Auxiliaries aresupport personnel that assist themilitary orpolice but are organised differently fromregular forces. Auxiliary may bemilitary volunteers undertaking support functions or performing certain duties such asgarrison troops, usually on a part-time basis. Unlike amilitary reserve force, an auxiliary force does not necessarily have the same degree oftraining orranking structure as regular soldiers, and it may or may not be integrated into a fighting force. Some auxiliaries, however, aremilitias composed of former active duty military personnel and have better training and combat experience than their regular counterparts.
The designation "auxiliary" has also been given to foreign or allied troops in the service of a nation at war. The term originated with the LatineponymousAuxilia relating to non-citizen infantry and cavalry serving as regular units of theRoman Empire.[1][full citation needed] In the context ofcolonial troops, locally recruitedirregulars were often described as auxiliaries.
By the 2nd century AD the auxiliaries had been organised into permanent units, broadly grouped asAla (cavalry),Cohors (infantry) andCohors equitata (infantry with a cavalry element). Both cavalryalae and infantrycohors numbered between 480 and 600 men each.[citation needed] The mixed cohors equitata usually consisted of sixcenturies of foot soldiers and sixsquadrons of horsemen.[3] Specialist units of slingers, scouts, archers and camel mounted detachments continued in existence as separate units with a regional recruitment basis.[citation needed]
At the start of the 18th century, the English (from 1707,British) military (as distinct fromnaval) consisted of several regular and reserve militaryforces.[citation needed] The regular forces included districtgarrison artillery establishments that maintained forts and batteries, as well as field artillery, ready for war, with the batteries brought up to strength in war time by drafts from other military or naval forces, and field artillerytrains formed during wartime, all of which would be absorbed into theRoyal Artillery on or after its 1716 formation, and theRoyal Engineers (an officer-only corps responsible for planning naval and military works in garrisons and on expedition), both of which, with the civilian-staffed stores, transport, Commissariat, and other departments were all parts of theBoard of Ordnance, and the English Army (after 1707, theBritish Army), composed primarily of cavalry and infantry. The Horse and Foot Guards were considered parts of the British Army, though falling under the Royal Household there were differences in their command and administration.[4][page needed] There were also other minor forces of little military significance, such as theYeomen of the Guard.[5]
The reserve military forces included theHonourable Artillery Company and theMilitia (orConstitutional Force), which was normally an infantry-only force until the 1850s.[6][page needed] To these would be added the mountedYeomanry and theVolunteer Force, though the latter existed only in wartime until the 1850s.[citation needed] Similar reserve forces were raised throughout the British Empire.[citation needed] The reserve forces were auxiliary to the regular forces, and not parts of them. They were under the command of local representatives of the Crown (expressed asthe Monarch, although by the 19th century the monarch had become a figurehead for the British Government, which was responsible to Parliament).[citation needed] In the British Isles, the reserve forces were controlled bylords lieutenant of counties until 1871, when the British Government took direct control.[7]
The Reserve Forces were originally for local service, embodied for home defence in times of war or emergency.[citation needed] During the latter half of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century, these various military forces would be increasingly integrated with the regular force, as theBritish Army became when the Board of Ordnance was abolished and its military corps (by then including the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, and theRoyal Sappers and Miners), as well as the commissariat, ordnance stores, transport, and barracks departments, were absorbed into the British Army in 1855. During the same period, theBritish Army Regular Reserve was created (in 1859 bySecretary of State for WarSidney Herbert, and re-organised under theReserve Force Act 1867) and, to prevent confusion, the Reserve Forces were increasingly referred to instead as theAuxiliary Forces or theLocal Forces.[11][12]
Officers of the Reserve or Auxiliary Forces took precedence below British Army officers of the same rank (officers of the Yeomanry force and of the Volunteer Force similarly took precedence below officers of the Militia Force).[citation needed] When auxiliary units worked with Regular Forces, overall command was held by the highest-ranking officer of the Regular Forces, providing he held the same rank (or higher) as the highest-ranking officer of the Auxiliary unit.[13] The personnel of the Auxiliary Forces were not originally subject to theArmy Act, or the earlierMutiny Acts, though by the end of the 19th century they had become subject to the act while embodied for training with regular forces or for active service.[citation needed]
