A field force in

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, Indian Army and Tanzanian military parlance is a combined arms land force operating under actual or assumed combat circumstances, usually for the length of a specific

military campaign A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from th ...

. It is used by other nations, but can have a different meaning.

United Kingdom use

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: * Kurram Field Force, 1878 * Peshawar Valley Field Force, 1878 * Kabul Field Force, 1879–1880 * Kabul-Kandahar Field Force, 1880 * Natal Field Force, 1881 * Zhob Field Force, 1890 *

Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northeastern Zimbabwe. It is home to nearly half of the population of Zimbabwe. The majority of the Mashonaland people are from the Shona tribe while the Zezuru and Korekore dialects are most common. Harare is the larg ...

Field Force, 1896 * Malakand Field Force, 1896 * Tirah Field Force, 1897 * West African Frontier Force, 1900

Australian use

In Australia, a field force comprises the units required to meet operational commitments.

Canadian use

The

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

was considered as a field force created to participate in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Other Canadian field forces in history include: * Alberta Field Force, 1885 * Northwest Field Force, 1885 * Yukon Field Force, 1898–1900

United States use

In the United States, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

the term came to stand for a corps-sized organization with other functions and responsibilities. To avoid confusion with the

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

designations used by the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; ) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Its predecessor was the ground forc ...

and to allow for a flexible organization, MACV and General William Westmoreland developed the "field force" such as I Field Force and II 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 and civil affairs functions and was flexible enough to have many subordinate units assigned to it.

Police field forces

counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

type campaigns, select and specially trained units of police armed and equipped as

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

have been designated as police field forces who perform

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

type patrols and ambushes whilst retaining their police powers in areas that were highly dangerous.p.Davies, Bruce & McKay, Gary ''The Men Who Persevered:The AATTV'' 2005 Bruce & Unwin

Police Field Forces, Paramilitary and Counter-Insurgency Units

A

; * Royal Albanian Army 1928 - 1939 ** Royal Albanian Gendarmerie 1913 - 1939 ** Royal Border Guard (Albania) 1928 - 1939 ; * Afghan Army ** Afghan Border Force ** Afghan National Civil Order Force 2006 - 2020 * Defense of the Revolution 1978 - 1980 * Sarandoy 1978 - 1992 ; * Garde communale 1996 - 2012, ( Algerian Civil War)

B

; * Bangladesh Ansar ; * Flemish Guard 1941 - 1944, ( German occupation of Belgium during World War II) * Walloon Guard 1941 - 1944 ; * Byelorussian Auxiliary Police 1941 - 1944, ( Byelorussian collaboration with Nazi Germany) ** 13th Belarusian Police (SD) Battalion 1943 -1944, (

German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II The Operation Barbarossa, German invasion of the Soviet Union started on 22 June 1941 and led to a German military occupation of Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Byelorussia until it was fully liberated in August 1944 as a result of Opera ...

) ** Schutzmannschaft-Brigade Siegling 1944 only ; *

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

** Military Police (Brazil) *** National Public Security Force *** Military Police of Acre State *** Military Police of Espirito Santo State *** Military Police of Goiás State *** Military Police of Minas Gerais State *** Military Police of Parana State *** Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State *** Military Police of São Paulo State * Public Forces (Brazil) 1880s - 1960s

C

; * Paramilitary forces of China **

People's Armed Police ) , abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates , patch ...

; * National Police of Colombia ** Directorate of Carabineers and Rural Security *** Mobile Carabinier Squadrons ; 1941 - 1945 * German-Croatian Police 1941 - 1944

D

; * HIPO Corps 1944 - 1945 ** Lorenzen Group 1944 - 1945, ( Denmark in World War II)

E

; * Estonian Auxiliary Police 1941 - 1944, (

German occupation of Estonia during World War II In the course of Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany invaded Estonia in July–December 1941, and occupied the country until 1944. Estonia had gained Estonian War of Independence, independence in 1918 from the then-warring German Empire, German ...

) ** 36th Estonian Police Battalion 1943 - 1944 ( German occupation of the Baltic states during World War II) ** Schutzmannschaft Battalion 33

F

; * French National Police ** Special Brigades * Groupe mobile de réserve 1941 -1944 * Milice 1943 - 1944 ** Franc-Garde 1943 - 1944

G and H

; *

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

** Gambia Regiment 1901 - 1958 * Gambia Police Force ** Field Force, ; * Volkspolizei 1945 - 1990 ** Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft 1955 - 1990 ; *

Ordnungspolizei The ''Ordnungspolizei'' (''Orpo'', , meaning "Order Police") were the uniformed police force in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945. The Orpo was absorbed into the Nazi monopoly of power after regional police jurisdiction was removed in favour of t ...

