128-614: A division is a large military unit or formation , usually consisting of between 10,000 to 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades ; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps . Historically, the division has been the default combined arms unit capable of independent operations . Smaller combined arms units, such as the American regimental combat team (RCT) during World War II, were used when conditions favored them. In recent times, modern Western militaries have begun adopting
256-510: A Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) which specifies exact assignments of units, personnel, and equipment for a division. The modern division became the primary identifiable combat unit in many militaries during the second half of the 20th century, supplanting the brigade ; however, the trend started to reverse since the end of the Cold War . The peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II , when
384-415: A war of annihilation ( Vernichtungskrieg ) throughout Eastern Europe. Nazi military operations were characterised by vicious brutality, scorched-earth tactics , wanton destruction, mass deportations, forced starvations, wholesale terrorism, and massacres. These also included the genocidal campaigns of Generalplan Ost and Hunger Plan , which aimed to the extermination and ethnic cleansing of more than
512-627: 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. Great Patriotic War Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Eastern Front , also known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine,
640-668: A German invasion is controversial, and the claim that there was a warning that "Germany will attack on 22 June without declaration of war" has been dismissed as a "popular myth". However, some sources quoted in the articles on Soviet spies Richard Sorge and Willi Lehmann , say they had sent warnings of an attack on 20 or 22 June, which were treated as "disinformation". The Lucy spy ring in Switzerland also sent warnings, possibly deriving from Ultra codebreaking in Britain. Sweden had access to internal German communications through breaking
768-500: 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 ,
896-664: A civil war and the Allies did not recognise the Bolshevik government, so no Soviet Russian representation attended. Adolf Hitler had declared his intention to invade the Soviet Union on 11 August 1939 to Carl Jacob Burckhardt , League of Nations Commissioner, by saying: Everything I undertake is directed against the Russians . If the West is too stupid and blind to grasp this, then I shall be compelled to come to an agreement with
1024-550: A combined arms force used in modern brigades and divisions, and are no longer granted divisional status. "Light divisions" were German horse cavalry divisions organized early in World War II which included motorized units. The development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the same way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs (including tanks) and motorizing
1152-592: 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
1280-424: 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
1408-607: A hundred million Eastern European natives. German historian Ernst Nolte called the Eastern Front "the most atrocious war of conquest, enslavement, and annihilation known to modern history", while British historian Robin Cross expressed that "In the Second World War no theatre was more gruelling and destructive than the Eastern Front, and nowhere was the fighting more bitter". The two principal belligerent powers in
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#17327767216871536-610: 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
1664-485: A nation's armed forces, though not considered military. Armed forces that are not 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
1792-447: A number of cavalry divisions were formed. They were most often similar to the nations' infantry divisions in structure, although they usually had fewer and lighter support elements, with cavalry brigades or regiments replacing the infantry units, and supporting units, such as artillery and supply, being horse-drawn. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II . While horse cavalry had been found to be obsolete,
1920-659: A peace treaty on 13 March 1940, with Finland maintaining its independence but losing its eastern parts in Karelia . In June 1940 the Soviet Union occupied and illegally annexed the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact ostensibly provided security to the Soviets in the occupation both of the Baltics and of the north and northeastern regions of Romania (Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia , June–July 1940), although Hitler, in announcing
2048-685: A policy advocated by the Soviet ministry of foreign affairs under Maxim Litvinov . This, as well as the reluctance of the British and French governments to sign a full-scale anti-German political and military alliance with the USSR, led to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Germany in late August 1939. The separate Tripartite Pact between what became the three prime Axis Powers would not be signed until some four years after
2176-529: A quarter of the American Lend-Lease aid provided to other Allied countries. However, post-war negotiations to settle all the debt were never concluded, and as of date, the debt issues is still on in future American-Russian summits and talks. Prof. Dr. Albert L. Weeks concluded, "As to attempts to sum up the importance of those four-year-long shipments of Lend-Lease for the Russian victory on
