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57-794: The British Mediterranean Fleet , also known as the Mediterranean Station , was a formation of the Royal Navy . The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between the United Kingdom and the majority of the British Empire in the Eastern Hemisphere. The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet was

114-627: 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. 1st Battle Squadron As an element in the Grand Fleet, the Squadron participated in the Battle of Jutland . On 5 August 1914, the squadron was constituted as follows: During the Battle of Jutland, the composition of the 1st Battle Squadron

171-500: 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 ,

228-625: A coastal minesweeper squadron." Deployments to the Beira Patrol and elsewhere reduced the escort total in 1966 from four to two ships, and then to no frigates at all. The Fleet's assets and area of responsibility were absorbed into the new Western Fleet . As a result of this change, the UK relinquished the NATO post of Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Mediterranean , which was abolished. Note: This list

285-592: 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

342-467: A flotilla of submarines stationed at the bases around Valletta Harbour. In this capacity, he had to employ considerable diplomatic skill to maintain good relations with Dom Mintoff , the nationalistic prime minister of Malta . In the 1960s, as the importance of maintaining the link between the United Kingdom and British territories and commitments East of Suez decreased as the Empire was dismantled, and

399-424: 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

456-610: 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

513-485: 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

570-546: A mine in the Corfu Channel, starting a series of events known as the Corfu Channel Incident . The channel was cleared in "Operation Recoil" the next month, involving 11 minesweepers under the guidance of Ocean , two cruisers, three destroyers, and three frigates. In May 1948, Sir Arthur Power took over as Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean, and in his first act arranged a show of force to discourage

627-591: A naval presence in the Mediterranean before, the capture of Gibraltar allowed the British to establish their first naval base there. The British also used Port Mahon , on the island of Menorca , as a naval base . However, British control there was only temporary; Menorca changed hands numerous times, and was permanently ceded to Spain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens . In 1800, the British took Malta , which

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684-482: 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

741-491: 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

798-703: 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

855-507: 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

912-593: 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

969-450: 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

1026-552: Is incomplete. The majority of officers listed were appointed as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Sea sometimes Commander-in-Chief, at the Mediterranean Sea earlier officers appointed to command either fleets/squadrons stationed in the Mediterranean for particular operations were styled differently see notes next to their listing The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet may have been named as early as 1665. Commanders-in-chief have included: In January 1944

1083-450: 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

1140-439: 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

1197-590: 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

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1254-545: 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

1311-665: 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

1368-614: 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

1425-469: 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

1482-580: The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Destroyer Flotillas, and the aircraft carrier Glorious . In 1940, the Mediterranean Fleet carried out a successful aircraft carrier attack on the Italian Fleet at Taranto by air . Other major actions included the Battle of Cape Matapan and the Battle of Crete . The Fleet had to block Italian and later German reinforcements and supplies for the North African Campaign . In October 1946, Saumarez hit

1539-530: 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

1596-642: The Eastern Fleet was reinforced by HMS  Queen Elizabeth , HMS  Renown , HMS  Valiant , HMS  Illustrious , HMS  Unicorn and seven destroyers. The Admiralty sent this force out to India under the title of the First Battle Squadron. From November 1944, the squadron served in the British Pacific Fleet under the command of Vice-Admiral Henry Rawlings , who also served as Second-in-Command of

1653-605: The Mediterranean Fleet in 1914. They and Indefatigable formed the nucleus of the fleet at the start of the First World War when British forces pursued the German ships Goeben and Breslau . A recently modernised Warspite became the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief and Second-in-Command , Mediterranean Fleet in 1926. Malta , as part of the British Empire from 1814, was a shipping station and

1710-464: The Mediterranean to the Middle East and Far East. When a NATO naval commander, Admiral Robert B. Carney , C-in-C Allied Forces Southern Europe , was appointed, relations with the incumbent British C-in-C, Admiral Sir John Edelsten , were frosty. Edlesten, on making an apparently friendly offer of the use of communications facilities to Carney, who initially lacked secure communications facilities,

1767-463: 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

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1824-590: The appointment of General at Sea Robert Blake in September 1654 (styled as Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet). The Fleet was in existence until 1967. The Royal Navy gained a foothold in the Mediterranean Sea when Gibraltar was captured by the British in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession , and formally allocated to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht . Though the British had maintained

1881-418: 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

1938-551: 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

1995-616: The crossing of Jewish refugees into Palestine . When later that year Britain pulled out of the British Mandate of Palestine , Ocean , four destroyers, and two frigates escorted the departing High Commissioner, aboard the cruiser Euryalus . The force stayed to cover the evacuation of British troops into the Haifa enclave and south via Gaza. From 1952 to 1967, the post of Commander in Chief Mediterranean Fleet

