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Military organization
Typical Units	Typical numbers	Typical Commander
Fireteam	2–4	Lance Corporal / Corporal
Squad/ Section	8–14	Corporal/ Sergeant/ Staff Sergeant
Platoon/ Troop	15–45	Second Lieutenant / First Lieutenant / Lieutenant
Company/ Battery/ Squadron	80–150	Captain / Major
Battalion / Cohort	300–800	Lieutenant Colonel
Regiment / Brigade / Legion	1,000–5,500	Colonel / Brigadier General
Division	10,000–25,000	Major General
Corps	30,000–50,000	Lieutenant General
Field Army	100,000–300,000	General
Army Group / Front	2+ field armies	Field Marshal / Five-star General
Region / Theater	4+ army groups	Six-star rank / Commander-in-chief

Standard NATO symbol for an infantry division. The Xs do not replace the division's number; instead, the two Xs represent a division (one would denote a brigade; three, a corps).

A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 8,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength.

In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Historically, the division has been the default combined arms unit capable of independent operations. Smaller combined arms units, such as the American regimental combat team (RCT) during World War II, were used when conditions favored them. In recent times, modern Western militaries have begun adopting the smaller brigade combat team (similar to the RCT) as the default combined arms unit, with the division they belong to being less important.

While the focus of this article is on army divisions, in naval usage division has a completely different meaning, referring to either an administrative/functional sub-unit of a department (e.g., fire control division of the weapons department) aboard naval and coast guard ships, shore commands, and in naval aviation units (including navy, marine corps, and coast guard aviation), to a sub-unit of several ships within a flotilla or squadron, or to two or three sections of aircraft operating under a designated division leader.

In administrative/functional sub-unit usage, unit size varies widely, though typically divisions number far fewer than 100 people and are roughly equivalent in function and organizational hierarchy/command relationship to a platoon or flight.

History

Origins

In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller combined-arms units was Maurice de Saxe (d. 1750), Marshal General of France, in his book Mes Rêveries. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea. Victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the divisional system in the Seven Years' War.

Early divisions

The first war in which the divisional system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. Lazare Carnot of the Committee of Public Safety, who was in charge of military affairs, came to the same conclusion about it as the previous royal government, and the army was organised into divisions.

It made the armies more flexible and easy to maneuver, and it also made the large army of the revolution manageable. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size. Napoleon's military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe; by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it.

World War II

The divisional system reached its numerical height during the Second World War. The Soviet Union's Red Army consisted of more than a thousand divisional-size units at any one time, and the total number of rifle divisions raised during the Great Patriotic War is estimated at 2,000. Nazi Germany had hundreds of numbered and/or named divisions, while the United States employed 91 divisions, two of which were disbanded during the war.

One notable change to divisional structures during the war was the shift from square divisions (of four infantry regiments) to smaller triangular divisions (of three infantry regiments). This was due to increases in mobility and the need to pare down structures to be as efficient as possible. The triangular division also fitted with the tactic of "two forward, one back", in which two of the division's regiments would be engaging with the enemy with one regiment in reserve.

All divisions in World War II were expected to have their own artillery formations, usually the size of a regiment depending upon the nation. Divisional artillery was occasionally seconded by corps level command to increase firepower in larger engagements.

Regimental combat teams were used by the US during the war as well, whereby attached and/or organic divisional units were parceled out to infantry regiments, creating smaller combined-arms units with their own armor and artillery and support units. These combat teams would still be under divisional command but have some level of autonomy on the battlefield.

Organic units within divisions were units which operated directly under Divisional command and were not normally controlled by the Regiments. These units were mainly support units in nature, and include signal companies, medical battalions, supply trains and administration.

Attached units were smaller units that were placed under Divisional command temporarily for the purpose of completing a particular mission. These units were usually combat units such as tank battalions, tank destroyer battalions and cavalry reconnaissance squadrons.

Modern divisions

In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures. This does not mean that divisions are equal in size or structure from country to country, but divisions have, in most cases, come to comprise units of 10,000 to 20,000 troops with enough organic support to be capable of independent operations. Usually, the direct organization of the division consists of one to four brigades or battle groups of its primary combat arm, along with a brigade or regiment of combat support (usually artillery) and a number of direct-reporting battalions for necessary specialized support tasks, such as intelligence, logistics, reconnaissance, and combat engineers. Most militaries standardize ideal organization strength for each type of division, encapsulated in a Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) which specifies exact assignments of units, personnel, and equipment for a division.

The modern division became the primary identifiable combat unit in many militaries during the second half of the 20th century, supplanting the brigade; however, the trend started to reverse since the end of the Cold War. The peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the combat power of each division has increased.

The last major conventional war that saw divisions in a prime role was the 1991 Gulf War, which saw divisions operating in a corps structure and which reflected the organizational doctrines of the recently ended Cold War. By contrast, the Invasion of Iraq in 2003 involved only a handful of divisions but significant support forces and modular Brigade Combat Teams.

