Map of the world of the army forms based on color
No armed forces (Light Green)
No conscription (Light Blue)
Plan to abolish conscription within 3 years (Orange)
Conscription (Red)
No information (Grey)
An army from Latin armata "armed (things)" via old French armée, "armed" (feminine)), in the broadest sense, is the land-based Military of a nation. It may also include other branches of themilitary such as the air force via means of aviation corps. Within a national military force, the word Army may also mean a field army, which is an operational formation, usually made up of one or more corps.
A standing army is an army composed of full-time career soldiers who 'stand over', in other words, who do not disband during times of peace. They differ from army reserves who are activated only during such times as war or natural disasters.
In several countries the army is officially called the land army to differentiate it from an air forcecalled the air army, notably France. In such countries, the word "army" on its own retains its connotation of a land force in common usage. The current largest army in the world, by number of active troops, is the People's Liberation Army of China with 2,250,000 active troops and 800,000reserve personnel.
In many of Army, they used this sign :
§ Corps: A Corps usually consists of two or more Divisions and is commanded by a Lieutenant General.
§ Division: Each division is commanded by a Major General, and usually holds three Brigades including infantry, artillery, engineers and communications units in addition to logistics (supply and service) support to sustain independent action. Except for the Divisions operating in the mountains, all the Divisions have at least one armored unit, some have even more depending upon their functionality. The basic building block of all ground force combat formations is the infantry division. A typical division would hold three infantry brigades.
§ Brigade: A Brigade is under the command of a Brigadier General and comprises three or more Battalions of different units depending on its functionality. An independent brigade would be one that primarily consists of an artillery unit, an infantry unit, an armour unit and logistics to support its actions. Such a brigade is not part of any division and is under direct command of a corps.
§ Battalion: Each battalion is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel who commands roughly 600 to 750 soldiers. This number varies depending on the functionality of the regiment. A regiment comprises either three batteries or four companies - and other arms excluding armoured units that are organised into squadrons each under the command of a major and comprising of individual subunits called sections (which are further divisible into platoons and squads).
