List of oldest military units and formations in continuous operation

While modern standing armies were first developed in the 15th century, the defining terminology for contemporary military units and formations, such as company, battalion, regiment etc. mostly arose in the early modern period, during the 16th and 17th centuries.^{[ citation needed ]}

Only units that are still extant are included, while contemporary refoundings of older units are excluded.

Oldest active military units still in operation

Start of continuous operation	Heraldry	Name	Founder	Founding location	Current location	Notes	Ref.
1248		Infantry Regiment "Inmemorial del Rey" No. 1	Ferdinand III of Castile	Crown of Castile	Madrid, Spain	It was one of the first standing units in Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, remaining in the order of battle of the Castilian and Spanish armies since its creation. At present the Regiment is the Unit responsible for providing the central seat of Spanish Army Headquarters security, services, and support needed for its functioning.[ third-party source needed ]	[1] [2] [ better source needed ]
1317		Portuguese Navy	Denis of Portugal	Kingdom of Portugal	Lisbon, Portugal	The oldest continuously serving navy in the world, founded on February 1, 1317, when King Denis of Portugal appointed Manuel Pessanha to serve as the Admiral of Portugal.	[3] [4]
1327		Donanma-yı Humâyûn	Kara Mürsel Alp, commander of Orhan I	Ottoman Empire	Ankara, Turkey	Founded by inspirations from Karesids' fleet in 1321 and formalized in 1327 at today's Karamürsel, the very location later named after its founder. Modern Turkish Navy considers 1081 as the year of foundation taking Tzachas' fleet as first naval pioneers of the Turkish beyliks. Reformed from time to time until 1922, only to be overtaken by Turkish Armed Forces.	[5] [6]
1363		Kapıkulu Teşkilâtı	Murad I	Ottoman Empire	Ankara, Turkey		[7] [8]
1479		1st Infantry Regiment	King Louis XI	Kingdom of France	Sarrebourg, France	Founded in 1479-1480 by King Louis XI as Bandes de Picardie. It became the Légion de Picardie in 1558 during the Italian War of 1551–1559 and then Régiment de Picardie on May 29, 1569. It was ultimately renamed 1er régiment d'infanterie de ligne in 1791 after the military reforms of Louis Le Bègue Duportail. It is now part of the Franco-German Brigade (French units of the brigade are part of 1st Division) and was recently deployed in Afghanistan, Mali, and the Central African Republic.[ third-party source needed ]	[9]
1485		Yeomen of the Guard	King Henry VII	Kingdom of England	St. James's Palace, London, United Kingdom	The King's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a bodyguard of the British Monarch. The oldest British military corps still in existence, it was created by King Henry VII in 1485 after the Battle of Bosworth Field. The Yeomen today are purely ceremonial, and perform ceremonial and royal duties at State Opening of Parliament, The Most Noble Order of the Garter, Maundy Service, Royal Garden Parties, Investitures, Coronations, plus other events such as Royal Weddings and Royal Funerals, Epiphany, State Visits and Diplomatic Receptions. They are all based and administered from St James's Palace.	[10]
1488		Royal Netherlands Navy	Maximilian I	Burgundian Netherlands	Kingdom of the Netherlands	Maximilian I issues a Statute of Admiralty in 1488, laying the foundations for the current Royal Netherlands Navy.	[11] [12] [13]
1509		Infantry Regiment "Soria" No. 9	Ferdinand II of Aragon	Kingdom of Naples	Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain	Founded in 1509 as "Tercio of Napoli" or "Tercio de Zamudio". It is the second oldest regiment still used for overseas military operations.	[14] [15]
1521		Life Guards	King Gustav Vasa	Sweden	Kungsängen	Founded in 1521 as the Royal bodyguards to Gustav Vasa	[16]
1534		Tercio Viejo de Sicilia	Charles I of Sicily	Kingdom of Sicily	San Sebastián and Irun, Kingdom of Spain	Founded in 1534 to control the possessions the Kings of Sicily who at that time resided abroad, the tercio participated in numerous battles including the battle of Lepanto. In recent years, its units have participated in international missions in Bosnia Herzegovina, Lebanon, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.	[17]
