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Military reserve force
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A military reserve force is a military organization composed of part-time military personnel, and sometimes civilians, who are available to fight when a nation mobilizes for total war or to defend against invasion. Reserve forces are generally not considered part of a permanent standing body of armed forces. The existence of reserve forces allows a nation to reduce its peacetime military expenditures while maintaining a force prepared for war.
In some countries, such as the United States, Spain and the United Kingdom, members of the reserve forces are volunteers who have a part-time obligation. In other countries, such as the Republic of China and Israel, service in the reserves is compulsory for a number of years after one has completed their national service. Also, in some cases a militia could constitute part of a military reserve, such as the United States National Guard. A Home Guard is a specific type of reserve force that can only be activated in the event of invasion.
A military reserve force is different from a military reserve, which is a group of military personnel not committed to a battle so they are available to address unforeseen situations.
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Historically reservists first played a significant role in Europe after the Prussian defeat in the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt. On 9 July 1807 in the Treaty of Tilsit, Napoleon forced Prussia to drastically reduce its military strength, in addition to ceding large amounts of territory. The Prussian army could no longer be stronger than 42,000 men.
The Krümpersystem, introduced to the Prussian army by the military reformer Gerhard von Scharnhorst, arranged for giving recruits a short period of training, which in the event of war could be considerably expanded. With this the reduction of the army's strength did not have the desired effect, and in the following wars Prussia was able to draw up a large number of trained soldiers. By the time of the Second Reich reservists were already being given so-called 'war arrangements' following the completion of their military service, which contained exact instructions relating to the conduct of reservists in time of war.