Types

Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with appropriate support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms. In this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization.

Cavalry division

For most nations, cavalry was deployed in smaller units and was not therefore organized into divisions, but for larger militaries, such as that of the British Empire, United States, First French Empire, France, German Empire, Nazi Germany, Russian Empire, Empire of Japan, Second Polish Republic and Soviet Union, a number of cavalry divisions were formed. They were most often similar to the nations' infantry divisions in structure, although they usually had fewer and lighter support elements, with cavalry brigades or regiments replacing the infantry units, and supporting units, such as artillery and supply, being horse-drawn. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II.

While horse cavalry had been found to be obsolete, the concept of cavalry as a fast force capable of missions traditionally fulfilled by horse cavalry made a return to military thinking during the Cold War. In general, two new types of cavalry were developed: air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division (Test), formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, Georgia. On 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), before its departure for the Vietnam War.

After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks and armored scout vehicles to form armored cavalry.

The concept of a fast-moving, armored reconnaissance force has remained in modern armies, but these units are now smaller and make up a combined arms force used in modern Brigades and Divisions, and are no longer granted divisional status.

Light Divisions were German horse cavalry divisions organized early in World War II which included motorized units.

Armored division

A Priest 105mm self-propelled gun of British 3rd Infantry Division, 1944

The development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the same way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs (including tanks) and motorizing the supporting units. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks but few infantry units. Instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units.

The terms Tank Division or Mechanized Division are alternative names for Armored Divisions. A Panzer Division was an armoured division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II.

Since the end of the war, most armored and infantry divisions have had significant numbers of both tank and infantry units within them. The difference has usually been in the mix of battalions assigned. Additionally, in some militaries, armored divisions would be equipped with the most advanced or powerful tanks.

Infantry division

Infantry division refers to a division with a majority of infantry sub-units but also supported by subunits from other combat arms. In the Soviet Union and Russia, an infantry division is often referred to as a Rifle Division. A Motorised Infantry division refers to a division with a majority of infantry subunits transported on soft-skinned motor vehicles. A Mechanized Infantry division refers to a division with a majority of infantry subunits transported on armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) or both, or even some other class of armored fighting vehicles designed for the transportation of infantry. Mechanized Infantry divisions in Nazi Germany were called Panzergrenadier Divisions. In Russia they were known as Motor Rifle Divisions.

Because of the ease and simplicity involved in forming divisions of infantry compared to other formations, Infantry divisions have often been the most numerous in historical warfare. Most US divisions during WW2 were Infantry divisions.

Infantry divisions were also expected to travel by foot from place to place, with transport vehicles or pack horses used to augment their travel.

During 1944, Nazi Germany introduced Volksgrenadier Divisions, which were a slightly smaller, more defensive, form of infantry division.

In 1945, Nazi Germany seconded members of the Kriegsmarine to create Naval Divisions, which were lower quality Infantry divisions. They also created Luftwaffe Field Divisions from members of the Luftwaffe.

Infantry divisions were sometimes given the responsibility of garrison work. These were named Frontier Guard Divisions, Static Infantry Divisions and Fortress Divisions and were mainly used by Nazi Germany.

Mountain division

Mountain divisions are infantry divisions given special training and equipment to operate in hilly, mountainous or arctic areas. Some examples of these formations include the US 10th Mountain Division and the German 1st Ski Division.

Nazi Germany also organized Jäger divisions to operate in more adverse terrain.

Italian Mountain divisions are called Alpini Divisions.

Airborne division

An Airborne Division is an infantry division given special training and equipment for air transport.

The US, Britain and Germany experimented during World War II with specialized light infantry divisions capable of being quickly transported by transport aircraft, or dropped into an area by parachute or glider. This required both high quality equipment and training, creating elite units in the process and usually manned by volunteers rather than conscripts.

The German 1st Parachute Division, which was part of the Luftwaffe and not the Heer, was instrumental in the 1941 Battle of Crete. US and British airborne troops first participated during the 1943 invasion of Sicily. The use of airborne divisions during the Invasion of Normandy was crucial to its success. Further allied paratroop operations were made during the 1944 Operation Market Garden and the 1945 Operation Varsity.

When not being used for a specific airborne mission, airborne divisions usually functioned as light infantry divisions.

An Air Assault Division is an airborne division that mainly uses helicopters to transport its troops around.

Artillery division

The Soviet Union developed the concept of the specialized artillery division during the Eastern Front of the Second World War in 1942, although plans were in place since the later stages of the Russian Civil War. Artillery Divisions are usually tasked with providing concentrated firepower support to higher combined arms formations such as Corps, Combatant Commands or Theaters. Such divisions are in use mostly by large armies with large territories to defend and with a large manpower base. Examples include the 34th Artillery Division and 51st Guards Artillery Division. The concept of the Artillery Division is deeply rooted in Soviet military doctrine that relies on treating artillery as a unique combat arm in its own right capable of achieving large-scale mission-based targets using just its own resources and assets. It is a means to concentrate overwhelmingly large massed firepower in a small geographical area to achieve a strategic and overwhelming breaching in the enemy defences.

