A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force , specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines.
79-715: Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War , starting with units formed by German immigrants in Missouri, and may derive from possible historical use of the term Heimwehr ("home guard") to describe units officially known as Landwehr ("country guard"), or from an attempted translation of landwehr . Military organizations Military organization ( AE ) or military organisation ( BE )
158-404: A Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) would be such a temporary grouping that includes elements of more than one armed service and more than one nation. Commando Originally "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as opposed to an individual in that unit. In other languages, commando and kommando denote a " command ", including the sense of a military or an elite special operations unit. In
237-500: A balanced, combined combat force. The formations only differ in their ability to achieve different scales of application of force to achieve different strategic, operational and tactical goals and mission objectives." It is a composite military organization that includes a mixture of integrated and operationally attached sub-units, and is usually combat-capable. Examples of formations include divisions , brigades , battalions , wings , etc. Formation may also refer to tactical formation ,
316-584: A command is a collection of units and formations under the control of a single officer, although during World War II a command was also a name given to a battlegroup in the United States Army . In general, it is an administrative and executive strategic headquarters that is responsible to the national government or the national military headquarters . It is not uncommon for a nation's services to each consist of their own command (such as Land Component, Air Component, Naval Component, and Medical Component in
395-803: A few paratroopers to several companies. Due to the balance of forces concerned, these raids achieved little in the way of damage or casualties, and resulted in the destruction of the Japanese units concerned. Considering that there were no plans to extract these forces, and the reluctance to surrender by Japanese personnel during that era, they are often seen in the same light as kamikaze pilots of 1944–45. Nakano School trained intelligence and commando officers and organized commando teams for sabotage and guerrilla warfare. The navy had commando units "S-toku" (Submarine special attack units, see Kure 101st JSNLF(in Japanese) ) for infiltrating enemy areas by submarine . It
474-424: A fraction of personnel in infantry units. In western militaries, a joint force is defined as a unit or formation comprising representation of combat power from two or more branches of the military. Gendarmeries , military police and security forces , including equivalents such as paramilitary forces , militia , internal troops and police tactical unit , are an internal security service common in most of
553-599: A long time, and were devised by various military thinkers throughout European history. For example, the modern Corps was first introduced in France about 1805 by Napoleon as a more flexible tactical grouping of two or more divisions during the Napoleonic Wars . OF 8: Lieutenant General OR-2: private first class Rungs may be skipped in this ladder: for example, typically NATO forces skip from battalion to brigade. Likewise, only large military powers may have organizations at
632-478: A member of the government's cabinet , usually known as a minister of defence . In presidential systems , such as the United States , the president is the commander-in-chief , and the cabinet-level defense minister is second in command. Subordinated to that position are often secretaries for specific major operational divisions of the armed forces as a whole, such as those that provide general support services to
711-476: A part of military or paramilitary organizations, such as insurgent forces, often emulate military organizations, or use these structures. The use of formalized ranks in a hierarchical structure came into widespread use with the Roman Army . In modern times, executive control, management and administration of military organization is typically undertaken by governments through a government department within
790-545: A special unit with amphibious He 115 planes was founded to support the battalion. The total strength of the battalion was 678 men and 76 women (see Lotta Svärd ). In the Battle of Ilomantsi , soldiers of the 4th disrupted the supply lines of the Soviet artillery, preventing effective fire support. The battalion made over 50 missions in 1943 and just under 100 in 1944, and was disbanded on November 30 of that same year. Sissiosasto/5.D
869-486: A squadron of tanks augmented with infantry, or the combination of a full company of infantry with a full squadron of tanks. During World War II the Red Army used the same basic organizational structure. However, in the beginning many units were greatly underpowered and their size was actually one level below on the ladder that is usually used elsewhere; for example, a division in the early-WWII Red Army would have been about