2304-430: A short-term war (Blitzkrieg). According to Edward Ericson, although Germany's own resources were sufficient for the victories in the West in 1940, massive Soviet shipments obtained during a short period of Nazi–Soviet economic collaboration were critical for Germany to launch Operation Barbarossa. Germany had been assembling very large numbers of troops in eastern Poland and making repeated reconnaissance flights over
2432-491: 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
2560-636: 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
2688-537: A total of six infantry divisions were raised as part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force : 1st , 2nd , 3rd , 4th , 5th and 6th . The 1st Division and part of the 2nd saw service during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 before later taking part in the fighting on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918 along with the 3rd, 4th and 5th. The 6th Division existed only briefly in 1917, but
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#17327767216872816-507: 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
2944-605: Is a division with a majority of infantry subunits transported on soft-skinned motor vehicles . A " mechanized infantry " division is a division with a majority of infantry subunits transported on armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) or both, or even some other class of armored fighting vehicles designed for the transportation of infantry. Mechanized infantry divisions in Nazi Germany were called " Panzergrenadier divisions". In Russia, they were known as "motor rifle divisions". Because of
3072-593: 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
3200-450: 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
3328-450: 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
3456-410: Is typically undertaken by governments through a government department within 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
3584-576: The Generalplan Ost . The populations of occupied Central Europe and the Soviet Union were to be partially deported to West Siberia, enslaved and eventually exterminated; the conquered territories were to be colonised by German or "Germanized" settlers. In addition, the Nazis also sought to rid themselves of the large Jewish population of Central and Eastern Europe as part of their program aiming to exterminate all European Jews . Psychologically,
3712-683: The ANZAC Mounted Division – both of which served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during the war. Military unit Military organization ( AE ) or military organisation ( BE ) 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
3840-548: The Anti-Comintern Pact with Imperial Japan . Fascist Italy joined the Pact a year later. The Soviet Union negotiated treaties of mutual assistance with France and with Czechoslovakia with the aim of containing Germany's expansion. The German Anschluss of Austria in 1938 and the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia (1938–1939) demonstrated the impossibility of establishing a collective security system in Europe,
3968-685: The Arctic convoys and training Red Air Force pilots , as well as in the provision of early material and intelligence support. Among other goods, Lend-Lease supplied: Lend-Lease aid of military hardware, components and goods to the Soviet Union constituted to 20% percent of the assistance. The rest were foodstuff, nonferrous metals (e.g., copper, magnesium, nickel, zinc, lead, tin, aluminium), chemical substances, petroleum (high octane aviation gasoline) and factory machinery. The aid of production-line equipment and machinery were crucial and helped to maintain adequate levels of Soviet armament production during
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4096-667: The Balkans . Hitler had always intended to renege on his pact with the Soviet Union, eventually making the decision to invade in the spring of 1941. Some historians say Stalin was fearful of war with Germany, or just did not expect Germany to start a two-front war , and was reluctant to do anything to provoke Hitler. Another viewpoint is that Stalin expected war in 1942 (the time when all his preparations would be complete) and stubbornly refused to believe it would come early. British historians Alan S. Milward and M. Medlicott show that Nazi Germany—unlike Imperial Germany—was prepared for only
4224-849: The Battle of Berlin (also known as the Berlin Offensive ), a strategic operation executed by the Red Army. The states that provided forces and other resources for the German war effort included the Axis Powers – primarily Romania, Hungary, Italy, pro-Nazi Slovakia, and Croatia. Anti-Soviet Finland, which had fought the Winter War against the Soviet Union, also joined the offensive. The Wehrmacht forces were also assisted by anti-Communist partisans in places like Western Ukraine, and
4352-590: 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
4480-708: The Bolsheviks in Petrograd conceded to German demands and ceded control of Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, and other areas, to the Central Powers . Subsequently, when Germany in its turn surrendered to the Allies (November 1918) and these territories became independent states under the terms of the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 at Versailles , Soviet Russia was in the midst of
4608-612: The First and Second Polish armies, were armed and trained, and would eventually fight alongside the Red Army. The Free French forces also contributed to the Red Army by the formation of the GC3 ( Groupe de Chasse 3 or 3rd Fighter Group) unit to fulfil the commitment of Charles de Gaulle , leader of the Free French, who thought that it was important for French servicemen to serve on all fronts. The above figures includes all personnel in