Today, only the Indian Army sports 2 such divisions (since 1988), the Iraqi Army and the People's Army of Vietnam once sported such units.

Security division

Nazi Germany organized Security divisions to operate in captured territory to provide rear-echelon security against partisans and maintain order among civilians. Structured like an infantry division, a security division was more likely to contain lower quality troops and was not intended to serve directly at the front. SS units of this type were called SS Polizei Divisions.

The Soviet Union organized NKVD Divisions to act as security divisions. Some NKVD divisions operated as full infantry divisions and directly engaged invading forces.

Nomenclature

Divisions are commonly designated by combining an ordinal number and a type name (e.g.: "13th Infantry Division"). Nicknames are often assigned or adopted, although these often are not considered an official part of the unit's nomenclature. In some cases, divisional titles lack an ordinal number, often in the case of unique units or units serving as elite or special troops. For clarity in histories and reports, the nation is identified before the number. This also helps in historical studies, but due to the nature of intelligence on the battlefield, division names and assignments are at times obscured. However, the size of the division rarely makes such obfuscation necessary.

In the years leading up to the end of the cold war and beyond, the type names of various divisions became less important. The majority of US Infantry divisions were now mechanized and had significant numbers of tanks and IFVs, becoming de facto armored divisions. US armored divisions had more tanks but less infantry than these infantry divisions. Moreover, the sole cavalry division was structured the same way as an armored division.

With the introduction of modular Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) in modern divisions, the nomenclature type is even less important, since a Division can now be made of up any combination of Light Infantry, Stryker and Armored BCTs. For example, the US 1st Infantry Division currently consists of two armored BCTs along with support troops, with no light infantry units at all. By contrast, the current 1st Armored Division consists of two armored BCTs and a Stryker BCT along with its support troops.

Nevertheless, some US division types will retain their mission: The 82nd and 101st airborne divisions have airborne infantry BCTs, while the 10th Mountain Division has only light infantry BCTs.

National organization

Australia

Historically, the Australian Army has fielded a number of divisions. During World War I, a total of six infantry divisions were raised as part of the all-volunteer Australian Imperial Force: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th. The 1st Division and part of the 2nd saw service during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 before later taking part in the fighting on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918 along with the 3rd, 4th and 5th.^[1] The 6th Division existed only briefly in 1917, but was disbanded without seeing combat to make up for manpower shortages in the other divisions.^[2] Another infantry division, known as the New Zealand and Australian Division, was also formed from Australian and New Zealand troops and saw service at Gallipoli.^[3] Two divisions of Australian Light Horse were also formed – the Australian Mounted Division (which also included some British and French units) and the ANZAC Mounted Division – both of which served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign during the war.^[4]

Members of the Australian 6th Division at Tobruk, 22 January 1941

In the inter-war years, on paper the Australian Army was organised into seven divisions: five infantry (1st through to 5th) and two cavalry, albeit on a reduced manning scale.^[5] During World War II, the size of Australia's force was expanded to eventually include 12 infantry divisions: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th. Of these, four – the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th – were raised as part of the all-volunteer Second Australian Imperial Force, while the others formed part of the Militia, and were maintained through a mixture of volunteers and conscripts. In addition to the infantry divisions, three armoured divisions were formed: 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The Australian divisions were used in various campaigns, ranging from North Africa, Greece,
Syria and Lebanon, to the South West Pacific.^[6]

Since the end of World War II, the number of divisions has fallen significantly as the Australian Army has concentrated its force generation at brigade level. Three divisions – the 1st, 2nd and 3rd – have existed during this time, but the 3rd Division was disbanded in 1991, and only two divisions currently remain active. The 1st Division is a skeleton organisation that acts as a deployable force headquarters, while the 2nd is a Reserve formation.^[7][8]

Bangladesh

Headquarter of 11th Infantry Division of Bangladesh Army near Bogra

The 9th Infantry Division was raised on 20 November 1975 in Dhaka as the first division of the Bangladesh Army. Currently, Bangladesh Army has ten infantry divisions under its command. Each infantry division consists of one artillery brigade, 3 or 4 infantry brigades/regiments. In addition, few divisions have one armored brigade each. The active infantry divisions are-

• 
  9th Infantry Division, headquartered at Savar Cantonment, Dhaka
  


• 
  10th Infantry Division, headquartered at Ramu Cantonment, Cox's Bazar
  


• 
  11th Infantry Division, headquartered at Bogra Cantonment, Bogra
  


• 
  17th Infantry Division, headquartered at Jalalabad Cantonment, Sylhet
  


• 
  19th Infantry Division, headquartered at Shahid Salahuddin Cantonment, Tangail
  


