Britain is not ready for World War Three and needs to be better prepared for a battle that could see tens of millions of people dead, an outgoing army chief has said.
General Sir Patrick Sanders said the Second World War is like "ancient history" to young people, but the deadly conflict could "happen again".
When asked if the British military was prepared for war, the chief of the general staff said the army is "unquestionably more ready but there is more to do".
Speaking at a D-Day commemoration in Portsmouth, he said a "credible, strong armed forces" is the only option in avoiding a repeat of the past.
General Sir Patrick Sanders said the Second World War is like "ancient history" to young people, but the deadly conflict could "happen again"
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Sanders is believed to have been careful not to say a future conflict with Russia is inevitable, according to sources.
However, his comments will likely aggravate Admiral Sir Tony Radakin - the head of the armed forces - who has tried to downplay the threat facing Britain by saying Russia is not seeking a direct war with Nato.
His comments come as veterans and world leaders joined together to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
"Warfare on this scale, if that’s within living memory, there is every prospect, if you look at the pattern of history, that it could happen again," Sanders told The Times.
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"I think the importance of this [D-Day memorial] event is it’s a reminder that preparedness is absolutely critically important and to do things at this scale, there’s a whole-of-nation effort."
He added that the army is more prepared for war than when he took over two years ago because he had done an "awesome amount to mobilise the army so that we are ready to fight with what we have".
"Just two weeks ago, I was visiting our troops over in Poland. That’s 16,000 British soldiers deployed across ten countries in Europe," he said.
"That is the largest deployment the British Army has done with Nato since the 1980s. So we are unquestionably more ready, but there is more to do."
Speaking at a D-Day commemoration in Portsmouth, he said a "credible, strong armed forces" is the only option in avoiding a repeat of the past
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Last week it was revealed that the size of the army had dropped below the target figure for the first time.
Former senior military sources blame the dip on a poor state of equipment and "desperate cuts" in training.
The Tory Government had planned to slash the army from 82,000 troops to 73,000 by 2025 - the lowest number since the Napoleonic era.