1537		Spanish Navy Marines	Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor		San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain	Founded on 27 February 1537 when Old Sea Companies of Naples were permanently assigned to Mediterranean Galley Squadrons.[ citation needed ]
1537		Honourable Artillery Company	King Henry VIII	Kingdom of England	City of London, United Kingdom	Incorporated by Royal Charter in August 1537 by King Henry VIII as the Fraternity or Guild of Artillery of Longbows, Crossbows and Handguns. Fought with distinction in both World Wars. The oldest surviving regiment in the British Army (now part of the Army Reserve).	[18]
1556		2nd Dragoon Regiment	Louis I, Prince of Condé	Kingdom of France	France	Despite the recent formation of the regiment in its current configuration, it is the oldest French cavalry regiment, dating back to 1556. The French Revolution gave it the designation of the second regiment of dragoons in the French Army, and with brief interruptions it has served under this name in successive French armies ever since. It is the French Army NBC Defense Unit. Still in Service.	[19]
1614		Guard Hussar Regiment	King Christian IV	Denmark	Denmark	Unit amalgamated with and perpetuates Zealand Life Regiment, which was disbanded on 1 January 2001	[20]
1624		Skaraborg Regiment	King Gustav II Adolf	Swedish Empire	Sweden	The regiment traces its origins to the 16th century and a grand regiment formed in 1613 which was split into the Skaraborg Regiment and the now disbanded Älvsborg Regiment and Västgöta-Dal Regiment in the early 1620’s.	[21]
1625		Dalarna Regiment	King Gustav II Adolf	Swedish Empire	Sweden	Current formation from 2021; traces its origins to fänikor raised in 1542 and became part of a grand regiment, Uppland Grand Regiment, formed in 1615 but became a separate regiment in 1625.	[22]
1626		Pori Brigade	King Gustav II Adolf	Swedish Empire	Finland	On 16 February 1626, King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden founded the Royal Pori Regiment during the Thirty Years' War. The regiment served in most wars of the great power era of Sweden, and was destroyed and reformed several times during the Great Northern War.	[23] [24]
1636		181st Infantry Regiment		Massachusetts Bay Colony	Massachusetts (United States)	Part of the Massachusetts National Guard	[25] [26]
1636		182nd Infantry Regiment		Massachusetts Bay Colony	Massachusetts (United States)	Part of the Massachusetts National Guard	[25]
1636		101st Field Artillery Regiment		Massachusetts Bay Colony	Massachusetts (United States)	Oldest field artillery unit in the United States Army and Massachusetts National Guard. The 101st FA was an infantry unit until 1897.	[27]
1642		Scots Guards (third regiment of foot guards)	King Charles I	Kingdom of Scotland	United Kingdom	Raised in 1642 to form a personal body guard to King Charles I when he campaigned in Ireland; became part of English Army in 1661	[28]
1646		Norrland Dragoon Regiment	Queen Christina	Swedish Empire	Sweden	The regiment traces its origins to the Ångermanland, Medelpad and Jämtland Regiment raised in 1646, renamed Jämtland Dragoon Regiment in 1689 but with only one semi-separate company of cavalry which was later reorganized as a regiment. It received its current name in 1892.	[29]
1648		Danish Artillery Regiment		Denmark	Denmark	Current formation from 2019; traces origins back to 1648.	[30]
1650		Coldstream Guards	George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle	Commonwealth of England	United Kingdom	Raised in 1650; became part of the English Army in 1661.	[31]
1656		Grenadier Guards	Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth, John Russell	Commonwealth of England	United Kingdom	Senior Regiment of the Guards Division	[32]
1656		5th Dragoon Regiment	King Louis XIV	Kingdom of France	France	A cavalry regiment of the French Army, created under the Ancien Régime in 1656	[33]
1658		Royal Life Guards	King Frederick III	Denmark	Denmark	Both a Guard/Ceremonial unit of the Danish Monarch and Infantry Regiment of the Danish Army	[34]
1659		1st Regiment "Granatieri di Sardegna"	Duke Carlo Emanuele II di Savoia	Duchy of Savoy	Italy	Formed April 18, 1659 as the "Reggimento delle Guardie"	[35]