• 
  24th Infantry Division, headquartered at Chittagong Cantonment, Chittagong
  


• 
  33rd Infantry Division, headquartered at Comilla Cantonment, Comilla
  


• 
  55th Infantry Division, headquartered at Jessore Cantonment, Jessore
  


• 
  66th Infantry Division, headquartered at Rangpur Cantonment, Rangpur
  


• 
  7th Infantry Division, headquartered at Sheikh Hasina cantonment, Patuakhali
  

Brazil

The Brazilian Army currently has four army divisions: the 1st Army Division based in Rio de Janeiro and subordinated to the Eastern Military Command, the 2nd Army Division, based in São Paulo and subordinated to the Military Command of the Southeast and 3rd Army Division, based in Santa Maria - RS and the 5th Army Division based in Curitiba - PR, the latter two being linked to the Southern Military Command.

The other military forces of the Brazilian Army are subordinated directly to the area military commands, not having a commanding division. In this case, the employment of these troops is coordinated by the operations coordinating center of the area military commands.

Canada

The first division-sized formation raised by the Canadian military was the First Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force; raised in 1914, it was renamed the Canadian Division in early 1915 when it took to the field, and became the 1st Canadian Division when a 2nd Canadian Division took to the field later that year. A 3rd Canadian Division and 4th Canadian Division saw service in France and Flanders, and a Fifth Canadian Division was disbanded in the United Kingdom and broken up for reinforcements. The four divisions (collectively under the command of the Canadian Corps) were disbanded in 1919.

Canada had nominal divisions on paper between the wars, overseeing the Militia (part-time reserve forces), but no active duty divisions. On 1 September 1939, two divisions were raised as part of the Canadian Active Service Force; a Third Division was raised in 1940, followed by a First Canadian (Armoured) Division and Fourth Canadian Division. The First Armoured was renamed the Fifth Canadian (Armoured) Division and the Fourth Division also became an armoured formation. The 1st and 5th Divisions fought in the Mediterranean between 1943 and early 1945; the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Divisions served in Northwest Europe. A Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Division were raised for service in Canada, with one brigade of the Sixth Division going to Kiska in 1943. By 1945, the latter three divisions were disbanded as the threat to North America diminished. A Third Canadian Division (Canadian Army Occupation Force) was raised in 1945 for occupation duty in Germany, organized parallel to the combatant Third Division, and a Sixth Canadian Division (Canadian Army Pacific Force) was undergoing formation and training for the invasion of Japan when the latter country surrendered in September 1945. All five combatant divisions, as well as the CAOF and CAPF, were disbanded by the end of 1946.

A First Canadian Division Headquarters (later renamed simply First Division) was authorized once again in April 1946, but remained dormant until formally disbanded in July 1954. Simultaneously, however, another "Headquarters, First Canadian Infantry Division" was authorized as part of the Canadian Army Active Force (the Regular forces of the Canadian military), in October 1953. This, the first peacetime division in Canadian history, consisted of a brigade in Germany, one in Edmonton and one at Valcartier. This division was disbanded in April 1958.

The First Canadian Division was reactivated in 1988 and served until the 1990s when the headquarters of the division was transformed into the Canadian Forces Joint Headquarters and placed under the control of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Command. The CFJHQ was transformed back into Headquarters, 1st Canadian Division, on 23 June 2010, the unit once more falling under the control of the Canadian Army. The unit is based at Kingston. Canada currently has five divisions under its command.

• 
  1st Canadian Division, headquarters is located in Kingston.


• 
  2nd Canadian Division, headquarters is located in Montreal.


• 
  3rd Canadian Division, headquarters is located in Edmonton.


• 
  4th Canadian Division, headquarters is located in Toronto.


• 
  5th Canadian Division, headquarters is located in Halifax.

The 1st Canadian Division has approximately 2000 troops under its command, while the 2nd Canadian Division, 3rd Canadian Division, 4th Canadian Division, and 5th Canadian Division have approximately 10,000 troops each.^{[citation needed]}

China

People's Republic

The People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) is the world's largest ground force, currently totaling some 1.6 million personnel. The ground forces are divided into five Theater Commands. The regular forces of the ground forces consist of 18 group armies: corps-size combined arms units each with 24,000–50,000 personnel. The group armies contained among them:

• 25 infantry divisions


• 9 armored divisions


• 2 artillery divisions

As of 2011, the PLA went from a division dominated structure to a brigade dominated one. Until 2017 there were a further three airborne divisions in the 15th Airborne Corps, but these were reformed into six airborne brigades and a special operations brigade as part of a reform program aimed at reorganizing all PLA divisions into brigades.

