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Military districts (also calledmilitary regions) areformations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and in countries withconscript forces, often handle parts of the conscription cycle.
Navies have also used a similar model, with organizations such as theUnited States naval districts. A number of navies in South America used naval districts at various points in time.
Algeria is divided into six numbered military regions, each with headquarters located in a principal city or town (seePeople's National Army (Algeria)#Military regions). Before theAlgerian revolution,French Algeria was the 10th Military Region of France.
This system of territorial organization, adopted shortly after independence, grew out of the wartime wilaya structure and the postwar necessity of subduing antigovernment insurgencies that were based in the various regions. Regional commanders control and administer bases, logistics, and housing, as well as conscript training. However, commanders of army divisions and brigades, air force installations, and naval forces report directly to theMinistry of National Defence and service chiefs of staff on operational matters.
Military region commanders in 2003 includedBrahim Fodel Chérif (1st Military Region), Kamel Abderrahmane (2nd Military Region,Abcène Tafer (3rd Military Region), Abdelmadjid Sahed (4th Military Region, Chérif Abderrazak (5th Military Region) andAli Benali (6th Military Region).[2]
Between 1911 and 1997, theAustralian Army had an official system of between six and eight military districts, based on the boundaries ofAustralian states and territories.
From 1911:
In 1939, an additional two districts were created.
During World War II, the military districts were temporarily replaced by a system of operational commands.
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There were 76 northern military districts or military regions (軍區), orwar areas, which were the largest formations of theNational Revolutionary Army, under theMilitary Affairs Commission, chaired byChiang Kai-shek during theSecond Sino-Japanese War andWorld War II. During the Second Sino-Japanese War the National Revolutionary Army eventually organized itself into twelve Military Regions.
The military regions (originally eleven, then seven) of thePeople's Liberation Army were divided into military districts (usually contiguous with provinces) and military sub-districts, under the command of theCentral Military Commission.
In February 2016, the 7 military regions were changed to 5theater commands:[3]
Under theThird Republic, a military region comprised several departments which supported an armycorps. For many years up to 21 military regions were active.
On 24 July 1873, theFrench Parliament passed a law which created 18 military regions inmetropolitan France.[5] A19th Army Corps was created in Algeria in September 1873 (seeRégion militaire [fr]). In 1905, the strength of theTroupes coloniales stationed in the 19 military districts of metropolitan France was reported at 2,123 officers and 26,581 other ranks.[6] In 1946, following the Second World War ten military regions were created or recreated, in accordance with a decree of 18 February 1946. They included the 1st (Paris); 2e (Lille); 3e (Rennes); 4e (Bordeaux); 5e (Toulouse); 6e (Metz); 7e (Dijon); 8th (Lyon); the 9th (Marseille), and the 10th in Algeria. The 10th Military Region (France) supervisedFrench Algeria during theAlgerian War.[7]
With the evolution of administrative organization, France was divided into regional administrative districts (circa 1963) (administrative region dependent of a prefect of the region). The military organisation then combined the administrative organization and in each CAR corresponded a territorial military division (TMD). On the defence side, these military divisions have been grouped into military regions. Their number varied depending on the period. The current number is six.
TheDéfense opérationnelle du territoire supervised reserve and home defence activities from 1959[8] to the 1970s.[9] However, by the 1980s the number had been reduced to six: the1st Military Region (France) with its headquarters in Paris, the2nd Military Region (France) atLille, the3rd Military Region (France) atRennes, the4th Military Region (France) atBordeaux, the5th at Lyons and 6th at Metz.[10] Each supervised up to fivedivision militaire territoriale – military administrative sub-divisions, in 1984 sometimes supervising up to three reserve regiments each.
In the twenty-first century, under the latest thorough reform of the French security and defence sector, there are sevenZone de défense et de sécurité [fr] each with a territorial ground army region: Paris (or Île-de-France, HQ in Paris), Nord (HQ in Lille), Ouest (HQ in Rennes), Sud-Ouest (HQ in Bordeaux), Sud (HQ in Marseille), Sud-Est (HQ in Lyon), Est (HQ in Strasbourg).[11]
From 1919 until 1945,Germany used the system ofmilitary districts (German:Wehrkreis) to relieve field commanders of as much administrative work as possible and to provide a regular flow of trained recruits and supplies to the Field Army. The method they adopted was to separate theField Army (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres) from theHome Command (Heimatkriegsgebiet) and to entrust the responsibilities of training, conscription, supply and equipment to that command.