4736-661: The Murmansk region are considered part of the Eastern Front. In addition, the Soviet–Finnish Continuation War is generally also considered the northern flank of the Eastern Front. Germany and the Soviet Union remained unsatisfied with the outcome of World War I (1914–1918). Soviet Russia had lost substantial territory in Eastern Europe as a result of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918), where
4864-545: 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
4992-660: The Second World War in 1942, although plans were in place since the later stages of the Russian Civil War . An artillery division serves as a specialized division using only artillery howitzers, anti-tank guns, rocket artillery (MRLs and tactical missiles) and mortars (both towed and self-propelled) (and historically siege artillery) and are usually tasked with providing concentrated firepower support to higher combined arms formations. They are mainly combat support formations most performing operations in support of
5120-549: The Second World War . Beside the infantry and cavalry divisions created since Napoleonic era, new division types appeared during the Second World War, such as airborne, tank, mechanized, motorized. The Soviet Union's Red Army consisted of more than a thousand division-sized units at any one time, and the number of rifle divisions raised during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 is estimated at 2,000. Nazi Germany had hundreds of numbered or named divisions, while
5248-462: The Soviet Union invaded Eastern Poland , and, as a result, Poland was partitioned among Germany, the Soviet Union and Lithuania. Soon after that, the Soviet Union demanded significant territorial concessions from Finland, and after Finland rejected Soviet demands, the Soviet Union attacked Finland on 30 November 1939 in what became known as the Winter War – a bitter conflict that resulted in
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5376-796: The Spanish general election brought many communist leaders into the Popular Front government in the Second Spanish Republic , but in a matter of months a right-wing military coup initiated the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. This conflict soon took on the characteristics of a proxy war involving the Soviet Union and left wing volunteers from different countries on the side of the predominantly socialist and communist-led Second Spanish Republic; while Nazi Germany , Fascist Italy , and Portugal's Estado Novo took
5504-873: The US 10th Mountain Division , the German 1st Ski Division or the French 27th Alpine Infantry Division . Nazi Germany also organized " Jäger divisions" to operate in more adverse terrain. Italian Mountain divisions are called " Alpini divisions". An airborne division is an infantry division given special training and equipment for arrival on the battlefield by air (typically via parachute or glider-borne). The US, Britain, and Germany experimented during World War II with specialized light infantry divisions capable of being quickly transported by transport aircraft or dropped into an area by parachute or glider. This required both high-quality equipment and training, creating elite units in
5632-665: 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
5760-614: 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
5888-469: 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
6016-462: The "Mongol hordes", the "Asiatic flood" and the "red beast". The vast majority of German soldiers viewed the war in Nazi terms, seeing the Soviet enemy as sub-human. Hitler referred to the war in radical terms, calling it a " war of annihilation " ( German : Vernichtungskrieg ) which was both an ideological and racial war. The Nazi vision for the future of Eastern Europe was codified most clearly in
6144-782: The "Oil Pact" with Romania, by which Germany would trade arms for oil. Romania's oil production amounted to approximately 6,000,000 tons annually. This production represents 35% of the total fuel production of the Axis, including synthetic products and substitutes, and 70% of the total production of crude oil. In 1941, Germany only had 18% of the oil it had in peacetime. Romania supplied Germany and its allies with roughly 13 million barrels of oil (about 4 million per year) between 1941 and 1943. Germany's peak oil production in 1944 amounted to about 12 million barrels of oil per year. Rolf Karlbom estimated that Swedish share of Germany's total consumption of iron may have amounted to 43% during
6272-473: The 1944 Operation Market Garden and the 1945 Operation Varsity . When not being used for a specific airborne mission, airborne divisions usually functioned as light infantry divisions. An " air assault division" is an airborne division that mainly uses helicopters to transport its troops. The Soviet Union developed the concept of the specialized "artillery division" during the Eastern Front of
6400-553: The Allies, such as Romania and Bulgaria . The Eastern Front concluded with the capture of Berlin , followed by the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender on 8 May, a day that marked the end of the Eastern Front and the War in Europe. The battles on the Eastern Front of World War II constituted the largest military confrontation in history. In pursuit of its " Lebensraum " settler-colonial agenda, Nazi Germany waged
6528-649: The Anti-Comintern Pact. The war was fought between Germany, its allies and Finland , against the Soviet Union and its allies. The conflict began on 22 June 1941 with the Operation Barbarossa offensive, when Axis forces crossed the borders described in the German–Soviet Nonaggression Pact , thereby invading the Soviet Union. The war ended on 9 May 1945, when Germany's armed forces surrendered unconditionally following