Although remaining nominally separate forces from the British Army, the units of these forces in the British Isles became numbered sub-units (squadrons, battalions, or companies) or regular British Army corps or regiments, and ultimately were funded by theWar Office, making them technically parts of the British Army.[citation needed] The Yeomanry and the Volunteer Force merged under theTerritorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 in 1908 to become theTerritorial Force.[citation needed] Although still meant to be local service, this force sent drafts of volunteers to regular battalions, and then entire units, overseas during the First World War. The potential to serve overseas in wartime became a permanent part of its role after the war when it was re-named theTerritorial Army, remaining nominally a separate force (or army) from the British Army until 2014 when it became theBritish Army Reserve.[14] The Militia in the British Isles was replaced with the Special Reserve in 1908, which sent drafts of replacements to regular units in wartime. After the First World War, this force was allowed to lapse. In British colonies, a number of militia and volunteer units continued to exist after 1908, generally being re-organised eventually on Territorial lines (though not administered as parts of the Territorial Army, and remaining local service).[citation needed] Most of these units continued to be viewed as auxiliary to the British Army, rather than parts of it (as this was no longer true of such units in the British Isles, this has led to the misconception in recent decades that these units are not part of the Britishmilitary as the uninformed presumeBritish military to connoteBritish Army, although theCombined Cadet Force and theArmy Cadet Force in the United Kingdom also remain separate forces).[15]
During theSecond Boer War Boer auxiliaries were employed by the British Army under the designation of "National Scouts".[citation needed] Recruited in significant numbers towards the end of the war from Afrikaner prisoners and defectors, they were known ashensoppers ("hands-uppers" i.e. collaborators) by their fellow Boers.[23]
Prior to the creation of theTerritorial Force in 1908, the term "Auxiliary Forces" was used by the British Army to collectively coverYeomanry,Militia andVolunteers. That is to say the various part-time units maintained to act in support of theRegular Army (UK).[25]
In 1941, the British government created an organization ofAuxiliary Units in southernEngland, capable of waging a guerilla war against occupying forces should Britain be invaded by theNazis. Since the invasion never came, they were ultimately never used in combat.[citation needed] The Auxiliary Units were meant to carry out assaults on German units, along with damaging train lines and aircraft if necessary.[citation needed]
While working as full-time, active duty personnel, the women's services ofWorld War II were titled as or seen as auxiliaries to the male services. These services were:
France made extensive use of tribal allies (goumiers) as auxiliaries in its North African possessions.[26] During theAlgerian War of 1954–62 large numbers of Muslim auxiliaries (Harkis) were employed in support of regular French forces.[27]
Germanparamilitary police forces, calledHilfspolizei orSchutzmannschaft, were raised during World War II and were thecollaborationistauxiliary policebattalions of locally recruited police, which were created to fight theresistance during World War II mostly in occupied Eastern European countries. Hilfspolizei refers also to German auxiliary police units. There was also aHIPO Corps inoccupied Denmark. The term had also been applied to some units created in 1933 by the earlyNazi government (mostly from members ofSA andSS) and disbanded the same year due to international protests.[30][31][32] Certain German auxiliary units, such as theReserve Police Battalion 101, committed horrendous massacres ofJewish,Romani, andother targeted ethnic groups while serving with theWehrmacht andEinstazgruppen in Eastern Europe. The example of the Reserve Police Battalion 101 came to exemplify bothcivilian participation in theHolocaust, as well as the active knowledge of how immoral their actions were among perpetrators of the Holocaust. Throughout their service on the Eastern Front, when ordered to execute civiliansen masse, members of the Battalion were frequently given the opportunity to reject participation in the events in lieu of standing guard at the perimeter or other less violent tasks. Battalion members were frequently rotated to avoid war fatigue and their veritable psychological destruction, and when participating in the atrocities they often tried to shoot away from infants, mothers, and minors, preferring to try to shoot the elderly or the ill to ease their conscience. They would frequently turn to heavy drinking to try to quell the mental anguish caused by participation in these acts.[33] While a minority was generally able to escape participation in the acts, most were willing volunteers, succumbing to social pressures pushed by an atmosphere of shared guilt and fervent hypermasculine nationalism.[34]
With an increase in the amount of troops needed to serve on the frontline, women were allowed to serve as auxiliaries to the Wehrmacht, known asWehrmachthelferin, to take over duties within Germany. The Nazis conscripted German women and girls into the auxiliaries of theVolkssturm.[35] Correspondingly, girls as young as 14 years old were trained in the use of small arms,panzerfausts,machine guns, and hand grenades throughout the war.[36]
Auxiliary military units in the United States have largely stemmed from the era of the Second World War, finding a place in assisting the United States Military with resupply, surveillance, aid transportation, and military intelligence. Most historical units were dissolved around the end of the war in 1944–1945, with many integrating into the command of their formerly male counterpart units.
