In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Major General Andrew Ritchie added that troops have suffered a loss of morale because of public opposition to the war and because of legal action against soldiers and officers accused of human rights abuses.

Recruitment has suffered as mothers in particular resist having their sons and daughters sent on a mission that is both dangerous and unpopular, said Ritchie, who retired as commandant of Sandhurst in April.

"There is a mum factor. Mums find Iraq deeply unpopular -- they are concerned that their youngsters will be exposed to real risk and danger," Ritchie told the newspaper.

"That worries them. And mums are hugely influential in boys and girls joining the army," he said.

Although Britain's Ministry of Defence expects to meet 85 percent of its recruitment needs for 2005-2006, the shortfall last year rose by more than 300 percent, leaving more than 2,000 vacancies, the newspaper reported.

More women than men oppose the war in Iraq, according to opinion polls.

General Ritchie said he remains a supporter of the US-led invasion of Iraq that overthrew Saddam Hussein.

"It was a pernicious regime. Iraq is a better place now," he told the newspaper, though he admitted that some areas have become a "cauldron" in which conditions are harder than anything the army has faced for a generation.

"As a coalition, we were not as prepared as we might have been for the post-conflict situation," he was quoted as saying.

The British Broadcasting Corporation reported on May 28 that at least 1,000 troops have deserted Britain's armed forces since the US-led war was launched in Iraq three years ago.

Saying the report was not true, Britain's defence ministry said it knew of only "a handful of deserters since 1989".