Welcome to the MedLibrary.org Wikipedia Supplement on Armies -- Please Click to Return to Front Page

This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. WikiProject Military history or the Military history Portal may be able to help recruit one. If a more appropriate WikiProject or portal exists, please adjust this template accordingly. (November 2008)

Map of the world of the army forms      No armed forces      No conscription      Plan to abolish conscription within 3 years      Conscription      No information

An army (from Latin Armata "act of arming" via Old French armée), in the broadest sense, is the land-based armed forces of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military such as an air force. Within a national military force, the word Army may also mean a field army, which is an operational formation, usually made up of one or more corps.

In several countries the army is officially called the land army to differentiate it from an air force called the air army, notably France. In such countries, the word "army" on its own retains its connotation of a land force in common usage. The current largest army in the world by number of active troops is the People's Liberation Army of China with 2,250,000 active troops and 800,000 reserve personnel.

Armies as armed services

Western armies are usually subdivided as follows:

• Corps: A Corps usually consists of two or more Divisions and is commanded by a Lieutenant General.
• Division: Each division is commanded by a Major General, and usually holds three Brigades including infantry, artillery, engineers and communications units in addition to logistics (supply and service) support to sustain independent action. Except for the Divisions operating in the mountains, all the Divisions have at least one armoured unit, some have even more depending upon their functionality. The most major of all ground force combat formations is the infantry division. Such a division would primarily hold three infantry brigades.
• Brigade: A Brigade is under the command of a Brigadier and comprises three or more Battalions of different units depending on its functionality. An independent brigade would be one that primarily consists of an artillery unit, an infantry unit, an armour unit and logistics to support its actions. Such a brigade is not part of any division and is under direct command of a corps.
• Battalion: Each battalion is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel and has roughly 600 to 900 soldiers under his command. This number varies depending on the functionality of the battalion. A battalion comprises either three batteries or four companies - and other arms excluding armored units that are organized into squadrons each under the command of a major and comprising of individual subunits called sections (which are further divisible into platoons and squads).¹

Field army

A field army is composed of a headquarters, army troops, a variable number of corps, and a variable number of divisions. A battle is influenced at the Field Army level by transferring divisions and reinforcements from one corps to another to increase the pressure on the enemy at a critical point. Field armies are controlled by a General or Lieutenant General.

Formations

People's Liberation Army in dress uniform. This is currently the largest army in the world by number of active soldiers.

German Army soldiers in Bosnia

Standard map symbol for a numbered Army, the 'X's are not substituting the army's number

A particular army can be named or numbered to distinguish it from military land forces in general. For example, the First United States Army and the Army of Northern Virginia. In the British Army it is normal to spell out the ordinal number of an army (e.g. First Army), whereas lower formations use figures (e.g. 1st Division).

Armies (as well as army groups and theaters) are large formations which vary significantly between armed forces in size, composition, and scope of responsibility.

In the Soviet Red Army and the Soviet Air Force, "Armies" were actually corps-sized formations, subordinate to an Army Group-sized "front" in wartime. In peacetime, a Soviet army was usually subordinate to a military district.

References

1. ^ "" Subdivisions of the army"". Retrieved on 2007-01-21.

See also

• Military unit
• War
• Military history
• Paramilitary
• Militia
• Mercenary
• List of armies
• List of armies by country
• List of armies by number
• List of countries by size of armed forces
• List of countries by number of active troops
• List of countries by number of total troops

This military-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Wikipedia content modification information:

• This page was last modified on 21 November 2008, at 11:20.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Armies".

The URL for this specific entry is:

• http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Armies

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.