1664		Royal Marines	King James II	Kingdom of England	United Kingdom	Now roughly small brigade size.	[36]
1665		Korps Mariniers	Johan de Witt and admiral Michiel de Ruyter	Dutch Republic	Kingdom of the Netherlands	The Korps Mariniers was raised as the Regiment de marine during the second Anglo-Dutch War. Today it is roughly 3 battalions strong.	[37]
1670		Jämtland Ranger Corps	King Charles XI	Swedish Empire	Sweden	Current formation from 2021; the Jämtland Ranger Corps shares its origin in the Ångermanland, Medelpad and Jämtland regiment with the Norrland Dragoon Regiment.	[38]
1670		Jutland Dragoon Regiment	Field marshal Ernst Albrecht von Eberstein	Denmark	Denmark		[39]
1670		South Carolina State Guard		Province of South Carolina	South Carolina (United States)	Founded in 1670 as the Charleston Militia. Served in Revolutionary War, War with Mexico, Spanish-American War. Later "South Carolina State Defense Force" (c. 1941), renamed "South Carolina State Guard" (1944).	[40]
1716		Corps of Royal Engineers	Board of Ordnance	Kingdom of Great Britain	United Kingdom	Formed by the Board of Ordnance in 1716, can trace their origins back to the military engineers brought to England by William the Conqueror.	[41]
1741		211th Military Police Battalion		Massachusetts Bay Colony	Massachusetts (United States)	Part of the Massachusetts National Guard	[42]
1742		116th Infantry Regiment (United States)		Colony of Virginia	Virginia (United States)	Oldest unit in continuous operation in the Virginia National Guard. Today part of the 116th Brigade Combat Team, 29th Infantry Division	[43]
1747		111th Infantry Regiment	Benjamin Franklin	Province of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania (United States)	The 111th is the oldest unit in the Pennsylvania National Guard. Today, 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry is part of the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division	[44]
1758		Madras Regiment	East India Company	Company Raj	India	The Madras Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Indian Army, originating in the 1750s. In 1758 Stringer Lawrence raised the Madras Regiment, forming the several Companies of Madras Levies into two battalions.	[45]
1759		Punjab Regiment	East India Company	Company Raj	Pakistan	The Punjab Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. It traces its roots to the senior-most battalion of the 1st Punjab Regiment, currently existing as the 1st Battalion, Punjab Regiment.	[46]
1761		Punjab Regiment	East India Company	Company Raj	India	The Punjab Regiment is second oldest regiments still in service in the Indian Army, and is the most senior regional infantry regiment. It was formed from the 2nd Punjab Regiment of the British Indian Army in 1947.	[47]
1768		Maratha Light Infantry	East India Company	Company Raj	India	The Maratha Light Infantry is a light infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It traces its lineage to the Bombay Sepoys, raised in 1768, making it the most senior light infantry regiment in the Indian Army.	[48]
1774		175th Infantry Regiment	Mordecai Gist	Province of Maryland	Maryland (United States)	Oldest unit still in operation in the Maryland National Guard.	[49]
1775		Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment)	Robert Rogers	British North America	Canada	The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC) is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve Royal Canadian Armoured Corps regiment based in Toronto and Aurora. It was founded in 1775 as the Queen's Rangers however it traces its origins back to 1756.	[50] [51] [52]
1775		Rajputana Rifles	East India Company	Company Raj	India	The Rajputana Rifles is the oldest rifle regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in January of 1775 as 5th Battalion, Bombay Sepoys.	[53]
1776		1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment	Alexander Hamilton	Continental Congress	United States	1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery is the oldest unit in the U.S. Regular Army and the only existing Regular Army unit that fought in the American Revolution.	[54]
