Ajay Kumar at 21:05, 30 August 2023

2023-08-30T21:05:44Z

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{{short description|Deployment of a state's military to fight abroad}}
{{Unreferenced|date=December 2014}}
{{war}}

'''Expeditionary warfare''' is a military [[invasion]] of a foreign territory, especially away from established bases. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of [[rapid deployment force]]s. Traditionally, expeditionary forces were essentially self-sustaining with an [[Organic unit|organic]] [[Military logistics|logistics]] capability and with a full array of supporting arms.

==In the ancient world==
[[File:Le Brun, Alexander and Porus.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Alexander the Great]] fighting in [[India]]]]
The earliest examples of expeditionary warfare come from the [[Sea Peoples]], a term used for a [[confederation]] of seafaring [[Raid (military)|raiders]] of the [[second millennium BC]] who sailed into the eastern shores of the [[Mediterranean]], caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control [[Egypt]]ian territory during the late [[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt|19th dynasty]], and especially during Year 8 of [[Ramesses III]] of the [[Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt|20th dynasty]].
[[File:MacedonEmpire.jpg|thumb|Empire of Alexander the Great]]
The raiding tactics were expanded into the more complex expeditionary warfare operations by [[Alexander the Great]] who used [[Carthage Punic Ports|naval]] vessels for both troop transporting and [[Sealift|logistics]] in his campaigns against the [[Alexander the Great#Persia|Persian Empire]].

The next exponents of expeditionary warfare in the ancient world of the [[Mediterranean Basin]] were the [[Carthage|Carthaginians]] who introduced two entirely new dimensions to the use of [[Sealift|naval forces]] by staging not only operations that combined [[Carthage#Navy|naval]] and [[Carthage#Army|land]] troops, but also eventuated in combining [[Military strategy|strategic]] multi-national forces during the land phase of the operation when [[Hannibal]] in his most famous achievement at the outbreak of the [[Second Punic War]] marched an army, which included [[war elephant]]s, from [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]] over the [[Pyrenees]] and the [[Alps]] into [[Northern Italy]].

Following on the example of Carthage, the [[Structural history of the Roman military|Romans]] used expeditionary operations extensively to expand their Empire and influence in the Mediterranean and beyond, including the [[Roman conquest of Britain]] which was not only a limited expeditionary operation, but one conceived to include long-term [[Military occupation|occupation]] and Roman settlement of the territories.

[[File:Han_Expansion.png|thumb|Han campaigns against the Xiongnu, shown in red]]
The [[Han dynasty]] of ancient China also famously used expeditionary warfare to deal with the nomadic [[Xiongnu]] people during the [[Han–Xiongnu War]]. Under the orders of [[Emperor Wu of Han]], the Han launched numerous long-distance raids deep into Xiongnu territory. The exploits of famed Han generals [[Wei Qing]] and [[Huo Qubing]] were of particular note, with both recording multiple successful expeditions between the years 127 and 119 BC, eventually annexing the [[Hexi Corridor]] and expelling the Xiongnu from the [[Qilian Mountains]]. The expeditionary Han forces were primarily made up of cavalry and were typically arrayed in columns. They also frequently crossed vast distances–Huo Qubing is said to have travelled 2,000 ''li'', roughly 620 miles, during one of his raids.

==In the Middle Ages==
Shortly after the collapse of the Roman empire in Italy, the European [[Middle Ages]] began with an [[Vandalic War|expedition]] of imperial [[Byzantium|Byzantine]] general [[Belisarius]] against the [[Vandals]]. But as that empire dwindled, its warfare became more defensive.

The most prominent development of expeditionary warfare during the Middle Ages came from the [[Medieval Warm Period|environmental pressures]] in the [[Scandinavia]]n region during the Middle Ages, and the emergence of the [[History of Scandinavia#Viking Age|Viking]] migrations that combined raiding, longer term inland operations, occupation and settlement. These operations were conducted as [[Settlement of Iceland|sea]], [[Denmark#Viking Age|coastal]] and [[Varangians|riverine]] operations, and sometimes were strategic in nature, reaching as far as [[Constantinople#Recovery.2C 717.E2.80.931025|Constantinople]].

Expeditionary warfare in [[East Asia]] began very much in the same way it had in the Mediterranean with short-term raids by [[Piracy#East Asia|Japanese pirates]]. Because the [[wokou]] were weakly resisted by the [[Ming dynasty]], the raiding eventually developed into fully-fledged expeditionary warfare with the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)|Japanese invasions of Korea]] (1592–1598).

