This article describes military mobilization. For other meanings, see Mobilization (disambiguation).
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units 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. The Prussian Army (Preußische Armee was the Army of the Kingdom of Prussia. Events and Trends Industry Production of Steel revolutionized by invention of the Bessemer process Benjamin Silliman Events and trends Technology The First Transcontinental Railroad in the USA was completed in 1869 Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed since then. Notably, before World War I and World War II, several countries developed intricate plans to achieve a fast and effective mobilization in case of war. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The opposite of mobilization is demobilization. Demob redirects here For the television series see Demob (TV series.
Mobilization can be complete, or partial, in which case only a part of the reserves is called up.
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History
Mobilization before World War I
Mobilization became an issue with the introduction of conscription, and the introduction of the railways in the 19th Century. Mobilization institutionalized the mass levy of forces that was first introduced during the French Revolution, and that had changed the character of war. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an A number of technological and societal changes promoted the move towards a more organized way of assembling armies. These included the telegraph, which allowed rapid spreading of orders, the railways, which allowed rapid concentration of troops, and conscription, which provided a trained reserve of soldiers available in the case of war. Conscription (also known as the draft, the call-up or national service) is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by some established authority
Mobilization in World War I
Intricate plans for mobilization contributed greatly to the beginning of World War I, since in 1914, under the laws and customs of warfare then observed (not to mention the desire to avoid compromising national security), general mobilization of one nation's military forces was invariably considered an act of war by that country's likely enemies. For the French counter-plan see Plan XVII The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staff 's early 20th century overall strategic World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Casus belli is a Latin language expression meaning the justification for acts of war As the proverb claims, no army has ever mobilized without going to war.
In 1914, the United Kingdom was the only European Great Power without conscription. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 A great power is a Nation or State that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale Conscription (also known as the draft, the call-up or national service) is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by some established authority The other Great Powers (Austria-Hungary, France, Germany and Russia) all relied on compulsory military service to supply each of their armies with the millions of men they believed they would need to win a major war. The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya France enacted the “Three Year Law” (1913) to extend the service of conscripted soldiers to match the size of the German army, as the French population of 40 million was smaller than the German population of 60 million people. [1] The British and the Germans also started a race to build up a stronger navy, sparked by the German enactment of the Second Naval Law. Each of the Great Powers could only afford to keep a fraction of these men in uniform during peacetime, the rest were reservists with limited opportunities to train. A military reserve, tactical reserve, or strategic reserve (and normally called only as the/his/their " Reserve /( s)" or sometimes as Maneuvering formations of millions of men with limited military training required intricate plans which left no room for error, confusion or discretion after mobilization commenced. These plans were prepared under the assumption of worst-case scenarios. A scenario (from Italian, that which is pinned to the scenery) is a synthetic description of an event or series of actions and events
For example, German military leaders did not plan to mobilize for war with Russia whilst assuming that France would not come to her ally's aid, or vice-versa. The Schlieffen Plan therefore dictated not only mobilization against both powers, but also the order of attack—France would be attacked first regardless of the diplomatic circumstances. For the French counter-plan see Plan XVII The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staff 's early 20th century overall strategic To bypass the fortified Franco-German frontier, the German forces were to be ordered to march through Belgium. Whether or not Russia had committed the first provocation, the German plan agreed to by Emperor William II called for the attack on Russia to take place only after France was defeated.
Similarly, the Russian STAVKA's war planning assumed that war against either Austria-Hungary or Germany would mean war against the other power. Stavka (Ставка was the term used to refer to command element of Armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Although the plan allowed flexibility as to whether the main effort would be made against Germany or Austria-Hungary, in either case units would be mobilized on the frontiers of both Powers. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. On July 28, 1914, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (William's cousin) ordered partial mobilization against Austria-Hungary only. Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending While war with Austria-Hungary seemed inevitable, Nicholas engaged in a personal dialogue with the German Emperor in an attempt to avoid war with Germany. The Willy-Nicky Correspondence is a phrase derived from a book by Herman Bernstein in January of 1918 However, Nicholas was advised that attempts to improvise a partial mobilization would lead to chaos and probable defeat if, as pessimists on the Russian side expected, no amount of diplomacy could convince the Germans to refrain from attacking Russia whilst she was engaged with Germany's ally. On July 29, 1914, the Tsar ordered full mobilization. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Tsar csar and tzar redirect here For other uses see Tsar (disambiguation. In response, Germany declared war on Russia.
Germany mobilized under von Moltke the Younger's revised version of the Schlieffen Plan, which assumed a two-front war with Russia and France. Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke ( May 25 1848 &ndash June 18 1916) also known as Moltke the Younger, was a nephew of For the French counter-plan see Plan XVII The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staff 's early 20th century overall strategic This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Like Russia, Germany decided to follow its two-front plans despite the one-front war. Germany declared war on France on August 3, 1914, one day after issuing an ultimatum to Belgium demanding the right of German troops to pass through as part of the planned pincer action of the military. Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Finally, Britain declared war on Germany for violating Belgian neutrality.
Thus the entangling alliances of the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente directed the intricate plans for mobilization. The Triple Alliance was a military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy that lasted from 1882 until the start of World War I The Triple Entente (" entente " — French for "agreement" was the name given to the loose alignment of the United Kingdom, the This brought all of the Great Powers of Europe into the Great War without actually utilizing the provisions of either alliance.
