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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. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Old French was the Romance Dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium For the military meaning see Armed forces. For the Soviet sports society see Armed Forces (sports society Armed Forces It may also include other branches of the military such as an air force. A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking 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 military or armed service 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. A Field 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 A military organization is a way of structuring the armed forces of a State as a need to offer Military capability required by the National defence policy This article is about a military unit For alternative meanings see Corps (disambiguation.

In several countries the army is officially called the land army to differentiate it from an air force called the air army, notably France. 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 military or armed service This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. 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. The People's Liberation Army ( PLA) ( is the unified Military organization of all land sea and air forces of the People's Republic of China. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National A military reserve force is a military organization

Field army

A field army is composed of a headquarters, army troops, a variable number of corps, and a variable number of divisions. A Field 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 This article is about a military unit For alternative meanings see Corps (disambiguation. A division is a large Military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to thirty thousand soldiers 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. Armies are controlled by a General or Lieutenant General.

Formations

People's Liberation Army in dress uniform, currently the largest army in the world in number of people

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. The People's Liberation Army ( PLA) ( is the unified Military organization of all land sea and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. For example, the First United States Army and the Army of Northern Virginia. The First United States Army was a field army of the United States Army. 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. In the British Army it is normal to spell out the ordinal number of an army (e. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. 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. An army group is a Military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods In Warfare a theater or theatre is defined as a specific geographical area of conduct of armed conflict bordered by areas where no combat is taking place

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. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya This article is about a military unit For alternative meanings see Corps (disambiguation. An army group is a Military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods A Front (фронт was a major Military organization in the Soviet Army, roughly equivalent to an Army group in the military terminology of other countries In peacetime, a Soviet army was usually subordinate to a military district. The term Army, besides its generalized meaning (see " Army " specifically denotes a major military formation in militaries of various countries including Military districts are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army which are responsible for a certain area of territory

For the hierarchy of land forces organizations, see military organization. A military organization is a way of structuring the armed forces of a State as a need to offer Military capability required by the National defence policy

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 article is a stub. A military organization is a way of structuring the armed forces of a State as a need to offer Military capability required by the National defence policy War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units Military history is a Humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military force but which are not regarded as having the same status 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 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 article provides links to lists of armies arranged by Ordinal number, name country or conflict The List of Armies around the world by country alphabetically Afghanistan Afghan National Army Albania List of armies by number This is a list of armies arranged by Ordinal number. 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. 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 amount of active troops within the command 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 A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.