Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who used to lead the American army in Europe, made the revelation during a Commons select committee appearance. UK troops had been taking part in a “realistic” combat exercise, along with US and French forces.

       However, according to Lieutenant General Hodges, soldiers from the British 3rd Division exhausted their ammunition supply.

       Addressing the defence select committee, he said: “In about eight days of exercises, every bit of important ammunition was expended in the entire British Army's inventory.”

       The incident took place during the Warfighter exercise, which concluded in May.

       The UK contributed 1,300 troops to the exercise, which involved over 17,000 soldiers and military advisors in total.

       The British contingent came from the 3rd Division and 7th Infantry Brigade, which were deployed to Fort Hood and Fort Bliss in Texas.

       General James McConville, US army chief of staff, said the exercise had been “quite an achievement” overall.

       He commented: “This is one of the largest exercises we’ve ever done of this type in the United States, and we had two countries coming to the U.S. during this challenging period.

       “I’m very proud of what they did. They overcame some significant obstacles to include COVID and because of their untiring efforts they were able to produce a world class exercise that makes us a stronger Army, and quite frankly makes us a stronger ally and partner with two very important partners and allies.”

       READ MORE: Sturgeon faces backlash in Scotland as 'shocking' Covid decision-making backfires

       This view was supported by Brigadier Paul Tennant, who visited the US as part of the British contingent.

       He said: “It was hugely successful, testament not only to the enormous skill and energy of the divisional headquarters, but also to the cumulative value of successive iterations of the exercise.

       “Its benefits are felt most immediately in the reputational enhancement both to the British Army and the UK more broadly.

       “In turn, its success feeds directly into the credibility of our respective armed forces and their deterrent effect.”

       DON'T MISS

       Why have British troops pulled out of Afghanistan? [REVEAL]

       Terrifying footage show Taliban with brand new US weapons and vehicles [HORROR]

       British army uses AI for first time in impressive live drill [INSIGHT]

       During his select committee appearance, Lieutenant General Hodges also discussed the military threat to Europe from Russia.

       In April, Moscow massed an estimated 100,000 troops along its border with Ukraine.

       Conflict has been taking place in eastern Ukraine since 2014, when pro-Russia separatists launched uprisings.

       Referring to the Russian build-up, Lieutenant General Hodges said: “You have to be able to match that to be able to deter it.”

       In 2014, after a pro-Moscow government was overthrown in Kiev, Russian troops seized and annexed Crimea.

       Pro-Russia insurrections took place in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, leading to independence declarations from rebels in both regions.

       However, neither have been accepted by the international community, which continue to regard Donetsk and Luhansk as sovereign Ukrainian territory.

       Last month, warning shots were fired when Russian forces ordered HMS Defender to leave waters off Crimea.

       The Ministry of Defence said the warship was “conducting innocent passage through Ukrainian territorial waters in accordance with international law”.

       The confrontation took place off the coast of Crimea’s Cape Fiolent, in the Black Sea.