
The United Kingdom's arrangements for justice in the armed forces dates back many centuries to the Articles of War.
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The phrase was used as a charge in courts martial of the British Army in the 18th and early 19th centuries, although it was not defined as a specific offence in the Articles of War.
The Articles of War were superseded in 1951 by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).