National Revolutionary Army

The NRA Division (Chinese: 整編師,編制師) was a military unit of the Republic of China. The original pattern of the infantry Division organization of the early Republic, was a square division. It was formed with two infantry brigades of two infantry regiments of three infantry battalions, an artillery regiment of fifty four guns and eighteen machineguns, a cavalry regiment of twelve squadrons, an engineer battalion of four companies, a transport battalion of four companies, and other minor support units.^[9][10]

In the mid-1930s, the Nationalist government with the help of German advisors attempted to modernize their army and intended to form sixty Reorganized Divisions and a number of reserve divisions. Under the strains and losses of the early campaigns of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese decided in mid-1938 to standardize their Divisions as triangular divisions as part of their effort to simplify the command structure and placed them under Corps, which became the basic tactical units. The remaining scarce artillery and the other support formations were withdrawn from the Division and were held at Corps or Army level or even higher. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Republic mobilized at least 310 Infantry Divisions, 23 Cavalry Divisions, and one Mechanized Division, (the 200th Division).

Colombia

In the Colombian Army, a division is formed by two or more brigades and is usually commanded by a major general. Today, the Colombian Army has eight active divisions:

• 
  1st Division (Santa Marta) – Its jurisdiction covers the Northern Region of Colombia in which there are the departments of Cesar, La Guajira, Magdalena, Sucre, Bolívar and Atlántico.


• 
  2nd Division (Bucaramanga) – Its jurisdiction covers the north eastern Colombia in which there are the departments of Norte de Santander, Santander and Arauca.


• 
  3rd Division (Popayán) – Its jurisdiction covers the South West of Colombia in which there are the departamntos of Nariño, Valle del Cauca, Cauca, Caldas, Quindio, part of Santander and the southern part of the Chocó.


• 
  4th Division (Villavicencio) – Its jurisdiction covers the eastern region of Colombia in which there are the departments of Meta, Guaviare, and part of Vaupés.


• 
  5th Division (Bogotá) – Its jurisdiction covers the Central Region of Colombia in which there are the departments of Cundinamarca, Boyaca, Huila and Tolima.


• 
  6th Division (Florencia) – Its jurisdiction covers the southern region of Colombia in which there are the departments of Amazonas, Caquetá, Putumayo and southern Vaupés.


• 
  7th Division (Medellin) – Its jurisdiction covers the western region of Colombia in which there are the departments of Cordoba, Antioquia, and part of the Chocó.


• 
  8th Division (Yopal) – Its jurisdiction covers the northeastern region of Colombia in which there are the departments of Casanare, Arauca, Vichada, Guainía, and the municipalities of Boyaca of Cubará, Pisba, Paya, Labranzagrande and Pajarito.

France

On July 1, 1999, France transformed all its divisions into brigades. The division level (niveau divisionnaire) was reintroduced on July 1, 2016. The French Army has now two active combined divisions :

• 
  1^re division (Besançon), Scorpion Force


• 
  3^e division (Marseille), Scorpion Force

Each division consists of 25,000 personnel and is made up of three brigades (one light, one medium and one heavy). The 1st Division also included the French elements of the Franco-German Brigade.

There are also 11 "division level" (niveau divisionnaire) specialized commands :

• 
  Commandement du renseignement (Strasbourg)


• 
  Commandement des systèmes d'information et de communication (Cesson-Sévigné)


• 
  Commandement de la logistique (Lille, Montlhéry)


• 
  Commandement de la maintenance des forces (Lille, Versailles)


• 
  Commandement de l'Aviation légère de l'Armée de terre (Vélizy-Villacoublay)


• 
  Commandement des forces spéciales Terre (Pau)


• 
  Commandement de la Légion étrangère (Aubagne)


• 
  Commandement Terre pour le territoire national (Paris)


• 
  Commandement de l'entraînement et des écoles du combat interarmes (Mourmelon-le-Grand)


• 
  Commandement des ressources humaines et de la formation (Tours)


• 
  Service de la maintenance industrielle terrestre (Versailles)

Germany

The German Army has three divisions:

• 
  1st Panzerdivision stationed in Hannover.


• 
  10th Panzerdivision stationed in Sigmaringen.


• 
  Rapid Forces Division stationed in Veitshöchheim.

India

With 1.13 million soldiers in active service, the Indian Army is the world's second largest. An Indian Army division is intermediate between a corps and a brigade. Each division is headed by a General Officer Commanding (GOC) in the rank of Major general. It usually consists of 15,000 combat troops and 8,000 support elements. Currently, the Indian Army has 37 divisions: four RAPIDs (Reorganised Army Plains Infantry Divisions), 18 infantry, 10 mountain, three armoured and two artillery. Each division consists of several brigades.

Indonesia

The Indonesian Army has 2 infantry divisions (Indonesian: Divisi) within the Kostrad strategic command which plays a role for strategic defense operations. Aside from the infantry divisions, the Indonesian Army also hosts operational combat units from the territorial commands known as "Kodams". The infantry divisions from Kostrad are:

• 
  1st Kostrad Infantry Division at Depok, West Java
  


• 
  2nd Kostrad Infantry Division at Malang, East Java
  

The Indonesian Marine Corps also operates 2 divisions which are:

• 
  1st Marine Force (Pasmar-1) at Sidoarjo, East Java
  


• 
  2nd Marine Force (Pasmar-2) at Cilandak, South Jakarta
  

Israel

The Israeli Defense Forces operates 11 divisions of various sizes, that are separated into three categories: regular, territorial and reserve.

