Armed Forces (Military SVG) is the main armed organization of a state or group of states, designed to ensure military security, protect the interests of the state in the course of aggression and war, prevent or eliminate threats to peace between states and security. In addition to performing the main functions assigned to the armed forces, they can also be involved in maintaining order in the state in emergency situations, elimination of the consequences of natural and man-made disasters, as well as for the solution of some other national and international tasks.
History of the Military SVG
The development of the armed forces was closely linked to the social and economic development of the state.
As the slave-owning system developed, a significant part of free citizens became landless and devastated, a system of recruitment of ruined peasants and freed slaves was introduced. In Ancient Persiipri of Achaemenid dynasty, Carthage and Roman Empire and in other antique states foreign mercenaries were involved to complete the army. Started to appear the army of permanent staff of professional soldiers, recruited, with a complex multilevel organization of troops and management. Since ancient times, the armed forces were divided into an army (land forces) and a fleet of rowing ships. The main branches of the Army were infantry and cavalry. The cavalry played an auxiliary role.
In the Roman Empire, the army consisted of units (legions) and units (cohort and centurion). The personnel of the armed forces of slave-owning states basically did not exceed 100000 people, and the composition of the fleet was within the limits of 200-300 warships. The army of the Roman Empire included from 250000 to 450000 people. Mainly the armies of that period had cold and throwing weapons. In technically developed countries there were throwing and wall-mounted machines.
The predominance of natural economy and the weakness of the state apparatus in the period of early and developed feudalism in the states of Western Europe did not give conditions for the creation of an army of permanent staff. The development of feudal relations made it possible to make a transition from the people’s militia of early feudal countries to the militia of vassals and bassals. All feudal lords were engaged in military business and kept armed groups. Infantry was in decline, and the main kind of troops was a heavy knight’s cavalry. The fleet was used only to transport troops. During the large campaigns the number of armed forces did not exceed 50-60 thousand people.
Eastern feudal states (Arabs, Turks, Mongolo-Tatars and others) contained armed forces mainly consisting of heavy and light cavalry with the established organization of troops (division into tens, hundreds, thousands) and reached a large number of several hundred thousand. They also had wall-mounted and throwing machines and a rowing fleet.
With the development of trade, the growth of cities and the emergence of centralized states, as well as the emergence of firearms in the XIV century, the cavalry in Western Europe has fallen into disrepair, giving way to hired professional armies, acting with the feudal militia.
In the XV-XVI centuries, the army and fleets of mercenaries were created mainly only during the war from professionals-avanturists. These included Italian condottiers, German Landscnechs, Swiss and Scottish mercenaries, who formed the basis of the armed forces in a number of Western European countries. Infantry received in service firearms and peaks became the main branch of the army. In the Navy began the gradual displacement of rowing ships sailing.
Growth of world trade and labor productivity allowed in XVII-XVIII centuries to pass to the states to the permanent national armed forces which were under the full control of the centralized state power. During this period, the system of centralized military management began to be created, prototypes of general staffs and staff service appeared. In the XVII century, the engineering troops appeared and the organization of artillery troops was fixed.
The first national armies were formed in the XVII century in such countries as France, Austria, Sweden and Prussia. Simultaneously, permanent military fleets were established in England, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. Staffing was carried out by recruitment for a long term salary. When there was a shortage of volunteers, recruitment was sometimes carried out in a forced manner. At the same time, mercenarism and, in some cases, the use of prisoners of war were also used to man the troops. The command staff was mainly appointed by the monarch from among the nobles.
In the XVII-XVIII centuries, the armed forces were introduced into the organization of troops that has survived to the present day (brigades, regiments, battalions, companies and squadrons). At the same time, the number of armed forces in some countries reached 150-200 thousand people. In the Russian kingdom in the XVI century was created Streltsy army on a permanent basis, numbering up to 40 000 people, complemented by feudal militia. At the end of the XVII and beginning of the XVIII century in the Russian Empire were created regular army and navy. Also at the end of the XVII century, the introduction of recruitment began, which was subject to the pay classes, the bulk of which were peasants.
During the Great French Revolution of 1789-1794, a mass army was created, which was recruited by voluntary entry into its ranks. Since 1793, a system of forced selection was created. In 1798, the French law introduced universal (all-word) conscription. Special methods of training and education of the personnel, ideological work with them, as well as the possibility of career development for ordinary soldiers became the basis of high moral and fighting spirit in the French army, which then joined the army of Napoleon.
The number of armies in the beginning of the XIX century in some large states reached several hundred thousand people.
The high growth of force productivity, the progress of military equipment (the emergence of rifled firearms, armored steam fleet) and the spread of rail transport in the early XIX century contributed to the emergence of mass armed forces on the principles of the personnel army and navy, which provoked the transition of many states to general conscription (Prussia, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the Russian Empire, Japan, Turkey). The terms of service in peacetime were reduced (mainly to 3-5 years), which made it possible to create a mobilization reserve of several million citizens for wartime.
In the 19th century, the division and corps organization of the troops was consolidated and such operational associations as the army were established in practice.
By the beginning of the XX century technical progress and achievements of science contributed to the emergence of new types of weapons, to the construction of large fleets, production of combat aircraft, and then tanks. Shorter terms of service were established (in personnel armies – 2-3 years, in the Navy – up to 5 years).
The leading powers developed mobilization plans for the deployment of armed forces in wartime for several million people. On the eve of the First World War there were 1,385,000 men in the armed forces of the Russian Empire, 947,000 in France and 801,000 in Germany. During the First World War, the participating States mobilized some 74,000,000 people. The need to provide the armed forces of several million people with a large number of military equipment led to a significant growth of all industry and the transfer of the economy of the states participating in the war to the needs of the war. The following concepts were introduced: mobilization of industry, transport, and other sectors of the economy to meet the needs of the war.
Along with the significant growth of infantry, new types of troops were created, such as military aviation, armoured troops, chemical troops, air defense troops, automobile troops and road troops. In the Navy, the role of light naval forces and underwater forces has increased. A new kind of forces was created – naval aviation.