Militia

Lebanese Kataeb militia

A Militia is an organization of citizens to provide defense, emergency or paramilitary service, or those engaged in such activity. The word can have five somewhat different meanings:

• Defense activity, as well as those engaged in it, when it is defense of the public, its territory, property, and laws.
• The entire able-bodied male population of a community, town, or state, available to be called to arms against an invading enemy, to enforce the law, or to respond to a disaster. A similar common law provision, the posse comitatus, exists in jurisdictions with English judicial origin for law enforcement authority to conscript from the male population to assist with keeping the peace, law enforcement, etc..
• A private, non-government force, not necessarily directly supported or sanctioned by its government.
• An official reserve army, composed of citizen soldiers, also called an Army Reserve, National Guard, or State Defense Forces.
• The national police forces in Russia, and other former CIS countries, or the former Soviet Union: Militsiya.

In any of these cases, a militia is distinct from a regular army. It can serve to supplement the regular military, or it can oppose it, for example to resist a military coup. In some circumstances, the "enemies" against which a militia is mobilized are domestic political opponents of the government, such as strikers. In many cases the role, or even the existence of a militia, is controversial. For these reasons legal restrictions may be placed on the mobilization or use of militia.

Etymology

The term "militia" is derived from Latin roots:

• miles /miːles/ : a fighter or warrior
• -itia /iːtia/ : a state, quality, condition, or activity

In its original sense, therefore, militia meant "the state, quality, condition, or activity of being a fighter or warrior." It can be thought of as "combatant activity," "the fighter frame of mind," "the militant mode," "the soldierly status," or "the warrior way."

In common usage, a "militia" is a body of private persons who respond to an emergency threat to public safety, usually one that requires an armed response, but which can also include ordinary law enforcement or disaster responses. The act of bringing to bear arms contextually changes the status of the person, from peaceful citizen, to warrior citizen. The militia is the sum total of persons undergoing this change of state.

Persons are usually said to engage in militia in response to a "call up" by any person aware of the threat requiring the response, and thence to be in "called up" status until the emergency is past. There is no minimum size to militia, and a solitary act of defense, including self-defense, can be thought of as one person calling up himself to defend the community, represented by himself or others, and to enforce the law. See citizen's arrest.

Militia service is distinguished from military service in that the latter is normally a commitment for a fixed period of time, probably at least a year, for a salary. Militia persons are normally expected to provide their own weapons, equipment, or supplies, although they may later be compensated for losses or expenditures.

The original meaning of the Latin word is "military activity," or, since the ancient Romans had the same people fight crime or respond to disasters, "defense activity." In the idiom of English during the 18th century, the same word would often be used for an activity and for those who engage in it, so "militia" meant both defense activity and those who engage in it, whether as individuals or in concert with others. In later times the term has come to be used mainly to refer to armed groups, but it would be a mistake to use it that way in discussions of the concept in the U.S. Constitution.

A related concept is the jury, which can be regarded as a specialized form of militia convened to render a verdict in a court proceeding (trial jury) or to investigate a public matter and render a presentment or indictment (grand jury).

Australia

Militia was an alternative name for the Citizens' Military Forces (CMF), the reserve units of the Australian Army between 1901 and 1980. After Australian federation, the six former colonial militias were merged to form the CMF. Initially the CMF infantry forces formed the vast bulk of the Australian Army, along with standing artillery and engineer units.

The Defence Act of 1903 granted the Australian federal government the powers to conscript men of military age for home defense. However, these powers were unpopular and were used only for short periods at a time. The government was also forbidden by law from deploying the CMF outside Australian territories, or using it in strikes and other industrial disputes.

As a result of the ban on foreign service, during World War I and World War II, all-volunteer Australian Imperial Forces were formed for overseas deployment. CMF units were sometimes scorned by AIF soldiers as "chocolate soldiers" or "chockos," because "they would melt under the pressure" of military operations; or in an alternative version of the story of the origin of this term, as a result of the 1930s' uniforms of Militia soldiers, these soldiers were considered by AIF volunteers and some civilians as soldiers only for show like the soldiers in garish 19th-century dress uniforms shown on tins of chocolates that were commonly sold in Australia in the 1930s, hence the name "chocolate-tin soldiers" for Militia members.

