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.
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:
- Kurram Field Force, 1878
- Peshawar Valley Field Force, 1878
- Kabul Field Force, 1879–1880
- Kabul-Kandahar Field Force, 1880
- Natal Field Force, 1881
- Zhob Field Force, 1890
- Mashonaland Field Force, 1896
- Malakand Field Force, 1896
- Tirah Field Force, 1897
- Yukon Field Force, 1898
- Royal West African Frontier Force, 1900
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]
List of Police Field Forces, Paramilitary and Counter-Insurgency Units
A
Albania
Afghanistan
Algeria
B
Bangladesh
Belgium
Belarus
Brazil
C
People's Republic of China
Colombia
Independent State of Croatia 1941 - 1945
D
Denmark
E
Estonia
F
Vichy France
G and H
Gambia
East Germany
Nazi Germany
I
Indonesia
India
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italian Social Republic
J and K
Kenya
L
Kingdom of Laos
Latvia
Lithuania
M
Malaysia
Mandatory Palestine
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova
Myanmar
N
Namibia
Nigeria
Norway
O and P
Pakistan
Peru
Philippines
Portugal
Q and R
Rhodesia
Russia
S
Solomon Islands
South Africa
South Vietnam
South West Africa
Sri Lanka
Syria
T
Tanzania
Thailand
Turkey
U
Ukraine
V
Vatican City
Vanuatu
Vietnam
W, X and Y
Z
Zimbabwe
List of Intelligence Agencies, Secret Police Field Forces and Paramilitary Units
Armenia
Australia
East Germany
Kyrgyzstan
Poland
Russia
Soviet Union
- NKVD 1934 -1946
- KGB 1954 -1991
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
United Kingdom
United States of America
Uzbekistan
See also
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Diggerhistory3.info".
- ^ 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
- ^ p.Davies, Bruce & McKay, Gary The Men Who Persevered:The AATTV 2005 Bruce & Unwin