TheCommander of theInfantry Corps with the identical number also commanded theWehrkreis in peacetime, but command of theWehrkreis passed to his second-in command at the outbreak of war.
In peacetime, theWehrkreis was the home to theInfantry Corps of the same number and all subordinate units of that Corps.
Until 2013 the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) had four military districts –Wehrbereichskommando (WBK) as part of theStreitkräftebasis or Joint Service Support Command. Each WBK controlled severalLandeskommandos (State Commands) due to thefederal structure of Germany who have taken over functions carried out by the Verteidigungsbezirkskommandos (VBKs) or Military Region Commands (Defence District Commands) as. These command authorities are in charge of allmilitary facilities. Now the Landeskommmandos are led by the National Territorial Command calledKommando Territoriale Aufgaben der Bundeswehr (KdoTerrAufgBw).
TheIndonesian Army operates with military districts, known asKomando Daerah Militer (Military Region Command) abbreviatedKodam. It was created by GeneralSoedirman as a system initially called "Wehrkreise", adapted from theGerman system duringWorld War II. The system was later ratified in "Surat Perintah Siasat No.1" (No.1 Strategy Command Letter), signed in November 1948.
The Military regional commands function as a means of circle of defense, or regional defense, to defend the designated islands/provinces under Indonesian territory. EachKodam is commanded by aMajor General and has full authority to commence operations with the force under his jurisdiction. The commander (known asPanglima Kodam abbreviatedPangdam) reports to the Chief of Army Staff (KSAD) and is responsible for territorial defence during times of war and development and supervision during times of peace. He is also responsible for ensuring security and protection for VVIP visiting his territory, e.g Presidential visits, etc.
A Regional Command (Kazakh:Аймақтық қолбасшылық,Aımaqtyq qolbasshylyq;Russian:Региональная команда,Regional'naya komanda) in Kazakhstan operates in a similar fashion to Russian military districts.
The Kazakh Ground Forces are divided into four regional commands:[12]
Initially, right after theFirst World War, Poland had five military districts (1918–1921):
In 1921, due to reorganization, the military districts were replaced withDowództwo Okręgu Korpusu (DOK – Corps District Command). In theSecond Polish Republic there were ten DOKs:
Each DOK consisted of four large units (three infantry divisions and one cavalry brigade).
For district arrangements after World War II seePolish Land Forces. TheKraków Military District disbanded in 1953. From 1999 Poland has been divided into two military districts, thePomeranian Military District and theSilesian Military District, both were disbanded by the end of 2011.
The Russian Empire'smilitary district (Russian:вое́нный о́круг,voyenny okrug) was a territorial association ofmilitary units,formations,military schools, and various local military establishments. This territorial division type was utilized inImperial Russia,USSR and is currently in use inRussian Federation.
Such territorial division provided convenient management of army units, their training and other activities regarding the country's readiness to defend itself.
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In the USSR, the military districts continued to perform the same role they had done in the Russian Empire, with first sixmilitary districts (Yaroslavsky,Moskovsky,Orlovsky,Belomorsky,Uralsky, andPrivolzhsky) were formed on 31 March 1918 during theRussian Civil War.
This increased to 17 military districts of theUSSR at the beginning of July 1940 shortly before the USSR was invaded by Germany and entered theSecond World War, and were used to create combatFronts after commencement of theGerman invasion of the USSR.
During the war the districts were further divided into geographic regions forlogistic reasons, these being:[citation needed]
After the war, the number was increased to 33 to aid indemobilisation of forces, but by October 1946, they had been reduced to 21.[13]
By the end of the 1980s, immediately before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there were sixteen military districts, within three to five main strategicTheatre groupings.
Military districts (Russian:вое́нный о́круг,voyenny okrug) in the Russian Federation operates under the command of the districtheadquarters, headed by the districtcommander, and is subordinated to theGeneral Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.[citation needed] (Previously under Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces GeneralNikolai Kormiltsev, the military districts reported to the General Staff via theRussian Ground Forces staff.) It is a territorial association ofmilitary units,formations,military schools, and various local military establishments. This territorial division type was historically adopted, originally by Imperial Russia, to provide a more efficient management of army units, their training and other operations activities related tocombat readiness.