Nevertheless, some Militia units distinguished themselves in action against the Empire of Japan during the Pacific War, and suffered extremely high casualties. In mid-1942 Militia units fought in two significant battles, both in New Guinea, which was then an Australian territory. The exploits of the young and poorly trained soldiers of the 39th (Militia) Battalion during the rearguard action on the Kokoda Track remain celebrated to this day, as is the contribution of the 7th Brigade at the Battle of Milne Bay.

Later in the war, the law was changed to allow the transfer of Militia units to the 2nd AIF; of these Militia units, 65% of their personnel had volunteered for overseas service. Another change allowed Militia units to serve anywhere south of the Equator in South-East Asia. Consequently they also saw action against Japanese forces in the Dutch East Indies.

In addition to the CMF, the Volunteer Defence Corps, a volunteer force modeled on the British Home Guard, was formed in 1940 and had a strength of almost 100,000 men across Australia at its peak.

After the war, CMF units continued to form the bulk of the peacetime army, although the creation of standing infantry units — such as the Royal Australian Regiment — from 1947, meant that the regular army grew in importance. By 1980, when the name of the CMF was changed to the Army Reserve, the regular army was the more significant force. Australian Reservists have a comparatively high level of commitment, with an expected obligation of up to 4 nights and 2 full days per month, alongside a two week annual course. Since September of 2006, Reservist Salaries have been streamlined with those of regular forces as a reflection of overall higher standard of training. This initiative shows that since 1975, there are now many positions for which there is little training gap at all between Reservists and Permanent Force members [1]

Canada

In Canada the title "Militia" historically referred to the land component of the armed forces, both regular (full time) and reserve. In 1940 the Permanent Active Militia and Non-Permanent Active Militia were renamed to become the Canadian Army. The term Militia continued from then to the present day to refer to the part-time army reserve component of the Canadian Forces. Currently, Militia troops usually train one night a week and every other weekend of the month, except in the summer; summertime training may consist of courses, individual call outs, or concentrations (unit and formation training of 1 to 2 weeks' duration). In addition, primary reserve members are increasingly used for voluntary service as augmentation to the regular force overseas - usually NATO or United Nations missions. Most Canadian cities have one or more militia units.

China

PRC's Militia, a mass force engaged in daily production under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CCP), forms part of the Chinese armed forces. Under the command of the military organs, it undertakes such jobs as war preparation services, security and defense operation tasks and assistance in maintaining social order and public security.

Cuba

Cuba has three militia organizations: The Territorial Militia Troops Milicias de Tropas Territoriales of about one million people (half women)[2], the Youth Labor Army Ejército Juvenil del Trabajo devoted to agricultural production, and a naval militia.[3].

France

The first notable militia in French history was the resistance of the Gauls to invasion by the Romans until they were defeated by Julius Caesar.

The next notable militia was organized and led by Joan of Arc until her capture and execution in 1431. It settled the succession to the French crown and laid the basis for the formation of the modern nation of France.

During the Franco-Prussian War the Parisian National Guard which was founded during the Time the American Revolution Engaged the Prussian Army and letter rebelled against the Versailles Army under Marshal McMahon

During World War II under German occupation, militia usually called the French Resistance emerged to conduct a guerrilla war of attrition against German forces and prepare the way for the D-Day Allied Invasion of France.

Germany

The name Freikorps (German for "Free Corps") was originally applied to voluntary armies. The first freikorps were recruited by Frederick II of Prussia during the Seven Years' War. The freikorps were regarded as unreliable by regular armies, so that they were mainly used as sentries and for minor duties.

However, after 1918, the term was used for far-right paramilitary organizations that sprang up around Germany as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. They were one of the many Weimar paramilitary groups active during that time. They received considerable support from Gustav Noske, the German Defence Minister who used them to crush the Spartakist League with enormous violence, including the murders of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg on January 15, 1919. They were also used to put down the Bavarian Soviet Republic in 1919. They were officially "disbanded" in 1920, resulting in the ill-fated Kapp Putsch in March 1920.