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#17327767216876656-505: The Army Georgy Zhukov , that ordered (as demanded by Stalin): "do not answer to any provocations" and "do not undertake any (offensive) actions without specific orders" – which meant that Soviet troops could open fire only on their soil and forbade counter-attack on German soil. The German invasion therefore caught the Soviet military and civilian leadership largely by surprise. The extent of warnings received by Stalin about
6784-539: The Balkans. About 15–20% of total German strength were foreign troops (from allied countries or conquered territories). The German high water mark was just before the Battle of Kursk , in early July 1943: 3,403,000 German troops and 650,000 Finnish, Hungarian, Romanian and other countries' troops. For nearly two years the border was quiet while Germany conquered Denmark, Norway, France, the Low Countries , and
6912-775: The Baltic states. Among the most prominent volunteer army formations was the Spanish Blue Division , sent by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco to keep his ties to the Axis intact. The Soviet Union offered support to the anti-Axis partisans in many Wehrmacht -occupied countries in Central Europe, notably those in Slovakia and Poland . In addition, the Polish Armed Forces in the East , particularly
7040-515: 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
7168-473: The Eastern Front in World War II, the jury is still out – that is, in any definitive sense of establishing exactly how crucial this aid was." Germany's economic, scientific, research and industrial capabilities were among the most technically advanced in the world at the time. However, access to (and control of) the resources , raw materials and production capacity required to entertain long-term goals (such as European control, German territorial expansion and
7296-417: The Eastern Front were Germany and the Soviet Union, along with their respective allies. Though they never sent ground troops to the Eastern Front, the United States and the United Kingdom both provided substantial material aid to the Soviet Union in the form of the Lend-Lease program, along with naval and air support. The joint German–Finnish operations across the northernmost Finnish–Soviet border and in
7424-477: The Eastern Front, including 9 million children. The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome in the European theatre of operations in World War II , eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Axis nations. It is noted by historian Geoffrey Roberts that "More than 80 percent of all combat during the Second World War took place on the Eastern Front". The Axis forces, led by Nazi Germany, began their advance into
7552-413: The German Army, i.e. active-duty Heer , Waffen SS , Luftwaffe ground forces, personnel of the naval coastal artillery and security units. In the spring of 1940, Germany had mobilised 5,500,000 men. By the time of the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Wehrmacht consisted of c. 3,800,000 men of the Heer, 1,680,000 of the Luftwaffe, 404,000 of the Kriegsmarine , 150,000 of the Waffen-SS, and 1,200,000 of
7680-546: The German imperial army and about 18,000 in Austro-Hungarian and British armies. As World War I went on, the size of divisions decreased significantly from those of 1914, with both British and Germans reducing the number of divisions' sub-units. But, while the number of soldiers was lower, by 1917, divisions were much better armed. On the other hand, in 1917, the American infantry divisions that arrived in France numbered 28,061 officers and men, of which 17,666 were riflemen. The divisional system reached its numerical height during
7808-409: The German surge to the east in 1941 marked a high point in some Germans' feeling of Ostrausch - an intoxication with the idea of colonising the East. After Germany's initial success at the Battle of Kiev in 1941, Hitler saw the Soviet Union as militarily weak and ripe for immediate conquest. In a speech at the Berlin Sportpalast on 3 October, he announced, "We have only to kick in the door and
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#17327767216877936-513: The Germanic people constituted the " master race ", while exterminating or deporting most of the existing inhabitants to Siberia and using the remainder as slave labour . Hitler as early as 1917 had referred to the Russians as inferior, believing that the Bolshevik Revolution had put the Jews in power over the mass of Slavs , who were, in Hitler's opinion, incapable of ruling themselves and had thus ended up being ruled by Jewish masters. The Nazi leadership , including Heinrich Himmler , saw
8064-473: The NKVD in World War II ). In a few cases, NKVD divisions were employed in front-line combat as rifle divisions. Naming examples 1st Division 2nd Infantry Division Division 60 101st Airborne Division Panzer Lehr Division Divisions are commonly designated by combining an ordinal number and a type name (e.g.: "13th Infantry Division"). Nicknames are often assigned or adopted, although these often are not considered an official part of
8192-409: The Replacement Army (contained 450,400 active reservists, 550,000 new recruits and 204,000 in administrative services, vigiles and or in convalescence). The Wehrmacht had a total strength of 7,234,000 men by 1941. For Operation Barbarossa, Germany mobilised 3,300,000 troops of the Heer, 150,000 of the Waffen-SS and approximately 250,000 personnel of the Luftwaffe were actively earmarked. By July 1943,
8320-455: The Russians, beat the West and then after their defeat turn against the Soviet Union with all my forces. I need the Ukraine so that they can't starve us out, as happened in the last war. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact signed in August 1939 was a non-aggression agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union. It contained a secret protocol aiming to return Central Europe to the pre–World War I status quo by dividing it between Germany and
