Battalion

At a glance:

Normally commanded by a field-grade officer, a battalion is a tactical organization that commonly consists of a headquarters and two or more companies, batteries, or similar units. The term, however, has had numerous meanings throughout the course of Western military history. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, battalion indicated a battle-line of infantry or any large body of troops. During the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), the French developed formally organized battalions—fighting units that were administered by a regiment. (The terms “battalion” and “regiment” were,...

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