Some future members and, indeed, leaders of the Nazi Party were members of a Freikorps, including Ernst Röhm, future head of the Sturmabteilung or SA, and Rudolf Höß, the future Kommandant of Auschwitz.

The Einwohnerwehr, active in Germany from 1919 to 1921 as a paramilitary citizens' militia consisting of hundreds of thousands of mostly former servicemen. Formed by the Prussian Ministry of the Interior on April 15, 1919, for the purpose to allow citizens to protect themselves from looters, armed gangs, and revolutionaries. The Einwohnerwehr was under the command of the local Reichswehr regiments and which supplied its guns. In 1921, the Berlin government dissolved the Einwohnerwehr. Many of its members went on to join the Nazi Party.[4]

Iran

The Basij militia , founded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in November of 1979 is comprised of 90,000 regular soldiers, and 300,000 reservists and ultimately draws from about 11 million members, and is subordinate to the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Template:Section stub

Iraq

The Mehdi Army is a militia force created by the Iraqi Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in June 2003. See also, The Kurdish militia, the peshmerga, estimated to number upwards of 50,000. Also, the Badr militia based in and around Karbala. The Anbar Salvation Council is a Sunni militia in Iraq formed by members of baathist and nationalist to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Template:Section stub

Israel

The earliest historical record of militia is found in the Old Testament and particularly the Book of Judges, when the Israelites fought as militia against threatening neighboring tribes. A prominent instance of that was the militia led by Deborah against the Caananites.

In modern times there is a universal military service requirement for male Israeli citizens that leaves most of them in the reserves of the Israeli Defense Forces, authorized to keep certain military weapons in their homes and workplaces.

Italy

Ancient Rome required her male citizens to serve as needed for defense, law enforcement, and disaster response, the activity from which the term "militia" is derived. Roman militia united Italy under Roman rule and fought the Punic Wars against Carthage. The practice of militia was replaced by a standing army largely through the reforms of Gaius Marius.

In the Medieval and Renaissance period while Italy was divided into contending city-states, militia were important for the survival of such states. Machiavelli wrote in his Discourses on Livy that militia were critical for the survival of a free republic.

The Italian patriot Garibaldi organized and led various militia, such as i Mille, from about 1848 until Italy was united in 1870, sometimes acting with official sanction and sometimes independently.

Sudan

Janjaweed militiaman

The Janjaweed, Arab militia groups, are active in the Darfur region of western Sudan and also in eastern Chad. According to Human Rights Watch these militia are responsible for abuses including war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.[5]

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Mexico

Template:Section stub The Free-Colored Militia, interracial militias of New Spain, Colonial Mexico.

The Rurales

New Zealand

Many localized Militia saw service, together with British Imperial troops, during the New Zealand land wars. The Militia were disbanded and reformed as the Territorial Army in 1911.

Switzerland

One of the most famous and ancient militias is the Swiss Armed Forces. Switzerland long maintained, proportionally, the second largest military force in the world, with about half the proportional amount of reserve forces of the Israeli Defence Force, a militia of some 33% of the total population. Article 58.1 of the 1999 Swiss constitution provides that the armed forces (armee) is "in principle" organized as a militia, implicitly allowing a small number of professional soldiers. In 1995, the number of soldiers was reduced to 400,000 (including reservists, amounting to some 5.6% of the population) and again in 2004, to 200,000 (including 80,000 reservists, or 2.7% of the population). However, the Swiss Militia continues to consist of the entire adult male population, with voluntary participation by women and children, required to keep an automatic rifle and ammunition at home and to periodically engage in combat and marksmanship training.

The Swiss Militia was admired by the American Founders, who regarded it as a model for the militia system they provided for in the U.S. Constitution^{[citation needed]}.

