Army
From ArticleWorld
An Army may by and large be defined as the armed force of a country. More particularly it refers to the permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state. For example the army of the United States of America is the agency that organizes and trains soldiers for land warfare. Typically the term Army may also be used to define any formation or group or para-military force under the command of a leader, like the Irish Republican Army or the Salvation Army.
Field army
The root of the word army may be traced to the French word armee having the same meaning. A field army is the largest administrative and tactical unit of a land force made up of Corps and Divisions comprising several components of arms & services, which are essential to combat.
The primary purpose of any army is to defend the national territory, the secondary, and vital purpose is to protect the country’s national interests abroad, and even a projection of the national foreign policy.
Branches
Most countries make a distinction between the three main prongs of its defense services – the army, the navy and the air force. The army itself has several branches and may include:
- The branch which is retained for ground combat is called infantry;
- The cavalry of yore that fought from horse back has been replaced by the modern armored division fighting in armored vehicles;
- The artillery division of the army operates guns, missiles, rockets and mortars; while the
- The Engineering branch of an army is engaged in construction, demolition, mine clearing and building bridges.