2052-568: The eighteenth century. It rotated between Gibraltar and Malta from 1791 to 1812. From 1813 to July 1939 it was permanently at Malta Dockyard . In August 1939 the C-in-C Mediterranean Fleet moved his HQ afloat on board HMS  Warspite until April 1940. He was then back onshore at Malta until February 1941. He transferred it again to HMS Warspite until July 1942. In August 1942 headquarters were moved to Alexandria where they remained from June 1940 to February 1943. HQ

2109-570: The entire fleet to be safely moored there. In the last decade of the nineteenth century, the Mediterranean Fleet was the largest single squadron of the Royal Navy, with ten first-class battleships—double the number in the Channel Fleet —and a large number of smaller warships. On 22 June 1893, the bulk of the fleet, eight battleships and three large cruisers , were conducting their annual summer exercises off Tripoli , Lebanon , when

2166-429: The fleet's flagship, the battleship HMS  Victoria , collided with the battleship HMS  Camperdown . Victoria sank within fifteen minutes, taking 358 crew with her. Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon , commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, was among the dead. Of the three original Invincible -class battlecruisers which entered service in the first half of 1908, two ( Inflexible and Indomitable ) joined

2223-667: The focus of Cold War naval responsibilities moved to the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Fleet was gradually drawn down, finally disbanding in June 1967. Eric Grove, in Vanguard to Trident , details how by the mid-1960s the permanent strength of the Fleet was "reduced to a single small escort squadron [appears to have been 30th Escort Squadron with HMS  Brighton , HMS  Cassandra , HMS  Aisne plus another ship] and

2280-503: 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,

2337-479: 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

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2394-399: 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

2451-479: 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

2508-475: 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

2565-683: 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

2622-529: The squadron on completion. For many years the squadron served in the Mediterranean as the main British battle force there. On 3 September 1939 the 1st Battle Squadron, serving in the Mediterranean Fleet , consisted of Barham , Warspite and Malaya , with headquarters at Alexandria , Egypt , under the command of Vice-Admiral Geoffrey Layton . In December 1943 the Squadron was under the command of Vice Admiral Arthur Power . In January 1944

2679-430: 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

2736-460: 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

2793-620: The two separate commands were re-unified with the Flag Officer, Levant and East Mediterranean (FOLEM) reporting to the C-in-C Mediterranean. The Chief of Staff was the principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief. The Mediterranean Fleets shore headquarters was initially based at Port Mahon Dockyard , Minorca for most of

2850-463: 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

2907-463: 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,

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2964-407: Was as follows: Following the Battle of Jutland, the 1st Battle Squadron was reorganized, with Colossus , Hercules , St. Vincent , Collingwood and Neptune all transferred to the 4th Battle Squadron . In January 1917, the squadron was constituted as follows: By 1918, Agincourt had been transferred to the 2nd Battle Squadron , and Resolution , Ramillies and Iron Duke had joined

3021-575: Was changed again but this time in rotation between Algiers and Taranto until June 1944. It then moved back to Malta until it was abolished in 1967. Note: At various times included the following . Parts of the Admiral of Patrols ' Auxiliary Patrol during World War One were within the Mediterranean. Several patrol zones were under British authority. Note: At various times included the following . Included: Military formation Military organization ( AE ) or military organisation ( BE )

3078-575: Was given a dual-hatted role as NATO Commander in Chief of Allied Forces Mediterranean in charge of all forces assigned to NATO in the Mediterranean Area. The British made strong representations within NATO in discussions regarding the development of the Mediterranean NATO command structure, wishing to retain their direction of NATO naval command in the Mediterranean to protect their sea lines of communication running through

3135-516: Was met with "I'm not about to play Faust to your Mephistopheles through the medium of communications!" In 1956, ships of the fleet, together with the French Navy , took part in the Suez War against Egypt . From 1957 to 1959, Rear Admiral Charles Madden held the post of Flag Officer, Malta , with responsibilities for three squadrons of minesweepers, an amphibious warfare squadron, and

3192-676: Was the headquarters for the Mediterranean Fleet until the mid-1930s. Due to the perceived threat of air-attack from the Italian mainland, the fleet was moved to Alexandria , Egypt , shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. Sir Andrew Cunningham took command of the fleet from Warspite on 3 September 1939, and under him the major formations of the Fleet were the 1st Battle Squadron ( Warspite , Barham , and Malaya ) 1st Cruiser Squadron ( Devonshire , Shropshire , and Sussex ), 3rd Cruiser Squadron ( Arethusa , Penelope , Galatea ), Rear Admiral John Tovey , with

3249-631: Was to be handed over to the Knights of Malta under the Treaty of Amiens. When the Napoleonic Wars resumed in 1803, the British kept Malta for use as a naval base. Following Napoleon's defeat, the British continued their presence in Malta, and turned it into the main base for the Mediterranean Fleet. Between the 1860s and 1900s, the British undertook a number of projects to improve the harbours and dockyard facilities, and Malta's harbours were sufficient to allow

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