United Kingdom

Origins

The obligation to serve in the militia in England is enshrined in common law, and dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, when the militia was known as the fyrd. (The definition of a freeman was that he was "mootworthy and fyrd worthy".) The common law tradition stated that all males between fifteen and fifty were liable to be called out and embodied in one of two forces. The first was the posse commitatus, an ad-hoc body gathered together by a law officer to apprehend lawbreakers, and the second was the militia, a military body required to preserve internal order or defend the locality against an invader. It should be noted that the latter could only be embodied by a royal warrant.

Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

With the decay of the feudal system and the military revolution of the sixteenth century, the militia began to become an important institution in English life. It was organised on the basis of the shire county, and was one of the responsibilities of the Lord Lieutenant, a royal official (usually a trusted nobleman). Each of the county hundreds was likewise the responsibility of a Deputy Lieutenant, who relayed orders to the justices of the peace or magistrates. Every parish furnished a quota of eligible men, whose names were recorded on muster rolls. Likewise, each household was assessed for the purpose of finding weapons, armour, horses, or their financial equivalent, according to their status. The militia was supposed to be mustered for training purposes from time to time, but this was rarely done. The militia regiments were consequently ill-prepared for an emergency, and could not be relied upon to serve outside their own counties.

This state of affairs concerned many people. Consequently, an elite force was created, composed of members of the militia who were prepared to meet regularly for military training and exercise. These were formed into trained band regiments, particularly in the City of London, where the Artillery Garden was used as a training ground. The trained bands performed an important role in the English Civil War on the side of parliament, in marching to the raise the siege of Gloucester.

Except for the London trained bands, both sides in the Civil War made little use of the militia, preferring to recruit their armies by other means.

Political Issues

Up until the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the Crown and Parliament were in strong disagreement. The English Civil War left a rather unique military legacy. Both Whigs and Tories distrusted the creation of a large standing army not under civilian control. The former feared that it would be used as an instrument of royal tyranny. The latter had memories of the New Model Army and the anti-monarchical social and political revolution that it brought about. Consequently, both preferred a small standing army under civilian control for defensive deterrence and to prosecute foreign wars, a large navy as the first line of national defence, and a militia composed of their neighbours as additional defence and to preserve domestic order.

Consequently, the English Bill of Rights (1689) declared, amongst other things: "that the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law..." and "that the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defense suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law." This implies that they are fitted to serve in the militia, which was intended to serve as a counterweight to the standing army and preserve civil liberties against the use of the army by a tyrannical monarch or government.

The Crown still (in the British constitution) controls the use of the army. This ensures that officers and enlisted men swear an oath to a politically neutral head of state, and not to a politician. While the funding of the standing army subsists on annual financial votes by parliament, the Mutiny Act is also renewed on an annual basis by parliament. If it lapses, the legal basis for enforcing discipline disappears, and soldiers lose their legal indemnity for acts committed under orders.

With the creation of the British Empire, militias were also raised in the colonies, where little support could be provided by regular forces. Overseas militias were first raised in Jamestown, Virginia, and in Bermuda, where the Bermuda Militia followed a similar trajectory over the next two centuries to that in Britain.

Eighteenth Century and Napoleonic Wars

The Militia Act of 1757 created a more professional force. Better records were kept, and the men were selected by ballot to serve for longer periods. Proper uniforms and better weapons were provided, and the force was 'embodied' from time to time for training sessions.

The militia was widely embodied at various times during the French and Napoleonic Wars. It served at several vulnerable locations, and was particularly stationed on the South Coast and in Ireland. A number of camps were held at Brighton, where the militia regiments were reviewed by the Prince Regent. (This is the origin of the song 'Brighton Camp'.)The militia could not be compelled to serve overseas, but it was seen as a training reserve for the army, as bounties were offered to men who opted to 'exchange' from the militia to the regular army.

Irish and Scottish Militia

The Parliament of Ireland passed an act in 1715 raising regiments of militia in each county and county corporate. Membership was restricted to Protestants between the ages of 16 and 60. In 1793, during the Napoleonic Wars, the Irish militia were reorganised to form thirty-seven county and city regiments. While officers of the reorganised force were Protestant, membership of the other ranks was now made available to members of all denominations.