Regular divisions:

• 36th Armored Division


• 162nd Armored Division

Territorial divisions:

• 
  80th Territorial Division (Negev)


• 
  91st Territorial Division (Galilee)


• 
  143rd Territorial Division (Gaza)


• 
  210th Territorial Division (Bashan)


• 
  877th Territorial Division (Judea and Samaria)

Divisions in reserve:

• 
  98th Paratrooper Division (Reserve)


• 
  252nd Armored Division (Reserve)


• 
  319th Armored Division (Reserve)


• 
  340th Armored Division (Reserve)

Pakistan

An Army division in the Pakistan Army is an intermediate between a corps and a brigade. It is the largest striking force in the army. Each division is headed by General Officer Commanding (GOC) in the rank of major general. It usually consists of 15,000 combat troops and 8,000 support elements. Currently, the Pakistani Army has 29 divisions: 20 infantry, two armoured, two mechanized, two air defence, two strategic and one artillery. Each division consists of several brigades.

South Africa

South Africa has fielded several infantry and armoured divisions in its military history:

• 
  1 Infantry Division for battles waged in the North African theatre from 1940 to 1943.


• 
  2 Infantry Division also for the engagements of North Africa from 1940 to 1942.


• 
  6 Armoured Division for the Italian Campaign of 1943 to 1945.


• 
  7 Infantry Division for the Border War fought in Southern Africa. It existed from 1965 to 1990 and consisted of three brigades.


• 
  8 Armoured Division also for the Border War and existed from 1974 to 1997 and consisted of three brigades.


• 
  9 Infantry Division was formed for geographical purposes but only existed for a short period from 1992 to 1997.

United Kingdom

British soldiers from the 1st Armoured Division engage Iraqi Army positions with their 81mm Mortar in Iraq, 26 March 2003.

In the British Army, a division is commanded by a major-general with a WO1 as the Brigade Sergeant Major (BSM) and may consist of three infantry, mechanised and/or armoured brigades and supporting units.

Currently, the British Army has two active divisions:

• 
  1st (United Kingdom) Division, the Adaptable Force


• 
  3rd (United Kingdom) Division, the Reaction Force

The British Army previously had four other infantry divisions. These are now disbanded and were placed under one single two-star command, Support Command.

• 
  2nd Division – Scotland and Northern England, headquartered at Edinburgh
  


• 
  4th Division – Southern England, headquartered at Aldershot
  


• 
  5th Division – Wales, English Midlands and Eastern England, headquartered at Shrewsbury
  


• 
  6th Division – headquartered at York
  

Additionally, most of the infantry regiments of the British Army are organised for administrative purposes into a number of organisations called 'divisions':

• 
  Guards Division - 1968–present


• 
  Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division - 2017–present


• 
  King's Division - 1968–present


• 
  Queen's Division - 1968–present


• 
  Scottish Division - 1968-2017


• 
  Prince of Wales' Division - 1968-2017


• 
  Light Division - 1968-2007

United States

A divisional unit in the United States Army typically consists of 17,000 to 21,000 soldiers, but can grow up to 35 - 40,000 with attached support units during operations, and are commanded by a major general. Two divisions usually form a corps and each division consists of three maneuver brigades, an aviation brigade, an engineer brigade, and division artillery (latter two excluded from divisional structure as of 2007), along with a number of smaller specialized units. In 2014 divisional artillery (DIVARTY) organizations began to re-appear with some fires brigades reorganizing to fill this role.^[11]

10th Mountaineers advance on a sniper.

The United States Army currently has ten active divisions and one deployable division headquarters (7th Infantry Division):

• 
  1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas
  


• 
  1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas
  


• 
  1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas
  


• 
  2nd Infantry Division at Camp Red Cloud, South Korea and in Fort Lewis, Washington
  


• 
  3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia and in Fort Benning, Georgia
  


• 
  4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado
  


• 
  7th Infantry Division (Division Headquarters only) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
  


• 
  10th Mountain Division (Light) at Fort Drum, New York and in Fort Polk, Louisiana
  


• 
  25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Fort Richardson, Alaska and in Fort Wainwright, Alaska
  


• 
  82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
  


• 
  101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky
  

The Army National Guard has a further eight divisions:

• 
  28th Infantry Division, Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania
  


• 
  29th Infantry Division, Fort Belvoir, Virginia
  


• 
  34th Infantry Division, Rosemount, Minnesota
  


• 
  35th Infantry Division, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
  


• 
  36th Infantry Division, Camp Mabry, Texas
  


• 
  38th Infantry Division, Indianapolis, Indiana
  


• 
  40th Infantry Division, Los Alamitos JFTB, California
  


• 
  42nd Infantry Division, Troy, New York
  

There are further nine division within the Army Reserve that are responsible for training and support operations:

• 
  78th Division (Operations), Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, New Jersey
  


• 
  86th Division (Decisive Action), Fort McCoy, Wisconsin
  


• 
  91st Division (Operations), Fort Hunter Liggett, California
  


• 
  94th Division (Force Sustainment), Fort Lee, Virginia
  


• 
  95th Division (Entry Training), Fort Sill, Oklahoma
  


• 
  98th Division (Entry Training), Fort Benning, Georgia
  


• 
  100th Division (Operational Support), Fort Knox, Kentucky
  


• 
  102nd Division (Maneuver Support), Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
  


• 
  104th Division (Leader Training), Fort Lewis, Washington
  

The United States Marine Corps has a further three active divisions and one reserve division. They consist of a headquarters battalion, two or three infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, and a reconnaissance battalion. Additionally, all Marine divisions (MARDIV), except 3rd MARDIV, have an assault amphibian (AA) battalion, a tank battalion, a light armored reconnaissance (LAR) battalion (two in 1st MARDIV), and a combat engineer (CE) battalion (two in 1st MARDIV). (3rd MARDIV has a combat assault battalion including one company each of AA, LAR, and CE. Tank support for 3rd MARDIV can be provided by tanks deployed with the 31st MEU or directly from one of the three divisional tank battalions under the Unit Deployment Program.)

• 
  1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California.


• 
  2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.


• 
  3rd Marine Division at Camp Smedley D. Butler, Okinawa, Japan.


• 
  4th Marine Division (Reserve) with units located throughout the United States and headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Japan

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force divisions are combined arms units with infantry, armored, and artillery units, combat support units and logistical support units. They are regionally independent and permanent entities. The divisions strength varies from 6,000 to 9,000 personnel. The division commander is a Lieutenant general.

JGSDF currently has nine active duty divisions (one armored, eight infantry):

• 
  1st Division, in Nerima.


• 
  2nd Division, in Asahikawa.


• 
  3rd Division, in Itami.


• 
  4th Division, in Kasuga.


• 
  6th Division, in Higashine.


• 
  7th Division (Armored), in Chitose.


• 
  8th Division, in Kumamoto.


• 
  9th Division, in Aomori.


• 
  10th Division, in Nagoya.

South Korea

Republic of Korea Army divisions are major tactical formations led by and general officers. There are currently 39 Army and two Marine Divisions. Of the 41 Army divisions, six are Mechanized Infantry Divisions (Combined Arms formations centered around tanks, IFVs, APCs, and SPGs) 16 are Infantry Divisions (motorized divisions with various levels of mechanization) 12 are Homeland Infantry Divisions (향토보병사단, Infantry divisions kept at a 40-50% manpower level, to be reinforced during national emergencies) and seven Reserve Infantry Divisions (동원보병사단, Infantry Divisions kept at 10-20% manpower level, to be reinforced during national emergencies.) There are two marine divisions organized similarly to their American counteparts. Though similarly formed, the 1st ROK Marine Division is specialized to perform amphibious landing operations while the 2nd ROK Marine Division performs more security operations and mans a sector of the DMZ facing the North Korean border.

Republic of Korea Army divisions are typically smaller than their foreign counterparts. Mechanized Infantry Divisions are fully formed at around 9,900, Infantry Divisions are fully formed at about 11,500 men, and other types of divisions are smaller in size during normal operations according to their reserve manpower levels. There are very few articles discussing ROK Marine Corps tactical organization, but an active duty force of 29,000 is divided into two divisions, two brigades, and its supporting units.

Mechanized Infantry, Infantry, Homeland Infantry, and Marine Divisions are led by Major Generals, while Reserve Infantry Divisions are led by Brigadier Generals.

List of South Korean Armed Forces Divisions:

Please note that no major Republic of Korea Armed Forces formation contains the number four in their name.

• Mechanized Infantry Divisions (기계화보병사단)
  
  
  
  • Capital Mechanized Infantry Division
  
  
  • 8th Mechanized Infantry Division
  
  
  • 11th Mechanized Infantry Division
  
  
  • 20th Mechanized Infantry Division
  
  
  • 26th Mechanized Infantry Division
  
  
  • 30th Mechanized Infantry Division
  
  
  
  


• Infantry Divisions (보병사단)
  
  
  
  • 1st Infantry Division
  
  
  • 2nd Infantry Division
  
  
  • 3rd Infantry Division
  
  
  • 5th Infantry Division
  
  
  • 6th Infantry Division
  
  
  • 7th Infantry Division
  
  
  • 9th Infantry Division
  
  
  • 12th Infantry Division
  
  
  • 15th Infantry Division
  
  
  • 17th Infantry Division
  
  
  • 21st Infantry Division
  
  
  • 22nd Infantry Division
  
  
  • 23rd Infantry Division
  
  
  • 25th Infantry Division
  
  
  • 27th Infantry Division
  
  
  • 28th Infantry Division
  
  
  
  