The mobilization was like a holiday for many of the inexperienced soldiers; for example, some Germans wore flowers in the muzzles of their rifles as they marched. Trains brought soldiers to the front lines of battle. The Germans timetabled the movements of 11,000 trains as they brought troops across the Rhine River. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge The French mobilized around 7,000 trains for movement. Horses were also mobilized. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. The British had 165,000 horses prepared for cavalry, the Austrians 600,000, the Germans 715,000, and the Russians over a million. The Cavalry (from French cavalerie) is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as Soldiers or Warriors who fought mounted on [1]
Britain's Dominions including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa were compelled to go to war when Britain did. A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities under sovereign authority within the British Empire and For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa However, it was largely left up to the individual Dominions to recruit and equip forces for the war effort. Canadian, Australian and New Zealand mobilizations all involved the creation of new field forces for overseas service rather than using the existing regimental structures as a framework. In the case of Canada, the Militia Minister, Sir Sam Hughes, created the Canadian Expeditionary Force from whole cloth by sending telegrams to 226 separate reserve unit commanders asking for volunteers to muster at Valcartier in Quebec. This article is about the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the group of Canadian military units formed for service overseas in the First World War. Canadian Forces Base Valcartier is located 25 km north of Quebec City. The field force served separately from the Militia (Canada's peace time army); in 1920 the Otter Commission was compelled to sort out which units would perpetuate the units that served in the trenches - the CEF or the prewar Militia. A unique solution of perpetuations was instituted, and mobilization during the Second World War did not repeat Sir Sam Hughes' model, which has been described by historians as being more closely akin to ancient Scottish clans assembling for battle than a modern, industrialized nation preparing for war.
"Colonials" served under British command, although perhaps owing to the limited autonomy granted to the Dominions regarding their respective mobilizations the Dominions eventually compelled the British government to overrule the objections of some British commanders and allow the Dominion forces to serve together instead of being distributed piecemeal amongst the various British divisions. The "colonials" would go on to be acknowledged by both the British and German high commands as being elite British units.
On May 23, Italy entered World War I on the Allied side. Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Despite being one of the weakest of the Allied powers, the Italians soon managed to populate its army from 560 to 693 infantry battalions in 1916; the army had grown in size from a million to one and a half million soldiers. [1] On August 17, 1916, Romania entered the war on the Allied side, mobilizing an army of 23 divisions. Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Romania was quickly defeated however by the Germans and Austrians.
The production of supplies gradually increased throughout the war. In Russia, the expansion of industry allowed a 2,000 percent increase in the production of artillery shells - by November 1915, over 1,512,000 artillery shells were being produced per month. In France, a massive mobilization by the female population to work in factories allowed the rate of shell production to reach 100,000 shells a day by 1915. [1]
Both sides also began drawing on larger amounts of soldiers. The British Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, appealed for hundreds of thousands of soldiers, which was met with an enthusiastic response. Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener 1st Earl Kitchener, KG, KP, GCB, OM 30 new British divisions were created. The response by volunteers allowed the British to put off the introduction of conscription until 1916. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year New Zealand followed suit, with Canada also eventually introducing conscription.
On April 6, 1917, the United States entered the war on the Allied side. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The United States of America —commonly referred to as the At the entrance, the U. S. only could mobilize its army of 107,641 soldiers, ranked only seventeenth in size worldwide at the time. The United States Navy quickly mobilized, adding 5 dreadnoughts to the Allied navy. The dreadnought was the predominant type of Battleship of the 20th century However, conscription quickly ensued. By March of 1918, 318,000 U. S. soldiers had been mobilized to France. Eventually, a force of 3 million U. S. soldiers joined in the war effort. [1]
Mobilization in World War II
On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland, which prompted both France and Britain to declare war on Germany. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland However, they were slow to mobilize, and by the time Poland had been overrun by the Axis powers, only minor operations had been carried out by the French at the Saar River. The Saar ( French: Sarre) is a River in northeastern France and western Germany, and a right tributary of the Moselle River
Canada actually carried out a partial mobilization on 25 August 1939. in anticipation of the growing diplomatic crisis. On September 1, 1939, the Canadian Active Service Force (a corps-sized force of two divisions) was mobilized despite war not being declared by Canada until September 10, 1939. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Only one division went overseas in Dec 1939, and the government hoped to follow a "limited liability" war policy. When France was invaded in May 1940, the Canadian government realized that would not be possible and mobilized three additional divisions, beginning their overseas employment in Aug 1940 with the dispatch of the 2nd Canadian Division (some units of which were deployed to Iceland and Newfoundland for garrison duty before moving to the UK). Canada also enacted the National Resources Mobilization Act in 1940, which among other things compelled men to serve in the military, though conscripts mobilized under the NRMA did not serve overseas until 1944. Conscripts did, however, serve in the Aleutian Islands in 1943 though the anticipated Japanese defence never materialized due to the evacuation of the enemy garrison before the landings. Service in the Aleutians was not considered "overseas" as technically the islands were part of North America.
Mobilization during the Cold War
Full scale mobilizations were not enacted by the two Super Powers, or their allies, during the Cold War, as the era was characterized by "war by proxy". Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the While many leading nations participated in military actions, some of significant size, national mobilization in the historical sense never occurred. Examples of this would be US involvement in Vietnam (the majority of US soldiers in that conflict were volunteers), though their enemies may be said to have mobilized, as well as the Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur) between Britain and Argentina. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia The Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the
Mobilization in recent years
Economic mobilization
Economic mobilization is the preparation of resources for usage in a national emergency by carrying out changes in the organization of the national economy. A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors or order government agencies [2]
References
- State, society, and mobilization in Europe during the First World War, edited by John Horne, Cambridge-New York : Cambridge University Press, 1997.
External links
- Online version of The army and economic mobilization (1959), by R. Elberton Smith
- Swiss government PDF on mobilization (German)
- mobilization procedure of the Austrian Federal Army (in German)
- Economic mobilization since World War II
Dictionary
mobilization
-noun
- The marshalling of troops and national resources in preparation for war.
- The process by which the armed forces of a nation are brought to a state of readiness for a conflict.
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