Afield force inBritish,Indian Army and Tanzanian military parlance is a combined arms land force operating under actual or assumed combat circumstances,[1] usually for the length of a specificmilitary campaign. It is used by other nations, but can have a different meaning.
A field force would be created from the various units in an area of military operations and be named for the geographical area. Examples are:
In Australia, a field force comprises the units required to meet operational commitments.[2]
TheCanadian Expeditionary Force was considered as a field force created to participate inWorld War I.
Other Canadian field forces in history include:
In the United States, during theVietnam War the term came to stand for a corps-sized organization with other functions and responsibilities. To avoid confusion with thecorps designations used by theArmy of the Republic of Vietnam and to allow for a flexible organization, MACV and GeneralWilliam Westmoreland developed the "field force" such asI Field Force andII Field Force. Unlike an Army corps, which had a size and structure fixed by Army doctrine, the field force could expand as needed and had other functions such as liaison with South Vietnamese andcivil affairs functions and was flexible enough to have many subordinate units assigned to it.[5]
Incounterinsurgency type campaigns, select and specially trained units of police armed and equipped aslight infantry have been designated as police field forces who performparamilitary type patrols and ambushes whilst retaining their police powers in areas that were highly dangerous.[6]
Independent State of Croatia 1941 - 1945