• Homeland Infantry Division (향토보병사단)
  
  
  
  • 31st Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 32nd Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 35th Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 36th Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 37th Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 39th Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 50th Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 51st Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 52nd Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 53rd Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 55th Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  • 56th Homeland Infantry Division
  
  
  
  


• Reserve Infantry Division (동원보병사단)
  
  
  
  • 60th Reserve Infantry Division
  
  
  • 66th Reserve Infantry Division
  
  
  • 72nd Reserve Infantry Division
  
  
  • 73rd Reserve Infantry Division
  
  
  • 75th Reserve Infantry Division
  
  
  
  

The ROK Marine Corps has a further two divisions numbering around 10,000 men each:

• 1st Marine Division


• 2nd Marine Division

USSR

In the Soviet Armed Forces, a division (Russian: diviziya) may have referred to a formation in any of the Armed Services, and included subunits appropriate to the service such as regiments and battalions, squadrons or naval vessels. Almost all divisions irrespective of the service had the 3+1+1 structure of major sub-units, which were usually regiments.

There is also a similarly sounding unit of military organization in Russian military terminology, called divizion. A divizion is used to refer to an artillery battalion, a specific part of a ship's crew (korabel'nyy divizion, 'ship battalion'), or a group of naval vessels (divizion korabley).

In Imperial Russia, infantry formations were designated as (Russian: pekhoty); in English, "infantry". But on 11 October 1918 all such formations in the new Red Army were re-designated as "rifle" (Russian: strelkovaya). This was deliberately chosen as a means of breaking with the Imperial past, while also giving these troops a sense of being an elite; in the Imperial Army the riflemen had been the best of the foot soldiers outside the Guards.^[12] The new designation also hearkened back to the Streltsy of the 16th to early 18th Centuries, which were also elite troops.

Before the Second World War, besides the Mechanised Corps, there were independent tank battalions within rifle divisions. These were meant to reinforce rifle units for the purpose of breaching enemy defences. They had to act in cooperation with the infantry without breaking away from it and were called tanks for immediate infantry support (Russian: tanki neposredstvennoy podderzhki pekhoty).

After 1945, some Red Army rifle divisions were converted to Mechanised Divisions. From 1957, all rifle and mechanised divisions became Motorised Rifle Divisions (MRDs). These divisions usually had approximately 12,000 soldiers organized into three motor rifle regiments, a tank regiment, an artillery regiment, an air defense regiment, surface-to-surface missile and antitank battalions, and supporting chemical, engineer, signal, reconnaissance, and rear services companies.^[13] A typical tank division had some 10,000 soldiers organized into three tank regiments and one motorized rifle regiment, all other sub-units being same as the MRD.^[14]

A typical Soviet Frontal Aviation Division consisted of three air regiments, a transport squadron, and associated maintenance units. The number of aircraft within a regiment varied. Fighter and fighter-bomber regiments were usually equipped with about 40 aircraft (36 of the primary unit type and a few utility and spares), while bomber regiments typically consisted of 32 aircraft. Divisions were typically commanded by Colonels or Major Generals, or Colonels or Major Generals of Aviation in the Air Force. Soviet Naval Aviation and the Strategic Missile Forces divisions had either Colonels or Major Generals as commanding officers while the Ship Divisions were led by Captains 1st Rank or Captains 2nd Rank.

Russian Federation

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russian tank and motorized-rifle divisions were reduced to near-cadre state, many being designated Bases for Storage of Weapons and Equipment (Russian acronym BKhVT). These bases, or "cadre" divisions, were equipped with all the heavy armaments of a full-strength motor-rifle or tank division, while having only skeleton personnel strength, as low as 500 personnel. The officers and men of a cadre division focus primarily on maintaining the equipment in working condition. During wartime mobilization, such a division would be beefed up to full manpower strength; however, in peacetime, a cadre division is unfit for any combat.

After the 2008 Russian military reforms, most active divisions were disbanded or converted into brigades. Exceptions are the:

• 
  7th Guards Air Assault (Mountain) Division in Novorossiysk
  


• 
  76th Guards Air Assault Division in Pskov
  


• 
  98th Guards Airborne Division in Ivanovo
  


• 
  106th Guards Airborne Division in Tula
  

In 2013 were revived:

• 
  2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division in Moscow
  


• 
  4th Guards Tank Division in Naro-Fominsk
  

In 2016 were revived:

• 
  3rd Motor Rifle Division in Valuyki
  


• 
  42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division in Khankala
  


• 
  90th Guards Tank Division in Chebarkul
  


• 
  144th Motor Rifle Division in Yelnya
  


• 
  150th Motor Rifle Division in Novocherkassk
  

In addition to the Army divisions, a division is currently on active duty within the ranks of the National Guard of Russia:

• 
  Separate Operational Purpose Division in Moscow.

See also

• Air Division


• List of military divisions


• Military organization

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Division insignia of the United States Army.

• Infantry Divisions (British Army and British Indian Army) 1930–1956