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#1732847676907948-675: A temporary grouping for a specific operational purpose. Aside from administrative hierarchical forms of organization that have evolved since the early 17th century in Europe, fighting forces have been grouped for specific operational purposes into mission-related organizations such as the German Kampfgruppe or the U.S. Combat Team (Army) and Task Force (Navy) during the Second World War, or the Soviet Operational manoeuvre group during
1027-507: Is a civil law enforcement agency . A number of countries have no navy, for geographical reasons. In larger armed forces, the cultures between the different branches of the armed forces can be quite different. Most smaller countries have a single organization that encompasses all armed forces employed by the country in question. Armies of developing countries tend to consist primarily of infantry , while developed countries armies tend to have larger units manning expensive equipment and only
1106-569: Is another Finnish Commando unit of the World War Two era. The Detachment was founded on August 20, 1941, under the Lynx Division (5th Division, Finnish VI Corps). It was a self-contained unit for reconnaissance patrolling , sabotage and guerrilla warfare operations behind enemy lines. In December 1939, following the success of German infiltration and sabotage operations in the Polish campaign ,
1185-580: Is considered its sub-unit or minor unit. It is not uncommon in the United States for unit and formation to be used synonymously. In Commonwealth practice, formation is not used for smaller organizations such as battalions, which are instead called "units", and their constituent platoons or companies are referred to as sub-units. In the Commonwealth, formations are divisions, brigades, etc. Different armed forces , and even different branches of service of
1264-450: Is divided into sections (platoons) composed of 3 x "groupes de combat" of 7 soldiers, plus a group of vehicle crews and a HQ that includes 2 x snipers. Army , army group , region , and theatre are all large formations that vary significantly between armed forces in size and hierarchy position. While divisions were the traditional level at which support elements (field artillery, hospital, logistics and maintenance, etc.) were added to
1343-450: Is primarily based on a number of standard groupings of vessels, including the carrier strike group and the expeditionary strike group . Additionally, naval organization continues aboard a single ship. The complement forms three or four departments (such as tactical and engineering), each of which has a number of divisions, followed by work centers. The organizational structures of air forces vary between nations: some air forces (such as
1422-637: Is the opposite of military tradition but necessary to work in small and smallest groups, avoiding enemies' reconnaissance. After the Dutch Cape Colony was established in 1652, the word was used to describe bands of militia. The first "Commando Law" was instated by the original Dutch East India Company chartered settlements and similar laws were maintained through the independent Boer Orange Free State and South African Republic . The law compelled burghers to equip themselves with horses and firearms when required in defense. The implementation of these laws
1501-439: Is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hierarchical forms (see Modern hierarchy for terminology and approximate troop strength per hierarchical unit). In some countries, paramilitary forces are included in a nation's armed forces, though not considered military. Armed forces that are not
1580-525: The 474th Regimental Combat Team . Ironically they were sent to serve in Norway in 1945, the country they were formed to raid. The Finns fielded the Erillinen Pataljoona 4 and about 150 men were trained before the beginning of summer 1941. At first, the units had as few as 15 men, but during the war this was increased to 60. On July 1, 1943, the units were organised in the 4th Detached Battalion. In 1944,
1659-694: The Alpine battles of World War I. These teams were called " Arditi " (meaning "daring, brave ones"); they were almost always men under 25 in top physical condition and, possibly at first, bachelors (due to fear of very high casualty rates). Actually the Arditi (who were led to the lines just a few hours before the assault, having been familiarised with the terrain via photo-reconnaissance and trained on trench systems re-created ad hoc for them) suffered fewer casualties than regular line infantry and were highly successful in their tasks. Many volunteered for extreme-right formations in
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#17328476769071738-573: The Belgian Army ), but this does not preclude the existence of commands that are not service-based. A formation is defined by the U.S. Department of Defense as "two or more aircraft, ships, or units proceeding together under a commander". Fomin in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia emphasised its combined-arms nature: "Formations are those military organisations which are formed from different speciality Arms and Services troop units to create
1817-647: The Borneo campaign . Z Force , an Australian-British-New Zealand military intelligence commando unit, formed by the Australian Services Reconnaissance Department , also carried out many raiding and reconnaissance operations in the South West Pacific theatre, most notably Operation Jaywick , in which they destroyed tonnes of Japanese shipping at Singapore Harbour. An attempt to replicate this success, with Operation Rimau , resulted in
