Field force

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A field force in British, Indian Army and Tanzanian military parlance is a combined arms land force operating under actual or assumed combat circumstances, [1] usually for the length of a specific military campaign. It is used by other nations, but can have a different meaning.

Contents

United Kingdom use

A field force would be created from the various units in an area of military operations and be named for the geographical area. Examples are:

Australian use

In Australia, a field force comprises the units required to meet operational commitments. [2]

Canadian use

The Canadian Expeditionary Force was considered as a field force created to participate in World War I.

United States use

In the United States, during the Vietnam War the term came to stand for a corps-sized organization with other functions and responsibilities. To avoid confusion with the corps designations used by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and to allow for a flexible organization, MACV and General William Westmoreland developed the "field force" such as I Field Force and II Field Force. Unlike an Army corps, which had a size and structure fixed by Army doctrine, the field force could expand as needed and had other functions such as liaison with South Vietnamese and civil affairs functions and was flexible enough to have many subordinate units assigned to it. [3]

Police field forces

In counterinsurgency type campaigns, select and specially trained units of police armed and equipped as light infantry have been designated as police field forces who perform paramilitary type patrols and ambushes whilst retaining their police powers in areas that were highly dangerous. [4]

Police Field Forces, Paramilitary and Counter-Insurgency Units

A

Flag of Albania.svg  Albania
Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria

B

Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil

C

Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  People's Republic of China
Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia
Flag of Independent State of Croatia.svg  Independent State of Croatia 1941 - 1945

D

Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark

E

Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia

F

Flag of France (1794-1958).svg  Vichy France

G and H

Flag of The Gambia.svg  Gambia
Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany
Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany

I

Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia
Flag of India.svg  India
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel
Flag of the Italian Social Republic.png  Italian Social Republic

J and K

Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya

L

Flag of Laos (1952-1975).svg  Kingdom of Laos
Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia
Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania

M

Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mandatory Palestine
Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova
Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar

N

Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia
Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway

O and P

Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan
Flag of Peru.svg  Peru
Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines
Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal

Q and R

Flag of Rhodesia (1968-1979).svg  Rhodesia
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia

S

Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands
Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
Flag of South Vietnam.svg  South Vietnam
Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg  South West Africa
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria

T

Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania
Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey

U

Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine

V

Flag of Vatican City (2023-present).svg  Vatican City
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam

W, X and Y

Z

Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe

See also

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References

  1. p.88 Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt and Hayes, Grace P. (1986). Dictionary of Military Terms: A Guide to the Language of Warfare and Military Institutions. The H. W. Wilson Company.
  2. "Diggerhistory3.info".
  3. Eckhard, George S. Vietnam Studies: Command and Control 1950-1969. Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 1991 p. 53. Online http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/Comm-Control/index.htm Archived 2017-10-19 at the Wayback Machine
  4. p.Davies, Bruce & McKay, Gary The Men Who Persevered:The AATTV 2005 Bruce & Unwin