The 1757 Militia Act did not apply in Scotland. The old traditional system continued, so that militia regiments only existed in some places. This was resented by some and the Militia Club, soon to become the Poker Club, was formed to promote the raising of a Scottish militia. This and several other Edinburgh clubs became the crucible of the Scottish Enlightenment. The Militia Act of 1797 empowered Scottish Lord Lieutenants to raise and command militia regiments in each of the "Counties, Stewartries, Cities, and Places" under their jurisdiction.

Nineteenth Century

Although muster rolls were prepared as late as 1820, the element of compulsion was abandoned, and the militia was transformed into a volunteer force. It was intended to be seen as an alternative to the army. Men would volunteer and undertake basic training for several months at an army depot. Thereafter, they would return to civilian life, but report for regular periods of military training (usually on the weapons ranges) and an annual two week training camp. In return, they would receive military pay and a financial retainer, a useful addition to their civilian wage. Of course, many saw the annual camp as the equivalent of a paid holiday. The militia thus appealed to agricultural labourers, colliers and the like, men in casual occupations, who could leave their civilian job and pick it up again.

Until 1861 the militia were an entirely infantry force, but in that year a number of county regiments were converted to artillery. In 1877 the militia of Anglesey and Monmouthshire were converted to engineers.

Under the reforms introduced by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers in 1881, the remaining militia infantry regiments were redesignated as numbered battalions of regiments of the line, ranking after the two regular battalions. Typically, an English, Welsh or Scottish regiment would have two militia battalions (the 3rd and 4th) and Irish regiments three (numbered 3rd - 5th).

The militia must not be confused with the volunteer units created in a wave of enthusiasm in the second half of the nineteenth century. In contrast with the Volunteer Force, and the similar Yeomanry Cavalry, they were considered rather plebeian.

The Special Reserve

The militia was transformed into the Special Reserve by the military reforms of Haldane in the reforming post 1906 Liberal government. In 1908 the militia infantry battalions were redesignated as "reserve" and a number were amalgamated or disbanded. Numbered Territorial Force battalions, ranking after the Special Reserve, were formed from the volunteer units at the same time. Altogether, 101 infantry battalions, 33 artillery regiments and two engineer regiments of special reservists were formed.

Upon mobilisation, the special reserve units would be formed at the depot and continue training while guarding vulnerable points in Britain. The special reserve units remained in Britain throughout the First World War, but their rank and file did not, since the object of the special reserve was to supply drafts of replacements for the overseas units of the regiment. The original militiamen soon disappeared, and the battalions became training units pure and simple.

The Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to Supplementary Reserve in 1924, though the units were effectively placed in "suspended animation" until disbanded in 1953.

The Militiamen

The name was briefly revived in 1939, in the aftermath of the Munich Crisis. Leslie Hore-Belisha, the then Minister of War, wished to introduce a limited form of conscription, an unheard of thing in peacetime. It was thought that calling the conscripts 'militiamen' would make this more acceptable, as it would render them distinct from the rest of the army. Only single men of a certain age group were conscripted (they were given a free suit of civilian clothes as well as a uniform), and after serving for about a year, would be discharged into the reserve. Although the first intake were called up, the war broke out soon after, and the militiamen lost their identity in the rapidly expanding army.

Modern survivals

Three units still maintain their militia designation in the British Army, two in the Territorial Army and one in the Army Cadet Force. These are the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (formed in 1539), the Jersey Field Squadron (The Royal Militia Island of Jersey) (formed in 1337), and the Royal Alderney Militia (created in the 13th Century and reformed in 1984). Additionally, the Atholl Highlanders are a (ceremonial) private army maintained by the Duke of Atholl — they are the only legal private "army" in the United Kingdom.