1896-488: The First Special Service Force , formed under British Combined Operations . The First Special Service Force was a joint American-Canadian unit and modern Canadian special operations forces also trace their lineage to this unit and through it to British Commandos, despite existing in their modern incarnation only since 2006. Malaysian green beret special forces PASKAL and Grup Gerak Khas (who still wear
1975-566: The Italian campaign and in southern France. Its most famous raid, which was documented in the film Devil's Brigade , was the battle of Monte la Difensa . In 1945, the unit was disbanded; some of the Canadian members were sent to the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion as replacements, and the American members were sent to either the 101st Airborne Division or the 82nd Airborne Division as replacements or
2054-535: The Royal New Zealand Navy , or those navies that are effectively coast guards , are commanded by a rear-admiral (two-star rank), commodore (one-star rank) or even a captain . Aircraft carriers are typically commanded by a captain. Submarines and destroyers are typically commanded by a captain or commander. Some destroyers, particularly smaller destroyers such as frigates (formerly known as destroyer escorts ) are usually commanded by officers with
2133-781: The U.S. Navy SEALs tests swimming speed over 500 yards, number of push-ups and sit-ups within 2 minutes, pull-ups and running 1.5 miles. Long Range Desert Group hired their personnel after a very long interrogation. First SAS members had to complete a march of 50km, and the Royal Marine commandos tested their applicants' motivation during an obstacle course using real explosives and machine gun fire close to Achnacary in Scotland. The French Foreign Legion assesses their applicants through medical, intelligence, logic, and fitness tests as well as interrogations, small drills and solving small tasks. Commando soldiers shall think independently. This
2212-637: The United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force ) are divided into commands, groups and squadrons; others (such as the Soviet Air Force ) have an Army-style organizational structure. The modern Royal Canadian Air Force uses Air division as the formation between wings and the entire air command. Like the RAF, Canadian wings consist of squadrons. A task force is a unit or formation created as
2291-738: The Xhosa and the Zulu caused the Boers to retain the commando system despite being free of colonial laws. Also, the word became used to describe any armed raid. During this period, the Boers also developed guerrilla techniques for use against numerically superior but less mobile bands of natives such as the Zulu, who fought in large, complex formations. In the First Boer War , Boer commandos were able to use superior marksmanship, fieldcraft, camouflage and mobility to expel
2370-599: The Xhosa Wars and the First and Second Boer Wars . The Dutch word kommando , in turn, originated from the Portuguese term comando , used in India in the sense of a group of troops under an autonomous command that performed special missions during a battle or siege. The word was adopted into Afrikaans from interactions with the Portuguese in their nearby African colonies, in whose language
2449-614: The armed forces are divided into three military branches (also service, armed service, or military service ): army , navy , and air force . Many countries have a variation on the standard model of three basic military branches. Some nations also organize their cyber force , emergencies service, medical service , military logistics , space force , marines , and special forces such as commandos or airborne forces as independent armed services. A nation's border guard or coast guard may also be an independent branch of its military, although in many nations border guard or coast guard
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2528-469: The flotilla level and higher is less commonly abided by, as ships operate in smaller or larger groups in various situations that may change at a moment's notice. However, there is some common terminology used throughout navies to communicate the general concept of how many vessels might be in a unit. Navies are generally organized into groups for a specific purpose, usually strategic, and these organizational groupings appear and disappear frequently based on
2607-565: The 181st Special Reconnaissance Detachment. They began conducting sabotage missions and raids to snatch prisoners for interrogation. They would also destroy German ammunition and supply depots, communication centers, and harass enemy troop concentrations along the Finnish and Russian coasts. After the European conflict ended, Leonov and his men were sent to the Pacific theatre to conduct operations against
2686-551: The 2/6th, 2/7th and 2/9th Cavalry Commando Regiments. Later in the war the Royal Australian Navy also formed commando units along the lines of the Royal Naval Commandos to go ashore with the first waves of major amphibious assaults, to signpost the beaches and carry out other naval tasks. These were known as RAN Commandos . Four were formed—lettered A, B, C and D like their British counterparts—and they took part in