8448-489: The Soviet Union under the codename Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, the opening date of the Eastern Front. Initially, Soviet forces were unable to halt the Axis forces, which came close to Moscow . Despite their many attempts, the Axis failed to capture Moscow and soon focused on the oil fields in the Caucasus . German forces invaded the Caucasus under the Fall Blau ("Case Blue") plan on 28 June 1942. The Soviets successfully halted further Axis advance at Stalingrad —
8576-435: The Soviet Union. Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would return to the Soviet control, while Poland and Romania would be divided. The Eastern Front was also made possible by the German–Soviet Border and Commercial Agreement in which the Soviet Union gave Germany the resources necessary to launch military operations in Eastern Europe. On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland , starting World War II . On 17 September,
8704-463: 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
8832-405: The USSR after the fall of the British Empire or after an unacceptable ultimatum demanding German occupation of Ukraine during the German invasion of Britain. A strategic air offensive by the United States Army Air Force and Royal Air Force played a significant part in damaging German industry and tying up German air force and air defence resources, with some bombings, such as the bombing of
8960-473: The United States employed up to 91 divisions. A notable change to divisional structures during the war was completion of the shift from square divisions (composed of two brigades each with two regiments) to triangular divisions (composed of three regiments with no brigade level) that many European armies had started using in World War I . This was done to increase flexibility and to pare down chain-of-command overhead. The triangular division structure allowed
9088-456: The United States, and the remaining one-third, with the help from other Western nations such as Great Britain and Canada. The massive transfer of equipment and skilled personnel from occupied territories helped further to boost the economic base. Without Lend-Lease aid, Soviet Union's diminished post invasion economic base would not have produced adequate supplies of weaponry, other than focus on machine tool, foodstuff and consumer goods. In
9216-573: The Urals. A 1997 report said they were generally composed of four brigades, though later data suggests this was inaccurate. For most nations, cavalry was deployed in smaller units and was not therefore organized into divisions, but for larger militaries, such as that of the British Empire , United States, First French Empire , France, German Empire , Nazi Germany , Russian Empire , Empire of Japan , Second Polish Republic and Soviet Union ,
9344-853: The Wehrmacht numbered 6,815,000 troops. Of these, 3,900,000 were deployed in eastern Europe, 180,000 in Finland, 315,000 in Norway, 110,000 in Denmark, 1,370,000 in western Europe, 330,000 in Italy, and 610,000 in the Balkans. According to a presentation by Alfred Jodl , the Wehrmacht was up to 7,849,000 personnel in April 1944. 3,878,000 were deployed in eastern Europe, 311,000 in Norway/Denmark, 1,873,000 in western Europe, 961,000 in Italy, and 826,000 in
9472-605: The age of 54, without having implemented his idea. Victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the divisional system in the Seven Years' War . The first war in which the divisional system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War . Lazare Carnot of the Committee of Public Safety , who was in charge of military affairs, came to
9600-587: The armed forces as a whole, such as those that provide general support services to 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,
9728-418: 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
9856-439: The belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the combat power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with appropriate support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms. In this case,
9984-438: The bloodiest battle in the war — costing the Axis powers their morale and regarded as one of the key turning points of the front. Seeing the Axis setback from Stalingrad, the Soviet Union routed its forces and regained territories at its expense. The Axis defeat at Kursk terminated the German offensive strength and cleared the way for Soviet offensives. Its setbacks caused many countries friendly with Germany to defect and join
10112-547: The border; the Soviet Union responded by assembling its divisions on its western border, although the Soviet mobilisation was slower than Germany's due to the country's less dense road network. As in the Sino-Soviet conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway or Soviet–Japanese border conflicts , Soviet troops on the western border received a directive, signed by Marshal Semyon Timoshenko and General of
10240-400: The bulk of aluminium that was used in manufacture of Soviet aircraft, that had fallen in critically short supply. Soviet statistics show, that without these shipments of aluminium, aircraft production would have been less than one-half (or about 45,000 less) of the total 137,000 produced aircraft. Stalin noted in 1944, that two-thirds of Soviet heavy industry had been built with the help of
10368-472: The concept of cavalry as a fast force capable of missions traditionally fulfilled by horse cavalry made a return to military thinking during the Cold War. In general, two new types of cavalry were developed: air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry , based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division (Test) , formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning , Georgia. On 29 June 1965,
10496-551: 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
