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A
march battalion is a
battalionA battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
-sized military unit formed of all the rear-echelon units of an infantry regiment. It usually includes all the
taborA tabor is a Moroccan military term used to describe a formation of three or four goums. A goum in this case is equivalent to a Company and a tabor would thereby be equivalent to a Battalion...
s, field kitchen staff, reserve soldiers, military police, commander's reserves, guards, aides, and raw recruits who did not arrive at the
mobilization centreMobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
before the unit to which they were attached left for the front.
Alternatively, the name can be used for all provisional units made up of
companiesA company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
from various battalions for the purpose of giving them a command structure during their march.
Etymology
The name is derived from the fact that such battalions are usually left in the barracks after the regiment has left for the front, and spend some time there to gather all the late-comers and volunteers. Then the unit follows the main force of the regiment, usually by fast, forced march.
History
March battalions were used extensively by many European armies of the 19th and 20th century, most notably British, Polish, German, Austro-Hungarian and French. The nature of modern conflicts, the change from conscript to professional armies, as well as innovations in the field of
logisticsLogistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
, make the march battalion obsolete.