2765-822: The Australian Special Air Service Regiment , the New Zealand Special Air Service , and the Rhodesian Special Air Service , all of whom share (or used to) the same insignia and motto as their British counterparts. During the Second World War, the British SAS quickly adopted sand-coloured berets, since they were almost entirely based in the North African theatre; they used these rather than green berets to distinguish themselves from other British Commando units. (See History of
2844-714: The Belgian 5th Special Air Service , or Greek Sacred Band . In 1944 the SAS Brigade was formed from the British 1st and 2nd SAS, the French 3rd and 4th SAS, and the Belgian 5th SAS. The French Army special forces ( 1er RPIMa ) still use the motto Qui Ose Gagne , a translation of the SAS motto "Who Dares Wins". In addition, many Commonwealth nations were part of the original British Commando units. They developed their own national traditions, including
2923-602: The Belgian border was captured in 1940 by Fallschirmjäger troops as part of the German invasion and occupation of Belgium. A report written by Major-General Robert Laycock in 1947 claimed that there was a German raid on a radar station on the Isle of Wight in 1941. The Sacred band ( Greek : Ιερός Λόχος ) was a Greek special forces unit formed in 1942 in the Middle East , composed entirely of Greek officers and officer cadets under
3002-657: The Blue Lanyard of the Royal Marines ) were originally trained by British Commandos.The Portuguese Marine Corps Fuzileiros were originally trained by British Commandos in 1961. Other British units, such as the SAS , led to the development of many international special operations units that are now typically referred to as commandos, including the Bangladeshi Para-Commando Brigade , Pakistani Special Services Group ,
3081-651: The Boer War, and decided that it would require a 10:1 numerical advantage to defeat the Allies. The campaign occupied the attention of an entire Japanese division for almost a year. The independent companies were later renamed commando squadrons, and they saw widespread action in the South West Pacific Area , especially in New Guinea and Borneo . In 1943, all the commando squadrons except the 2/2nd and 2/8th were grouped into
3160-513: The British (wearing red uniforms, poorly trained in marksmanship and unmounted) from the Transvaal . These tactics were continued throughout the Second Boer War . In the final phase of the war, 25,000 Boers carried out asymmetric warfare against the 450,000-strong British Imperial forces for two years after the British had captured the capitals of the two Boer republics. During these conflicts
3239-564: The Cold War. In the British and Commonwealth armies the battlegroup became the usual grouping of companies during the Second World War and the Cold War. Within NATO, a Joint Task Force (JTF) would be such a temporary grouping that includes elements from more than one armed service, a Combined Task Force (CTF) would be such a temporary grouping that includes elements from more than one nation, and
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3318-1112: The German Office for Foreign and Counter-Intelligence (OKW Amt Ausland/Abwehr) formed the Brandenburger Regiment (known officially as the 800th Special Purpose Training and Construction Company). The Brandenburgers conducted a mixture of covert and conventional operations but became increasingly involved in ordinary infantry actions and were eventually converted into a Panzer-Grenadier Division, suffering heavy losses in Russia . Otto Skorzeny (most famed for his rescue of Benito Mussolini ) conducted many special operations for Adolf Hitler . Skorzeny commanded Sonderlehrgang z.b.V. Oranienburg , Sonderverband z.b.V. Friedenthal, and SS-Jäger-Bataillon 502 , 500th SS Parachute Battalion , SS-Jagdverband Mitte and all other SS commando units. The German Fallschirmjäger were famous for their elite skills and their use in rapid commando style raids and as elite "fire brigade" infantrymen. Fort Eben-Emael on
3397-493: The German training area in Beuville (near the village of Doncourt ) to be the main cadre of the newly raised Austro-Hungarian army assault battalions. The former Jagdkommandos were incorporated into these battalions. The first country to establish commando troops was Italy, in the summer 1917, shortly before Germany. Italy used specialist trench-raiding teams to break the stalemate of static fighting against Austria-Hungary , in
3476-544: The Indian MARCOS , Jordanian Special Operation Forces and Philippine National Police Special Action Force . A Dutch study found that a sampling of Dutch male special forces operators were more emotionally stable, conscientious, but also more closed minded than matched civilian controls and other types of soldiers. During the winter of 1914–1915 large parts of the Eastern Front switched to trench warfare. To cope with
3555-569: The Italian marine commandos were re-organised as the " Comsubin " (an abbreviation of Comando Subacqueo Incursori , or Underwater Raiders Command). They wear the green Commando beret. In 1944–45, Japanese Teishin Shudan ("Raiding Group") and Giretsu ("heroic") detachments made airborne assaults on Allied airfields in the Philippines , Marianas and Okinawa . The attacking forces varied in size from