10624-514: The course of time. For instance, in 1944, Nazi Germany designated some of their infantry formations as Volksgrenadier divisions, which were slightly smaller than the regular divisions, with wider issue of sub-machine guns, automatic and anti-tank weapons to reflect the reality that they were to be used in defensive warfare. In 1945, Nazi Germany seconded members of the Kriegsmarine to create "naval divisions", which were of lower quality than
10752-540: The crypto used in the Siemens and Halske T52 crypto machine also known as the Geheimschreiber and informed Stalin about the forthcoming invasion well ahead of June 22, but did not reveal its sources. Soviet intelligence was fooled by German disinformation, so sent false alarms to Moscow about a German invasion in April, May and the beginning of June. Soviet intelligence reported that Germany would rather invade
10880-470: The current 1st Armored Division consists of two armored BCTs and a Stryker BCT along with its support troops. Nevertheless, some US division types will retain their mission: The 82nd and 11th airborne divisions have airborne infantry BCTs, while the 10th Mountain Division has only light infantry BCTs. Historically, the Australian Army has fielded a number of divisions. During World War I,
11008-679: The destruction of the USSR) were limited. Political demands necessitated the expansion of Germany's control of natural and human resources, industrial capacity and farmland beyond its borders (conquered territories). Germany's military production was tied to resources outside its area of control, a dynamic not found amongst the Allies. During the war, as Germany acquired new territories (either by direct annexation or by installing puppet governments in defeated countries), these new territories were forced to sell raw materials and agricultural products to German buyers at extremely low prices. Overall, France made
11136-458: The direct organization of the division consists of one to four brigades or battle groups of its primary combat arm, along with a brigade or regiment of combat support (usually artillery ) and a number of direct-reporting battalions for necessary specialized support tasks, such as intelligence , logistics , reconnaissance , and combat engineers . Most militaries standardize ideal organization strength for each type of division, encapsulated in
11264-416: The division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. An "infantry division" is a military formation composed primarily of infantry units , also supported by units from other combat arms . In the Soviet Union and Russia, an infantry division is often referred to as a "rifle division". A " motorised infantry " division
11392-521: The division was renamed the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) , before its departure for the Vietnam War . After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks and armored scout vehicles to form armored cavalry. The concept of a fast-moving, armored reconnaissance force has remained in modern armies, but these units are now smaller and make up
11520-407: The ease and simplicity involved in forming divisions of infantry compared to other formations, infantry divisions have often been the most numerous in historical warfare. Most US divisions during World War II were infantry divisions. Infantry divisions were also expected to travel by foot from place to place, with transport vehicles or pack horses used to augment their travel. Divisions evolved over
11648-408: The eastern German city of Dresden , being done to facilitate specific Soviet operational goals. In addition to Germany, hundreds of thousands of tons of bombs were dropped on their eastern allies of Romania and Hungary , primarily in an attempt to cripple Romanian oil production . British and Commonwealth forces also contributed directly to the fighting on the Eastern Front through their service in
11776-470: The end of the Napoleonic Wars , all armies in Europe had adopted it. The composition of divisions varied significantly during the two world wars and, in addition, there was no uniformity of quality, even when divisions had the same composition. The size of infantry divisions deployed by the major belligerents at start of the Great War ranged from about 16,000 in the French and Russian armies to 17,500 in
11904-497: The end of the war, most armoured and infantry divisions have had significant numbers of both tank and infantry units within them. The difference has usually been in the mix of battalions assigned. Additionally, in some militaries, armoured divisions are equipped with more advanced or powerful tanks than other divisions. Mountain divisions are infantry divisions given special training and equipment to operate in hilly, mountainous or arctic areas . Some examples of these formations include
12032-414: The entire war. In addition, the USSR received wartime innovations including penicillin, radar, rocket, precision-bombing technology, the long-range navigation system Loran , and many other innovations. Of the 800,000 tons of nonferrous metals shipped, about 350,000 tons were aluminium. The shipment of aluminium not only represented double the amount of metal that Germany possessed, but also composed
12160-592: The infantry and armor. Nazi Germany organized Security divisions to operate in captured territory to provide rear-echelon security against partisans and maintain order among civilians. Structured like an infantry division, a security division was more likely to contain lower quality troops and was not intended to serve directly at the front. SS units of this type were called "SS Polizei divisions". The Soviet Union's People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (the NKVD ) organized security divisions (see Category:Divisions of