United States

There is a long history of militia in the United States, starting during the colonial era, with the colonial militias drawn from the body of adult white male citizens of a community, town, or local region. Colonial militia served a vital role in the French and Indian Wars and to a lesser extent the United States Revolutionary War. Militia service shifted from colonial control to state control with the creation of the United States in 1776. Regulation of the militia was codified by the Second Continental Congress with the Articles of Confederation, in conjunction with the creation of a regular army, and a trend of shifting military power from the militia to the regular army. With Constitutional Convention of 1787 and Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution, control of the army and the power to call up the state based militia was transferred to civilian control through the federal congress. Two years later, with the Bill of Rights in 1789, the congress provided that the federal government could not infringe on the rights of the states to maintain their militia by ratification of the Second Amendment.

During the nineteenth century, each of the states maintained their militia differently, some more than others. Also, prior to the Civil War, militia units were sometimes used in southern states for slave control. During Reconstruction after the Civil War, Republican Party aligned militia units comprised almost entirely of freed slaves were deployed to maintain order in the former Confederate states, which caused in resentment among Southern Whites. Also, during this century, when the militia was called up to fight the War of 1812, the Civil War, and the Spanish American war, the militia units were found to be unprepared, ill supplied and at first unwilling.

The Militia Act of 1903 reorganized the militia. Organized units were created from portions of the former state guards and became state National Guard units. Some states later created State Defense Forces for assistance in local emergencies. Formally, an unorganized militia, comprised of the remainder of able bodied men still remains.

Privately organized citizens-militias blossomed in the mid 1990s. These Constitutional Militia Movements, consisting of paramilitary militia groups not affiliated with any government organization though not necessarily illegal, are often suspicious of activities of government. These groups espouse a strict construction of the U.S. Constitution, especially the Second Amendment, according to their understanding of the intent of the Founding Fathers of the United States, with particular regard to the right to keep and bear arms and a view that the people have a duty to be armed as deterrence against governmental tyranny. These Constitutional Militias train in the proper and safe use of firearms so that they may be effective if called upon by the federal congress to uphold liberty, protect the people in times of crisis (i.e. disasters such as Hurricane Katrina), or to defend against invasion and terrorism. U.S. Constitution, Art. I Sec. 8 Cl. 15 & 16.

Private militia organizations

Private militia organizations are organized militia groups which may or may not be condoned by their respective government. Traditionally, they are organized into county units with the county sheriff serving as county militia commander, if he is willing, or election of a commander by those who attend musters if not. Most private militia groups are armed or espouse the use of arms, however some groups (mostly U.S. groups) espouse political protest and more peaceful means of bringing about political change, and take up arms only for traditional or ideological reasons, or as a protest against restrictions on such activities.

Left-wing militias

Left-wing militias generally consider themselves to be freedom fighters and espouse various causes, from national liberation movements in regions under foreign occupation, to civil insurrection - as with, for example, the Red Brigades - and guerrilla activity in Central America. As their funding and armament in the 20th century came almost entirely from the Soviet Union, Maoist China (1949-1976) and other Marxist-Leninist states, many of these organizations declined in their activities during the 1990s, as these governments fell or changed their nature.

List of militias

Governmental Militias

• Milice
• 48th Highlanders of Canada
• Mississauga Horse
• 39th (Militia) Battalion
• United States National Guard
• South Alberta Light Horse
• Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
• Rogers' Rangers The forerunner of Modern "ranger" units
• Virginia Militia
• Swiss Army
• State Defense Forces
• Blackshirts
• Texas State Guard
• New Hampshire Militia
• Ohio Military Reserve
• Ohio Naval Militia

See also: Category:State Defense Forces of the United States

Non-governmental Militias

• Michigan Militia
• Animal Rights Militia
• Badr Organization
• Hezbollah (Lebanon)
• Janjaweed (Sudan)
• Kadyrovites (Chechnya, Russia)
• Lebanese Forces (Lebanon)
• Phalange (Lebanon)
• Mahdi Army (Iraq)
• Tatenokai (Japan)
• Irish Republican Army (Ireland)
• Euskadi ta askatasuna (Basque country)
• Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association (Northern Ireland)
• Ranch Rescue
• Ku Klux Klan

see also: Rebel Militia Groups

External links

• United States Militia Association
• Merriam-Webster definition of militia

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