3634-577: The Japanese. In 1940, the British Army formed "independent companies ", later reformed as battalion sized "commandos", thereby reviving the word. The British intended that their commandos be small, highly mobile surprise raiding and military reconnaissance forces. They intended them to carry all they needed and not remain in field operations for more than 36 hours. Army Commandos were all volunteers selected from existing soldiers still in Britain. During
3713-659: The Mediterranean. After Italy surrendered in 1943, some of the Decima Flottiglia MAS were on the Allied side of the battle line and fought with the Allies, renaming themselves the Mariassalto . The others fought on the German side and kept their original name but did not operate at sea after 1943, being mostly employed against Italian partisans ; some of its men were involved in atrocities against civilians. In post-war years
3792-675: The Special Air Service ). Other Commonwealth commando units were formed after the Second World War directly based on the British Commando units, such as the Australian Army Reserve 1st Commando Regiment (Australia) , distinct from the Regular Army 2nd Commando Regiment (Australia) , who originated from the 4th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment in 1997 . The US Rangers were founded by Major General Lucian Truscott of
3871-463: The U.S. Army Force Management Support Agency that prescribes the organization, manning, and equipage of units from divisional size and down, but also including the headquarters of Corps and Armies. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well as the unit's current status. A general TOE is applicable to a type of unit (for instance, infantry) rather than a specific unit (the 3rd Infantry Division). In this way, all units of
3950-444: The US Army, a liaison officer with the British General Staff. In 1942, he submitted a proposal to General George Marshall that an American unit be set up "along the lines of the British Commandos". The original US Rangers trained at the British Commandos centre at Achnacarry Castle . The US Navy SEALs ' original formation, the Observer Group , was also trained and influenced by British Commandos. The US Special Forces originated with
4029-418: The armed forces, may use the same name to denote different types of organizations. An example is the "squadron". In most navies a squadron is a formation of several ships; in most air forces it is a unit; in the U.S. Army it is a battalion-sized cavalry unit; and in Commonwealth armies a squadron is a company-sized sub-unit. A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is a document published by
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#17328476769074108-438: The awarding of green berets which originated with British Commandos . The British Commandos were instrumental in founding many other international commando units during World War II. Some international commando units were formed from members who served as part of or alongside British Commandos, such as the Dutch Korps Commandotroepen (who still wear the recognition flash insignia of the British Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife ),
4187-440: The command of Col. Christodoulos Tsigantes . It fought alongside the SAS in the Libyan Desert and with the SBS in the Aegean , as well as with General Leclerc 's Free French Forces in Tunisia . It was disbanded in August 1945. Italy's most renowned commando unit of World War II was Decima Flottiglia MAS ("10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla"), which, from mid-1940, sank or damaged a considerable tonnage of Allied ships in
4266-551: The conditions and demands placed upon a navy. This contrasts with army organization where units remain static, with the same men and equipment, over long periods of time. The five-star ranks of admiral of the fleet and fleet admiral have largely been out of regular use since the 1990s, with the exception of ceremonial or honorary appointments. Currently, all major navies ( blue-water and green-water navies) are commanded by an admiral of either four-star rank or three-star rank depending on relative size. Smaller naval forces, such as
4345-443: The death of almost all those involved. However, Z Force and other SRD units continued operations until the war's end. A joint Canadian -American Commando unit, the 1st Special Service Force, nicknamed the Devil's Brigade , was formed in 1942 under the command of Colonel Robert Frederick. The unit initially saw service in the Pacific, in August 1943 at Kiska in the Aleutians campaign . However most of its operations occurred during
4424-471: The division, reconnaissance company in the brigade, a reconnaissance platoon in the regiment. Soviet Naval Frogmen The legendary Soviet Naval Scout Viktor Leonov commanded an elite unit of Naval Commandos. The 4th Special Volunteer Detachment was a unit of 70 veterans. Initially they were confined to performing small scale reconnaissance missions, platoon sized insertions by sea and on occasion on land into Finland and later Norway. Later they were renamed
4503-412: The early stages of World War II. They first saw action in early 1942 during the Japanese assault on New Ireland , and in the Battle of Timor . Part of the 2/1st Independent Company was wiped out on New Ireland , but on Timor , the 2/2nd Independent Company formed the heart of an Allied force that engaged Japanese forces in a guerrilla campaign. The Japanese commander on the island drew parallels with