TheFreiwilliger Polizeidienst are auxiliary state police services inGermany under different denominations (for exampleSicherheitswacht inBavaria andSaxony andFreiwilliger Polizeidienst inBaden-Württemberg orHesse), operated by non-professional forces. In most states, the forces are composed of trained volunteers, acting as an assisting and reserve force to the regular police force. Due to the fact, that the voluntary police services are state-run institutions, the equipment, training and tasks differ. Through patrols, it is supposed to ensure public order and safety.
TheAuxiliary Forces (Berber languages: ⵉⴷⵡⴰⵙⴻⵏ ⵉⵎⴰⵡⵡⴰⵙⴻⵏ,romanized:idwasen imawwasen;French:Forces Auxiliaires) are a security and military institution inMorocco, under the supervision of theMinistry of Interior. It has an important role in ensuring security throughout the territory of the Kingdom
First Aid Nursing Yeomanry auxiliary providing medical response support to Civil and Military authorities within London during a major event or incident.
^Simkins, Michael (1974).The Roman Army from Caesar to Trajan. Osprey. p. 7.ISBN0-85045-191-4.
^Wary, Raffaele D'Amato (2017).Roman Army Units in the Eastern Provinces (1). Bloomsbury USA. p. 13.ISBN978-1-4728-2176-8.
^Hamilton, F. W. (1874).THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE FIRST OR GRENADIER GUARDS. In Three Volumes. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street.
^Castelow, Ellen."The Yeomen of the Guard".Historic UK. Historic UK Ltd. Retrieved2 September 2021.The Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard, to give them their full title, was created by Henry VII in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth and is the oldest military corps in existence in Britain.
^Litchfield, Norman E. H. (1987).The Militia Artillery 1852–1909. Nottingham: The Sherwood Press (Nottingham) Ltd.ISBN9780950820514.
^Young, Douglas MacMurray (1961).The Colonial Office in The Early Nineteenth Century. London: Published for the Royal Commonwealth Society by Longmans. p. 55.
^Hart, H. G. (1861).The New Annual Army List, and Militia List, for 1861. London: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. pp. 469–473.
^The Monthly Army List, January, 1937. Corrected to 30th December, 1936. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1937. p. 86 to 146–149.
^Goodenough, W. H.; Dalton, J. C. (1893).THE ARMY BOOK FOR THE BRITISH EMPIRE. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 40.Militia and volunteers were formerly styled theReserve Forces. This term is now only applied to the reserves proper of the regular army.
^Somerset, George."Imperial Yeomanry And Volunteers—Temporary Army Rank—Relative Rank With Militia Officers. Volume 79: debated on Monday 19 February 1900".George Somerset, 3rd Baron Raglan. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved2 September 2021.I am sure I shall be anticipating what the noble Marquess will say when I state that the question of relative rank amongst the Auxiliary forces as compared with the Army is one of extreme difficulty. All officers in the Regular Army are senior to officers in the Militia, Yeomanry, and Volunteers of the same rank. Officers of Militia are senior, in the same way, to officers in the Yeomanry and Volunteers, and officers in the Yeomanry are senior to Volunteer officers of the same rank.
^"Guidance The Ministry of Defence cadet forces".British Government Website.Ministry of Defence, British Government. 26 May 2021. Retrieved2 September 2021.The cadet forces are based on the traditions, values and standards of their parent Service but they are not part of the Armed Forces. The cadet forces comprise the: *Sea Cadet Corps *Volunteer Cadet Corps *Combined Cadet Force *Army Cadet Force
^HART'S ANNUAL ARMY LIST, SPECIAL RESERVE LIST, AND TERRITORIAL FORCE LIST, FOR 1911: (BEING THE SEVENTY-SECOND ANNUAL VOLUME,) CONTAINING DATES OF COMMISSIONS, AND A SUMMARY OF THE WAR SERVICES OF NEARLY EVERY OFFICER IN THE ARMY, SUPPLY &c. DEPARTMENTS, MARINES, AND INDIAN ARMY, AND INDIAN LOCAL FORCES. WITH AN INDEX. BY THE LATE LIEUTENANT GENERAL H. G. HART. JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, LONDON. 1911
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