12288-583: The infantry divisions of the Heer . They also created " Luftwaffe field divisions" from members of the Luftwaffe . Infantry divisions were sometimes given the responsibility of garrison work. These were named "frontier guard divisions", "static infantry divisions" and "fortress divisions", and were used often by Nazi Germany. The Soviet Union organised Machine-Gun Artillery Divisions of artillery, multiple rocket launchers, and static gun positions for use East of
12416-495: The international communist revolution , and eventually leading to the dissolution of the Comintern (Third International) organisation in 1943. The Soviet Union started a process of militarisation with the first five-year plan that officially began in 1928, although it was only towards the end of the second five-year plan in the mid-1930s that military power became the primary focus of Soviet industrialisation. In February 1936
12544-702: The invasion of the Soviet Union, cited the Soviet annexations of Baltic and Romanian territory as having violated Germany's understanding of the pact. Moscow partitioned the annexed Romanian territory between the Ukrainian and Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republics . Hitler had argued in his autobiography Mein Kampf (1925) for the necessity of Lebensraum ("living space"): acquiring new territory for Germans in Eastern Europe, in particular Russia. He envisaged settling Germans there, as according to Nazi ideology
12672-557: The largest contribution to the German war effort. Two-thirds of all French trains in 1941 were used to carry goods to Germany. In 1943–44, French payments to Germany may have risen to as much as 55% of French GDP. Norway lost 20% of its national income in 1940 and 40% in 1943. Axis allies such as Romania and Italy , Hungary , Finland, Croatia and Bulgaria benefited from Germany's net imports. Overall, Germany imported 20% of its food and 33% of its raw materials from conquered territories and Axis allies. On 27 May 1940, Germany signed
12800-555: The last year of war, Lend-Lease data show that about 5.1 million tons of foodstuff left the United States for the Soviet Union. It is estimated that all the food supplies sent to Russia could feed a 12,000,000-man strong army a half pound of concentrated food per day, for the entire duration of the war. The total Lend-Lease aid provided during the Second World War had been estimated between $ 42–50 billion. The Soviet Union received shipments in war materials, military equipment and other supplies worth of $ 12.5 billion, about
12928-501: The national military organization is exercised in democracies by an elected political leader as 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
13056-575: The period of 1933–43. It may also be likely that "Swedish ore formed the raw material of four out of every ten German guns" during the Hitler era'. The use of foreign forced labour and slavery in Germany and throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II took place on an unprecedented scale. It was a vital part of the German economic exploitation of conquered territories. It also contributed to
13184-479: 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
13312-553: The process and usually crewed by volunteers rather than conscripts. The German 1st Parachute Division , which was part of the Luftwaffe and not the Heer , was instrumental in the 1941 Battle of Crete . US and British airborne troops first participated during the 1943 invasion of Sicily . The use of airborne divisions during the Invasion of Normandy was crucial to its success. Further allied paratroop operations were made during
13440-399: 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
13568-479: 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
13696-754: The regiments. These units were mainly support units in nature, and included signal companies, medical battalions, supply trains and administration. Attached units were smaller units that were placed under divisional command temporarily for the purpose of completing a particular mission. These units were usually combat units such as tank battalions, tank-destroyer battalions or cavalry-reconnaissance squadrons. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures. This does not mean that divisions are equal in size or structure from country to country, but divisions have, in most cases, come to be units of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers with enough organic support to be capable of independent operations. Usually,
13824-475: 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
13952-418: The same conclusion about it as the previous royal government, and the army was organised into divisions. It made the armies more flexible and easy to maneuver, and it also made the large French Revolutionary Army manageable. Under Napoleon , the divisions were grouped together into corps , because of their increasing size. Napoleon's military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe; by
14080-408: The side of Spanish Nationalists , the military rebel group led by General Francisco Franco . It served as a useful testing ground for both the Wehrmacht and the Red Army to experiment with equipment and tactics that they would later employ on a wider scale in the Second World War. Nazi Germany, which was an anti-communist régime, formalised its ideological position on 25 November 1936 by signing
14208-565: 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
14336-426: The size of the division rarely makes such obfuscation necessary. In the years leading up to the end of the cold war and beyond, the type names of various divisions became less important. The majority of US Infantry divisions were now mechanized and had significant numbers of tanks and IFVs, becoming de facto armored divisions. US armored divisions had more tanks but less infantry than these infantry divisions. Moreover,