4582-533: The effectiveness and tactics of the Boer commandos. During World War II, American and British publications, confused over the use of the plural "commandos" for that type of British military units, gave rise to the modern common habit of using "a commando" to mean one member of such a unit, or one man engaged on a raiding-type operation. Since the 20th century and World War II in particular, commandos have been set apart from other military units by virtue of their extreme training regimes; these are usually associated with
4661-741: The highest motivation, modern special forces run special selection processes. Historically there is evidence of selection for the Otdelnly Gwardieskij Batalion Minerow, predecessors of the modern Russian spetsnaz . Soldiers had to be younger than 30 years, were mostly athletes or hunters and had to show the highest motivation. During training and selection some participants died since they were exhausted and left to their devices. The German Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) demands from their applicants high levels of physical resilience, teamwork, willingness to learn, mental resilience, willpower, sense of responsibility, flexibility, secrecy and adaptation. These skills are proved during assessment. The fitness test of
4740-559: The militaries and governments of most countries, commandos are distinctive in that they specialize in unconventional assault on high-value targets . In English, to distinguish between an individual commando and a commando unit, the unit is occasionally capitalized. The term commando originally derives from Latin commendare , to recommend, via the Dutch word kommando , which translates as "a command or order" and also roughly to "mobile infantry regiment ". This term originally referred to units of Boer mounted infantry , who fought during
4819-503: The military, including their dependants. Then there are the heads of specific departmental agencies responsible for the provision and management of specific skill- and knowledge-based services such as strategic advice, capability development assessment, or military science provision of research, and design and development of technologies. Within each departmental agency will be found administrative branches responsible for further agency business specialization work. In most countries,
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#17328476769074898-542: The new situation many Austro-Hungarian regiments spontaneously formed infantry squads called Jagdkommandos . These squads were named after the specially trained forces of Russian army formed in 1886 and were used to protect against ambushes, to perform reconnaissance and for low intensity fights in no-man's-land. Austro-Hungarian High army command ( Armeeoberkommando , AOK) realized the need for special forces and decided to draw on German experience. Starting in September–October 1916 about 120 officers and 300 NCOs were trained in
4977-463: The outline of a scheme.... The men for this type of irregular warfare should, he suggested, be formed into units to be known as Commandos.... Nor was the historical parallel far-fetched. After the victories of Roberts and Kitchener had scattered the Boer army, the guerrilla tactics of its individual units (which were styled 'Commandos')... prevented decisive victory.... His [sc. Lt.-Col. D. W. Clarke's] ideas were accepted; so also, with some hesitation,
5056-479: The physical arrangement or disposition of troops and weapons. Examples of formation in such usage include pakfront , panzerkeil , testudo formation , etc. A typical unit is a homogeneous military organization (either combat, combat-support or non-combat in capability) that includes service personnel predominantly from a single arm of service, or a branch of service, and its administrative and command functions are self-contained. Any unit subordinate to another unit
5135-399: The rank of commander. Corvettes , the smallest class of warship, are commanded by officers with the rank of commander or lieutenant-commander . Auxiliary ships, including gunboats , minesweepers , patrol boats , military riverine craft , tenders and torpedo boats are usually commanded by lieutenants , sub-lieutenants or warrant officers . Usually, the smaller the vessel, the lower
5214-479: The rank of the ship's commander. For example, patrol boats are often commanded by ensigns , while frigates are rarely commanded by an officer below the rank of commander. Historically, navies were far more rigid in structure. Ships were collected in divisions , which in turn were collected in numbered squadrons , which comprised a numbered fleet . Permission for a vessel to leave one unit and join another would have to be approved on paper. The modern U.S. Navy
5293-421: The same branch (such as infantry) follow the same structural guidelines. The following table gives an overview of some of the terms used to describe army hierarchy in armed forces across the world. Whilst it is recognized that there are differences between armies of different nations, many are modeled on the British or American models, or both. However, many military units and formations go back in history for