From 1992 to 2010, the Armed Forces maintained a diminishing number of formerSoviet Armed Forces districts –Leningrad Military District,Moscow Military District,Volga-Urals Military District,North Caucasus Military District,Siberian Military District,Far East Military District.
In 2009–2010, these districts were reorganised into 4 Military Districts comprising regional Joint Strategic Commands.[14]
In 2014 Northern Fleet was reorganized into separate Joint Strategic Command.
From March 2024 onwards 5 military districts are active in the Russian Armed Forces:
The military district (Swedish:Militärområde, usually abbreviated toMilo) was an administrative division of theSwedish Armed Forces, and was a higher regional level subdivision. The commander of a military district, theMilitärområdesbefälhavare (alsomilitärbefälhavare), commanded theSwedish Army divisions stationed in the region, the regional naval command, the regional air defence sector as well as the lower regional level subdivisiondefence districts that made up the military district. The commander answered directly to theSupreme Commander. The military districts in the modern form were created in 1966, and each district was named according to the geographical area they covered. Several changes were made, such as creating or merging districts, until all military districts were disbanded in 2000. After theDefence Act of 2000 the military districts were replaced by new military districts (Swedish:Militärdistrikt, usually abbreviated toMD). The new military districts corresponded geographically to the former military districts, however, they did not have the same territorial and operational tasks. In 2005, the military districts were replaced to some extent by four Security and Cooperation Sections (Swedish:Säkerhets- och samverkanssektioner).
In 2013, the Security and Cooperation Sections were replaced by four Military regions (Swedish: Militärregion, MR): Northern, Central, Western and Southern. A fifth military region, Gotland Military Region (Militärregion Gotland, MR G) was formed in 2019.
British Army regional districts have evolved slowly over the previous 150 years or so. For many years there were regional commands in the UK, includingAldershot Command (from 1880),Eastern Command,Northern Command,Scottish Command,Southern Command andWestern Command (from 1905). By 1985 these were superseded by districts, and until the spring of 1991 there were nine of them.Antony Beevor wrote in his revised edition ofInside the British Army in 1991 that '..the first of the minor districts to be amalgamated wereNorth West District,Western District, and Wales, to form a new Western District.'HQ Northern Ireland remained separate and reported toHeadquarters United Kingdom Land Forces only on non-operational matters.[15]
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From 1995, UK commands and later districts were replaced by regenerative divisions.2nd Division,4th Division, 5th Division andLondon District acted as regional commands within the UK reporting toCommander Regional Forces.Scotland District was absorbed by 2nd Division in 2000. The divisions were responsible for training subordinate formations and units under their command for operations in the UK, such asMilitary Aid to the Civil Community, as well as training units for overseas deployments. 2nd, 4th and 5th Divisions were replaced bySupport Command on 1 November 2011.[16]
Themilitary department was a military and administrative command of the US Army.[17] The U.S. Army is in the mid-2020s divided into functional commands within theContinental United States and regional commands abroad; the Navy has both functional and regional commands as well.Neither service has multiple formations responsible for "raise, train, and maintain" functions within a specific geographicalarea of responsibility, as the old districts did.
In March 1867, Congress passed theReconstruction Acts, a series of acts that included the division of the former Confederate States (excluding Tennessee) into five military districts.[18][19] These districts included:
Each of these districts were governed by former Union Army general officers, and was required to adopt a new state constitution and ratify the14th Amendment under the Reconstruction Acts in order to rejoin the Union.[18]
Military districts (Uzbek:Harbiy okruglar) of theArmed Forces of Uzbekistan are under the jurisdiction of thedefense ministry of the republic. In May 2001,[20] the Tashkent Garrison was transformed into the Tashkent Military District.[21] The following are a list of military districts in Uzbekistan:[22]
The replenishment of the ranks of divisions and units in wartime is done by order of the commanders of military districts.[23]
Vietnam People's Army has8 Military Regions; each is directly under the Ministry of Defense of Vietnam:
TheArmy of the Republic of Vietnam originally had fourcorps, for exampleI Corps (South Vietnam). Later they were redesignated Military Regions 1–4.
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