A militia is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional and/or part-time soldiers; citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of regular, full-time military personnel; or, historically, to members of a warrior-nobility class. When acting independently militias are generally unable to hold ground against regular forces; militias commonly support regular troops by skirmishing, holding fortifications, or conducting irregular warfare, instead of undertaking offensive campaigns by themselves. Local civilian laws often limit militias to serve only in their home region, and to serve only for a limited time; this further reduces their use in long military campaigns. Militias may also, however, serve as a pool of available manpower for regular forces to draw from, particularly in emergencies.
Mustering in the "Hempstead Rifles," Arkansas Volunteers, at Arkadelphia, Arkansas, in 1861.
Armenian fedayi were Armenian irregular militia formed in the late 19th and early 20th century to defend Armenian villages.
Republikanischer Schutzbund was an Austrian militia formed in 1923, one of several militias formed in post-World War I Austria.
Depiction of the 2nd Regiment of York Militia during the Battle of Queenston Heights. The regiment was one of several Canadian militia units during the War of 1812.
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fight primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by possessing an army aviation component. Within a national military force, the word army may also mean a field army.
Azerbaijan Army soldiers at a 2020 parade
Indian Army soldiers on parade in 2014
A bronze crossbow trigger mechanism and butt plate that were mass-produced in the Warring States period (475-221 BCE)
An Ancient Greek warrior in bronze, Riace bronzes, c. 450 BCE.