5372-417: The size of most nations' regiments or brigades. At the top of the ladder, what other nations would call an army group, the Red Army called a front . By contrast, during the same period the German Wehrmacht army groups, particularly on the Eastern Front , such as Army Group Centre significantly exceeded the above numbers, and were more cognate with the Soviet Strategic Directions . Naval organization at
5451-430: The structure of public administration , often known as a ministry of defence or department of defense . These in turn manage military branches that themselves command formations and units specialising in combat, combat support and combat-service support . The usually civilian or partly civilian executive control over the national military organization is exercised in democracies by an elected political leader as
5530-538: The term was used by other countries to designate some of their elite forces. Less likely, it is a High German loan word, which was borrowed from Italian in the 17th century, from the sizable minority of German settlers in the initial European colonization of South Africa. The Oxford English Dictionary ties the English use of the word meaning "[a] member of a body of picked men ..." directly into its Afrikaans' origins: 1943 Combined Operations ( Min. of Information ) i. Lt. Lieutenant-Colonel D. W. Clarke... produced
5609-407: The top levels and different armies and countries may also use traditional names, creating considerable confusion: for example, a British or Canadian armored regiment (battalion) is divided into squadrons (companies) and troops (platoons), whereas an American cavalry squadron (battalion) is divided into troops (companies) and platoons. In the French system (used by many African countries) the company
5688-516: The turbulent years after the war and (the Fascist Party took pride in this and adopted the style and the mannerism of Arditi), but some of left-wing political persuasions created the " Arditi del Popolo " (People's Arditi) and for some years held the fascist raids in check, defending Socialist and Communist Party sections, buildings, rallies and meeting places. The Australian Army formed commando units, known as Australian independent companies in
5767-505: The unit structure, since World War II, many brigades now have such support units, and since the 1980s, regiments also have been receiving support elements. A regiment with such support elements is called a regimental combat team in US military parlance, or a battlegroup in the UK and other forces. Canadian Army doctrine also includes the combat team which is a company of infantry augmented with tanks, or
5846-513: The word comando means "command". In South Africa similar troops operated in small detachments, usually traveling on horseback, and launched rapid attacks against British troops. During the Second World War, both the British and the Germans decided to reuse this term to designate the new special operations troops they had formed (the British designated commandos and the German Kommandos ). Later
5925-612: The word entered the English language , retaining its general Afrikaans meaning of a "militia unit" or a "raid". Robert Baden-Powell recognised the importance of fieldcraft and was inspired to form the scouting movement. In 1941, Lieutenant-Colonel D. W. Clarke of the British Imperial General Staff, suggested the name commando for specialized raiding units of the British Army Special Service in evocation of
6004-407: The world, but uncommon in countries with English common law histories where civil police are employed to enforce the law, and there are tight restrictions on how the armed forces may be used to assist. It is common, at least in the European and North American militaries, to refer to the building blocks of a military as command s , formation s , and unit s . In a military context,
6083-960: Was called the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces of Kure 101st, Sasebo 101st and 102nd. New Zealand formed the Southern Independent Commando in Fiji 1942. Cichociemni ( Polish pronunciation: [t͡ɕixɔˈt͡ɕɛmɲi] ; the "Silent Unseen") were elite special-operations paratroopers of the Polish Army in exile , created in Great Britain during World War II to operate in occupied Poland ( Cichociemni Spadochroniarze Armii Krajowej ). Voyennaya Razvyedka (Razvedchiki Scouts) are "Military intelligence" personnel/units within larger formations in ground troops, airborne troops and marines. Intelligence battalion in
6162-497: Was called the "Commando System". A group of mounted militiamen was organized in a unit known as a commando and headed by a commandant , who was normally elected from inside the unit. Men called up to serve were said to be "on commando". British experience with this system led to the widespread adoption of the word " commandeer " into English in the 1880s. During the Great Trek , conflicts with Southern African peoples such as
6241-449: Was the name Commando. During World War II , newspaper reports of the deeds of "the commandos" only in the plural led to readers thinking that the singular meant one man rather than one military unit, and this new usage became established. Due to the special mental and physiological requirements made of the applicants, there are restrictions entering "commando" units. Applicants have to fulfil special requirements. Selecting applicants with
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