1787		The Grenadiers	East India Company	Company Raj	India	The Grenadiers is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, formerly part of the Bombay Army and later the pre-independence British Indian Army, when the regiment was known as the 4th Bombay Grenadiers.	[55]
1795		Royal Newfoundland Regiment	Thomas Skinner	Newfoundland Colony	Canada	The Royal Newfoundland Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It fought in the War of 1812, World War I, World War II, and the War in Afghanistan. The regiment was founded in 1795 however it traces its origins back to 1704.	[56] [57]
1795		Jat Regiment	East India Company	Company Raj	India	The Jat Regiment is part of the infantry of the Indian Army. Numerous battalions of the Jat Regiment, including the 14th Murray's Jat Lancers, fought in the First World War.	[58]
1795		Border Guards Bangladesh	East India Company	Company Raj	Bangladesh	The Border Guards Bangladesh is a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. This force started its journey on 29 June 1795 with the name of 'Ramgarh Local Battalion' previously named 'Frontier Protection Force' formed by East India Company in 1794.	[59]
1798		Baloch Regiment	East India Company	Company Raj	Pakistan	The Baloch Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Pakistan Army. Its senior-most battalion, the 1st Battalion, was raised in 1798 as the 3rd Extra Battalion of Madras Native Infantry at Masulipatam.	[60]
1814		Swiss Guard	Pope Julius II	Papal States	Vatican City	Although the Swiss Guard was founded in 1506 and is one of the oldest active military units presently in existence, they were disbanded and reorganized multiple times. The most recent iteration of the Swiss Guard began in 1814, after being disbanded in 1809.	[61] [62]
1842		Engineer Regiment	King Christian V	Denmark	Denmark	Current formation from 1997 as amalgamation of regiments from 1842; traces origins back to 1684	[63]

See also

• Lists of armies
• List of oldest institutions in continuous operation
• List of Army National Guard and active Regular Army units with colonial roots in the U.S.

References

1. "Regimiento de Infanteria Inmemorial del Rey Nº 1 del CGE". ejercito.mde.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 September 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
2. "Georgia VS Spain Military Power Comparison 2023". IndexMilitary. 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
3. "A Marinha assinala hoje os 706 anos da sua criação formal" [Today the Navy marks 706 years since its formal creation]. marinha.pt (in Portuguese). Portuguese Navy. February 1, 2023.
4. "The Portuguese Navy celebrates its 700th anniversary". euromarfor.org. European Maritime Force. December 12, 2017.
5. "Osmanlı Donanmasının Kaptanpaşaları - 1/11 - alarga". alarga.uskudar.biz. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
6. "Kara Mürsel", Vikipedi (in Turkish), 2024-05-31, retrieved 2024-09-26
7. "Turkish Land Forces", Wikipedia, 2024-09-21, retrieved 2024-09-26
8. Genelkurmay Başkanlığı, T. C. (1964). Türk Sılâhli Kuvvetlerı Tarıhı III ncü Cilt 1 nci Kısım (1299–1451)[History of the Turkish Armed Forces Volume III Part 1 (1299-1451)] (in Turkish). Ankara: T. C. Gnkur. Bşk. Harb Tarihi Dairesi. p. 195.
9. "Régiments de Picardie et du Colonel Général" (PDF).
10. "Home". yeomenoftheguard.co.uk.
11. Defensie, Ministerie van (2019-09-16). "Geschiedenis marine - Koninklijke Marine - Defensie.nl". www.defensie.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-12-30.
12. Wragg, David W. (2012). World sea power guide. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN   978-1-78303-558-8. OCLC   854583763.
13. Dupuy, R. Ernest (1993). The Harper encyclopedia of military history : from 3500 BC to the present. Trevor N. Dupuy, HarperCollins. New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN   0-06-270056-1. OCLC   26012613.
14. Villatoro, Manuel P. (8 June 2014). "El regimiento más antiguo de Europa empezó siendo un tercio español y combatió contra Napoleón". ABC.es. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
15. "Ejército de tierra". www.ejercito.mde.es. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
16. "Livgardet i Stockholm" . Retrieved 7 September 2020.
17. "Regimiento de Infantería "Tercio Viejo de Sicilia" Nº 67" . Retrieved 3 May 2021.