(Order Police) 1936 - 1945, ( Police forces of Nazi Germany) ** Police Regiment Centre 1941 -1942 ( Bandenbekampfung) *** Police Battalion 307 1941 - 1942 *** Police Battalion 316 1941 - 1942 *** Police Battalion 322 1941 - 1942 ** Police Regiment North 1941 - 1942 ** Police Regiment South 1941 - 1942 *** Police Battalion 45 1941 - 1942 *** Police Battalion 303 1941 - 1942 *** Police Battalion 314 1941 - 1942 ** Order Police battalions *** Police Battalion 306 1941 - 1942 *** Police Battalion 309 1941 - 1945 *** Police Battalion 320 1941 - 1942 *** Reserve Police Battalion 33 1941 - 1943 *** Reserve Police Battalion 101 1940 - 1943 ** SS Police Regiment Bozen 1943 - 1945 ** SS Police Regiment Brixen 1944 - 1945 ** Schutzmannschaft 1941 - 1945 * Forest Protection Command 1939 - *

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

1933 - 1945 ** 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division 1939 - 1945 ** Kaminski Brigade 1941 - 1944 * Zollgrenzschutz 1918 - 1945

I

; * Indonesian National Police **

Mobile Brigade Corps The Mobile Brigade Corps () abbreviated Brimob is the SWAT, special operations, paramilitary, and Police tactical unit, tactical unit of the Indonesian National Police (Polri). It is one of the oldest existing units within Polri. Some of its ma ...

; * Paramilitary forces of India ** Home Guard (India) ** National Security Guards *** 51 Special Action Group ** Railway Protection Force ** Special Protection Group * Research and Analysis Wing ** Special Frontier Force ** Special Group (India) * Central Armed Police Force ** Border Security Force ** Central Industrial Security Force ** Indo-Tibetan Border Police *** Indo-Tibetan Border Police (Water Wing) ** Sashastra Seema Bal ** Central Reserve Police Force *** Bastariya Battalion *** Commando Battalion for Resolute Action * Indian Army ** Assam Rifles ** Rashtriya Rifles * State Armed Police Forces ** Andhra Pradesh Police *** Greyhounds ** Jammu and Kashmir Police *** Special Operations Group **

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, ...

*** Kerala Thunderbolts ** Mizoram Armed Police ** Odisha Police *** Special Operation Group (Odisha) ** Telangana Police *** Greyhounds (police) ** Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary ** West Bengal Police *** Counter Insurgency Force *** Eastern Frontier Rifles ; * Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran ** Border Guard Command (Iran) ; * Wolf Brigade (Iraq) ; *

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

1822 - 1922 ** Auxiliary Division 1920 - 1922, (

irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

) ** Black and Tans 1920 -1922, (

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

) *

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

(Irish Police) ** Criminal Investigation Department (Ireland) 1921 - 1923, (

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

) ; * Israel Police ** Israel Border Police ; *

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security (, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts (, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-vo ...

1923 -1943 ** Battaglioni M 1941 - 1943 ** Black Brigades 1944 - 1945 ** Border Militia 1926 - 1943 ** Forestry Militia 1926 - 1948 ** Maritime Artillery Militia 1939 - 1943 ** Port Militia 1924 -

J and K

; *

Kenya Police The Kenya Police Service is a national body in charge of law enforcement in Kenya. It is subordinate to the National Police Service which is headed by an Inspector General of Police who exercises independent command over the Service. Kenya Po ...

** General Service Unit (

Mau Mau Uprising The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt, or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the Mau Mau, and the ...

) ** Administration Police

L

; * Royal Lao Police 1955 - 1975 ** Directorate of National Coordination 1960 - 1965, (

Laotian Civil War The Laotian Civil War was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. The Kingdom of Laos was a covert Theatre (warfare), theater during the Vietnam War with both sides receiving heavy ...

) ; * Latvian Auxiliary Police 1941 - 1944, ( German occupation of Latvia during World War II) ; * Lithuanian TDA Battalion 1941 only, ( German occupation of Lithuania during World War II) * Lithuanian Auxiliary Police 1941 - 1945 ( German occupation of the Baltic states during World War II) ** 10th Lithuanian Police Battalion 1941 - 1945 ** 256th Lithuanian Police Battalion 1943 - 1944 ** 258th Lithuanian Police Battalion 1944 only ** 259th Lithuanian Police Battalion 1944 only

M

; * Royal Malaysian Police ** General Operations Force (

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

) *** Senoi Praaq ** Marine Operations Force (

) ;

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

* British Gendarmerie 1922 - 1926 * Special Night Squads 1938 - 1939 ; * Mauritius Police Force ** Special Mobile Force ; * Mexican Army ** Rurales ; * Moldovan Police ** Special Forces Brigade "Fulger" ; *

Myanmar Army The Myanmar Army (; ) is the largest branch of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar, and has the primary responsibility of conducting land-based military operations. The Myanmar Army maintains the second largest active force in Southea ...