14464-495: The smaller brigade combat team (similar to the RCT) as the default combined arms unit, with the division to which they belong, being less important. A similar word, divizion/divizijun/dywizjon , is also used in languages such as Russian, Serbian, Croatian and Polish, for a battalion -size artillery or cavalry unit. In naval usage " division " has a completely different range of meanings. Aboard ships of British Royal Navy tradition,
14592-516: The sole cavalry division was structured the same way as an armored division. With the introduction of modular brigade combat teams (BCT) in modern divisions, the nomenclature type is even less important, since a division can now be made of up any combination of light infantry, Stryker and armored BCTs. For example, the US 1st Infantry Division currently consists of two armored BCTs along with support troops, with no light infantry units at all. By contrast,
14720-562: The supporting units. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks but few infantry units. Instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. The terms "tank division" or "mechanized division" are alternative names for armored divisions. A " Panzer division " was an armoured division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II . Since
14848-399: The tactic of "two forward, one back", where two of the division's regiments could engage the enemy with one regiment in reserve. All divisions in World War II were expected to have their own artillery formations, usually (depending upon the nation) the size of a regiment. Divisional artillery was occasionally seconded by corps-level command to increase firepower in larger engagements. During
14976-401: The terms "division" or "department" are often used interchangeably and refer to the administrative organization used to manage personnel. Aboard US navy ships (including US coastguard vessels), in shore commands and in US naval aviation units (including US navy, marine corps, and coastguard aviation) it refers to an administrative/functional sub-unit of a department (e.g., fire control division of
15104-407: 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
15232-463: 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
15360-530: The unit's nomenclature , with divisions of the Italian Army being one of the exceptions. In some cases, divisional titles lack an ordinal number, often in the case of unique units or units serving as elite or special troops. For clarity in histories and reports, the nation is identified before the number. This also helps in historical studies, but due to the nature of intelligence on the battlefield, division names and assignments are at times obscured. However,
15488-490: The vast " Bolshevik hordes" that were pouring into Europe. Throughout the 1930s the Soviet Union underwent massive industrialisation and economic growth under the leadership of Joseph Stalin . Stalin's central tenet, " Socialism in One Country ", manifested itself as a series of nationwide centralised five-year plans from 1929 onwards. This represented an ideological shift in Soviet policy, away from its commitment to
15616-631: The war against the Soviet Union as a struggle between the ideologies of Nazism and Jewish Bolshevism , ensuring territorial expansion for the Germanic Übermenschen (superhumans) - who according to Nazi ideology were the Aryan Herrenvolk ("master race") - at the expense of the Slavic Untermenschen (subhumans). Wehrmacht officers told their troops to target people who were described as "Jewish Bolshevik subhumans",
15744-473: The war the US also used regimental combat teams , whereby attached and/or organic divisional units were parceled out to infantry regiments, creating smaller combined-arms units with their own armor and artillery and support units. These combat teams would still be under divisional command but had some level of autonomy on the battlefield. Organic units within divisions were units which operated directly under divisional command and were not normally controlled by
15872-401: The weapons department). Alternatively it refers to a sub-unit of several ships within a flotilla or squadron , or to two or three sections of aircraft operating under a designated division leader. In the West, the first general to think of organizing an army into smaller combined-arms units was Maurice de Saxe (d. 1750), Marshal General of France , in his book Mes Rêveries . He died at
16000-420: The whole rotten structure will come crashing down." Thus the German authorities expected another short Blitzkrieg and made no serious preparations for prolonged warfare. However, following the decisive Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943 and the resulting dire German military situation, Nazi propaganda began to portray the war as a German defence of Western civilisation against destruction by
16128-463: 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,
16256-468: Was a theatre of World War II fought between the European Axis powers and Allies , including the Soviet Union (USSR) and Poland . It encompassed Central Europe , Eastern Europe , Northeast Europe ( Baltics ), and Southeast Europe ( Balkans ), and lasted from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945. Of the estimated 70–85 million deaths attributed to World War II, around 30 million occurred on
16384-552: Was disbanded without seeing combat to make up for manpower shortages in the other divisions. Another infantry division, known as the New Zealand and Australian Division , was also formed from Australian and New Zealand troops and saw service at Gallipoli. Two divisions of Australian Light Horse were also formed – the Australian Mounted Division (which also included some British and French units) and
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