18. "The Honourable Artillery Company" . Retrieved 5 March 2024.
19. Bruyère, Paul (1885). Historique de 2^e Régiment de Dragons, 1635–1885 (in French). Chartres: Imprimerie Garnier. pp. 7–8.
20. Brøndum, Christian (17 November 2014). "Dronningen fejrer tvivlsomt jubilæum". b.dk (in Danish). Berlingske Media. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
21. "SKARABORG REGIMENT (P 4)".
22. "DALARNA REGIMENT (I 13)".
23. "Pori Brigade".
24. https://porilaismuseo.fi/ ^{[ bare URL ]}
25. "Organizational History". U.S. Army Center of Military History. 1999. p. 29. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
26. "Georgia VS United States Military Power Comparison 2023". IndexMilitary. 2023-04-11. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
27. "101st Field Artillery Regiment (South Regiment)". Department of the Army Lineage and Honors. U.S. Army Center of Military History.
28. Dalton, Charles (1896). English Army Lists and Commission Registers, 1661-1714, Vol. IV (2018 ed.). London: Forgotten Books. p. 3. ISBN   978-1333543266.
29. "NORRLAND DRAGOON REGIMENT (K 4)".
30. Maach, Maja Lærke (8 February 2019). "Oprustning af Forsvaret fejret: Dronningen gav fanen tilbage til danske soldater". dr.dk (in Danish). DR. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
31. "History of the Coldstream Guards". Archived from the original on 6 September 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
32. "History - British Army Website: Grenadier Guards". 2010-09-29. Archived from the original on 2010-09-29. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
33. "Mémoire des hommes — Journaux des unités 1914-1918 — Armée de Terre : Journaux des marches et opérations des corps de troupe (SHDGR__GR_26_N_II)". Archived from the original on 2009-01-04.
34. "Livgardens historie" (in Danish). Forsvarskommandoen. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
35. "1° Reggimento "Granatieri di Sardegna" - La Storia". Italian Army. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
36. "Royal Marines History and Traditional Facts" (PDF). Marine Society & Sea Cadet. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
37. "Wat is het Korps Mariniers?" (in Dutch).
38. "VÄSTERNORRLAND REGIMENT (I 21)".
39. Jydske Dragonregiment. "Historien bag Jydske Dragonregiment". forsvaret.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 10 February 2020.
40. "History of the S.C. State Guard". sg.sc.gov. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
41. "A brief history of the Royal Engineers" (PDF). The Masons Livery Company. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
42. "Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 211th Military Police Battalion | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH)". history.army.mil. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
43. Regimental History, 116th Infantry Foundation
44. "111th Infantry Regiment (The Associators)". Department of the Army Lineage and Honors. U.S. Army Center of Military History.
45. "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
46. Qureshi, Maj MI. (1958). The First Punjabis: History of the First Punjab Regiment, 1759–1956. Aldershot: Gale & Polden.
47. "The Punjab Regiment - The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
48. "The Maratha Light Infantry - The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
49. "175th Infantry Regiment". Department of the Army Lineage and Honors. U.S. Army Center of Military History.
50. https://www.canada.ca/en/army/corporate/4-canadian-division/the-queens-york-rangers.html ^{[ bare URL ]}
51. https://www.qyrang.ca/ ^{[ bare URL ]}
52. http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/regiments/cavalry/queensyorkrangers.htm ^{[ bare URL ]}
53. "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
54. "1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment". Department of the Army Lineage and Honors. U.S. Army Center of Military History.
55. "Indian Army Grenadiers Regiment".
56. http://www.rnfldr.ca/history.aspx?item=32 ^{[ bare URL ]}
57. "Military History of Newfoundland - Newfoundland and war".
58. "Jat Regiment - The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
59. "বর্ডার গার্ড বাংলাদেশ". www.bgb.gov.bd. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
60. Ahmad, RN. (2017). History of the Baloch Regiment. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.
61. "Spotlight on the Swiss Guard". news.va. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
62. "Historical Dictionary of Switzerland".
63. "Historie". forsvaret.dk (in Danish). Forsvarskommandoen. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2020.