** Border Guard Forces * Myanmar Police Force ** Border Guard Police

N

; * Namibian Police Force ** Special Field Force ; * Nigerian Police Force ** Nigerian Mobile Police * Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ; * Statspolitiet 1941 - 1945, ( German occupation of Norway)

O and P

; * Civil Armed Forces - (Paramilitary forces of Pakistan) **

Frontier Corps The Frontier Corps (, reporting name: FC) are a group of four paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's b ...

*** Frontier Corps Balochistan (North) **** Kurram Militia **** Zhob Militia *** Frontier Corps Balochistan (South) **** Chagai Militia **** Dalbandin Rifles **** Kharan Rifles **** Taftan Rifles *** Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North) ****

Bajaur Scouts The Bajaur Scouts is a paramilitary regiment of the Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North) of Pakistan, recruited locally in Bajaur District and officered by regular Pakistan Army officers. The Scouts were previously the Bajaur Levies, a ...

**** Bara Rifles ****

Chitral Scouts The Chitral Scouts (''CS'') (), also known as Chitral Levies, originally raised in 1903 as the militia of the princely state of Chitral, is now part of the Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North) of Pakistan. They are recruited mostly from ...

**** Dir Scouts **** Khyber Rifles **** Mahsud Scouts **** Mohmand Rifles **** Orakzai Scouts **** Shawal Rifles *** Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (South) **** Kurram Militia **** Zhob Militia ** Frontier Constabulary ** Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts * Pakistan Rangers *** Punjab Rangers *** Sindh Rangers *

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

** Pakistan Coast Guard ** National Guard (Pakistan) *** Janbaz Force *** Mujahid Force * Pakistan Levies ** Balochistan Levies ** Dir Levies ** Malakand Levies * Pakistan Navy ** Pakistan Maritime Security Agency * Former Paramilitary Forces ** Azad Kashmir Regular Force 1947 - 1972 ** Federal Security Force (Pakistan) 1972 - 1977 ** Gilgit Scouts 1913 - 1975 ** Khasadar 1892 - 2019 ** Mehran Force 1942 - 1995 ; * National Police of Peru ** Sinchis - Internal conflict in Peru ; *

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...

** Special Action Force ; * Provincial organization of volunteers and civil defence

Q and R

; * British South African Police 1889 - 1980 ** Police Anti-Terrorist Unit 1966 - 1980, (

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Rhodesian Civil War, Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Independence, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country U.D.I. ...

) 1964 - 1979 ** Police Support Unit * INTAF 1962 - 1979 ** Grey's Scouts 1975 - 1986, (

) 1964 - 1979 ** Guard Force (Rhodesia) 1976 - 1980 * Security Force Auxiliaries 1978 - 1979 (

1964 - 1979 ; * Internal Troops of Russia 1991 - 2016 ** Rus (special forces) 1994 -2008 ** Vityaz (MVD) 1991 - 2008 * Zubr (special police force)

S

; * Royal Solomon Islands Police Force ** Police Field Force ; *

South African Army The South African Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Servi ...

** Commando System (South Africa) ; * Republic of Vietnam National Police 1955 - 1975 ** Republic of Vietnam National Police Field Force 1966 - 1975, (

) ** Republic of Vietnam River and Coastal Police 1965 - 1975, (

) ; * South West African Police 1920 - 1990 ** Koevoet 1979 - 1989 ; * Ministry of Defence (Sri Lanka) ** Sri Lanka Civil Security Force ** Sri Lanka Coast Guard * Sri Lanka Police ** Special Task Force ( Sri Lankan Civil War) ; * Syrian Special Mission Forces

T

; * Police Field Force ( Zanzibar Revolution) ; *

Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) (; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excluding the military and the employees of state-owned enterprises). The R ...

** Border Patrol Police *** Thahan Phran *** Village Scouts *** Volunteer Defense Corps (Thailand) ; * Gendarmerie General Command ** Village guard system

U

; * National Guard of Ukraine

V

; *

Swiss Guard The Pontifical Swiss Guard,; ; ; ; , %5BCorps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard%5D. ''vatican.va'' (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2022. also known as the Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard,Swiss Guards , History, Vatican, Uniform, Require ...

; * Vanuatu Police Force ** Vanuatu Mobile Force ; *

Vietnam People's Public Security The People's Public Security of Vietnam (), alternatively the People's Public Security Forces (PPS; - CAND), also recognized as the Vietnamese police, Vietnamese Police or by its Vietnamese short name (), is the national police and the main ...

** Mobile Police Command

W, X and Y

Z

; * Zimbabwe Republic Police ** Police Support Unit

References

{{Reflist Ad hoc units and formations Law enforcement units Law enforcement occupations Non-military counterterrorist organizations