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An army (from Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 Armata "act of arming" via Old French
Old French

Old French was the Romance languages dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300....
 armée), in the broadest sense, is the land-based armed forces
Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors....
 of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 such as an air force
Air force

An air force, also known in some countries as an air army or historically an army air corps , is in the broadest sense, the national armed force or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare....
. Within a national military force, the word Army may also mean a field army
Field army

A Field Army, or Area Army, usually referred to simply as an Army, is a term used by many national military forces for a formation superior to a corps and beneath an army group....
, which is an operational formation, usually made up of one or more corps
Corps

A Corps is either a large formation , or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service....
.

In several countries the army is officially called the land army to differentiate it from an air force
Air force

An air force, also known in some countries as an air army or historically an army air corps , is in the broadest sense, the national armed force or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare....
 called the air army, notably France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
.






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An army (from Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 Armata "act of arming" via Old French
Old French

Old French was the Romance languages dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from around 1000 to 1300....
 armée), in the broadest sense, is the land-based armed forces
Armed forces

The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors....
 of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military
Military

A military is an organization authorized by its nation to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or Threat of force ....
 such as an air force
Air force

An air force, also known in some countries as an air army or historically an army air corps , is in the broadest sense, the national armed force or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare....
. Within a national military force, the word Army may also mean a field army
Field army

A Field Army, or Area Army, usually referred to simply as an Army, is a term used by many national military forces for a formation superior to a corps and beneath an army group....
, which is an operational formation, usually made up of one or more corps
Corps

A Corps is either a large formation , or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service....
.

In several countries the army is officially called the land army to differentiate it from an air force
Air force

An air force, also known in some countries as an air army or historically an army air corps , is in the broadest sense, the national armed force or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare....
 called the air army, notably France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of 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
People's Liberation Army

The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 ? celebrated annually as "PLA Day" ? as the military arm of the Communist Party of China....
 of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 with 2,250,000 active troops and 800,000 reserve personnel
Military reserve force

A military reserve force is a military organization composed of citizens of a country who combine a military role or career with a civilian career....
.

Armies as armed services

Western armies are usually subdivided as follows:
  • Corps
    Corps

    A Corps is either a large formation , or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service....
    : A Corps usually consists of two or more Divisions and is commanded by a Lieutenant General
    Lieutenant General

    Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
    .
  • Division
    Division (military)

    A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
    : Each division is commanded by a Major General
    Major General

    Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier 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 armored unit, some have even more depending upon their functionality. The basic building block of all ground force combat formations is the infantry division. A typical division would hold three infantry brigades.
  • Brigade
    Brigade

    A brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army....
    : A Brigade is under the command of a Brigadier General
    Brigadier General

    Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field....
     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 armor 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
    Battalion

    A battalion is a military unit of around 500-1500 men usually consisting of between two and seven company and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel....
    : Each battalion is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel
    Lieutenant Colonel

    Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the army and most Marine and air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel....
     and has roughly 600 to 900 soldiers under his or her command. This number varies depending on the functionality of the battalion. A battalion comprises either three batteries or four companies - and other arms excluding armoured units that are organised into squadrons each under the command of a major and comprising of individual subunits called sections (which are further divisible into platoons and squads).


Field army

A field army
Field army

A Field Army, or Area Army, usually referred to simply as an Army, is a term used by many national military forces for a formation superior to a corps and beneath an army group....
 is composed of a headquarters, army troops, a variable number of corps
Corps

A Corps is either a large formation , or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service....
, and a variable number of divisions
Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
. 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

Pla Soldiers
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
Army of Northern Virginia

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
. In the British Army
British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
 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 group
Army group

An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area....
s and theaters) are large formations which vary significantly between armed forces in size, composition, and scope of responsibility.

In the Soviet
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 Red Army
Red Army

The Red Army was the armed force first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and, in 1922, became the army of the Soviet Union....
 and the Soviet Air Force
VVS

VVS is a three letter acronym which may refer to:# VVS, Very Very Slightly Included, a way of describing the diamond clarity;# Vulvar Vestibulitis Syndrome, a syndrome of vulvodynia associated with chronic disease;...
, "Armies" were actually corps
Corps

A Corps is either a large formation , or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service....
-sized formations, subordinate to an Army Group
Army group

An army group is a military organization consisting of several field army, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area....
-sized "front
Front (Soviet Army)

A front was a major military organization in the Soviet Army during the Second World War, roughly equivalent to an army group in the militaries of most other countries except Germany....
" in wartime. In peacetime, a Soviet army
Army (Soviet Army)

An army, besides the generalized meanings of ?a country's armed forces? or its ?land forces?, is a type of Military organization#Units, Formations & Commands in militaries of various countries, including the Soviet Union....
 was usually subordinate to a military district
Military district

Military districts are formation s of a state's armed forces which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and in countries with conscript forces, often handle parts of the conscription cycle....
.

See also

  • Military unit
  • War
    War

    ...
  • Military history
    Military history

    Military history is a humanities List of academic disciplines within the scope of History recording of War in the Human history, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing Politics and international relationships....
  • Paramilitary
    Paramilitary

    A paramilitary is a force whose function and organisation are similar to those of a professional military force, but which is not regarded as having the same status....
  • Militia
    Militia

    The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service....
  • Mercenary
    Mercenary

    A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict, who is not a national or a party to the conflict, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or p...
  • List of armies
    List of armies

    The article provides links to lists of armies arranged by ordinal number, name, country or conflict....
  • List of armies by country
    List of armies by country

    The List of Armies around the world by country alphabetically* Afghanistan**Afghan National Army* Albania **Albanian Land Forces Command* Algeria ...
  • List of armies by number
    List of armies by number

    List of armies by numberThis is a list of army arranged by ordinal number.First Army* Australian First Army* British First Army* Canadian First Army...
  • List of countries by size of armed forces
    List of countries by size of armed forces

    This list of countries by size of armed forces displays national troop levels by active troop strength, number of Naval combatants, fighter aircraft and nuclear weapons....
  • List of countries by number of active troops
    List of countries by number of active troops

    This is a list of countries sorted by the total number of active troops where the military manpower of a country is measured by the total number of active troops within the command of that country....
  • List of countries by number of total troops
    List of countries by number of total troops

    This is a list of countries sorted by the number of total troops within the command of that country, including reserve forces that can aid a depleted active military and/or paramilitary....