===During the Crusades===
The development in expeditionary operations reached a new level when during the [[Crusades]] the element of [[political alliance]] as an influence on the military strategy was introduced, for example in the [[Crusade#Sixth Crusade|Sixth Crusade]] (AD 1228.)

==The rise of European colonial empires==
[[File:Surikov Pokoreniye Sibiri Yermakom.jpg|thumb|right|300px|"[[Yermak Timofeyevich|Yermak]]'s conquest of [[Siberia]]", a painting by Russian artist [[Vasily Surikov]] depicting the [[Russian conquest of Siberia]].]]

Although all expeditionary warfare until the invention of the combustion engine was largely dependent on [[Sailing ship|sailing vessels]], it was with the creation of sophisticated [[Square rig|rigging]] systems of the European [[Renaissance]] that the [[Age of Sail]] allowed a significant expansion in expeditionary warfare, notably by the European [[Colonialism|colonial empires]]. Some have argued that this was the first [[revolution in military affairs]] that changed national strategies, operational methods, and tactics both at sea and on the land. One notable example of this evolution was the [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|French invasion of Egypt]] (1798).

Though a significantly expanded expeditionary operation, the [[Crimean War]] was the first example of a planned expeditionary campaign that was directed as part of a multinational coalition strategy. It was also the first modern expeditionary operation that used [[Steamboat|steam-powered]] warships and [[Telegraphy|telegraph]] communications.

The next development in the evolution of the expeditionary warfare was made during the expansion of the western [[History of colonialism|European empires]] and the era of [[colonialism]] that also led to the inclusion of the expeditionary methods into the direct expression of national strategies to avoid full-scale conflicts in the shape of the [[gunboat diplomacy]] approach. It was at this time that [[Marines|naval troops]] previously used almost exclusively for defence of vessels or minor [[Amphibious warfare|beach operations]] were expanded to enable extended [[Littoral (military)|littoral]] operations. The colonial experience, though largely confined to the period before the [[World War I|First World War]], persisted well into the [[Gunboat diplomacy#Notable examples|20th century]].

==The World Wars==

===First World War===
The period of the [[World War I|First World War]] and its aftermath in the 1920s saw expeditionary warfare established as a systematic and planned type of operations with larger scope than simple [[Troopship|transportations]] of troops to the theatre, such as the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]] in 1914, [[Russian Expeditionary Force in France|Russian Expeditionary Force]] in 1916, and the [[American Expeditionary Forces]] in 1917, and the beginnings of development in true combined operations at strategic, operational and tactical levels with the unsuccessful [[Amphibious warfare|amphibious]] landing at [[Battle of Gallipoli|Gallipoli]]. Not only did this operation combine the elements of overall war planning context, multinational deployment of forces as part of the same operation, and use of troops prepared for the landings (as opposed to [[disembarkation]]), as well as [[naval gunfire support]] that was limited during the era of sailing ships, but also included extensive use of [[combat engineering]] in support of the [[infantry]]. One of the most extensive and complex of expeditionary operations that followed the war was the [[Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War]] that saw forces deployed in the [[Baltic region]], the [[Arctic region]], along the [[Black Sea]] coast, and in the [[Russian Far East]].
[[File:Aust fleet Rabaul (AWM J03326).jpg|thumb|A squadron of the [[Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force]] off [[New Britain]] in September 1914]]
Other expeditionary forces during WWI included:
* [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]] 1914–1920
* [[First Australian Imperial Force]] (Europe)
* [[Indian Expeditionary Force]] 1914–1918
* [[Hejaz Expeditionary Force]] (Ottoman Empire) 1916-1919
* [[South African Overseas Expeditionary Force]] 1915–1919
* [[New Zealand Expeditionary Force]] 1914–1918
* [[Portuguese Expeditionary Corps]] 1917–1918

===Second World War===
[[File:The British Expeditionary Force (bef) in France 1939-1940 O87.jpg|thumb|[[Coldstream Guards]] of the British Expeditionary Force arrive in [[Cherbourg]], France, 1939]]
[[File:Massarosaw.jpg|thumb|Brazilian soldiers of the [[Brazilian Expeditionary Force]] greet civilians in [[Massarosa]], Italy, September 1944.]]
*[[Afrika Korps]] (Nazi Germany)
*[[Corpo Aereo Italiano]] (Fascist Italy)
*[[Corpo Truppe Volontarie]]
*[[Brazilian Expeditionary Force]]
*[[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]]
*[[Canadian Corps (World War II)|Canadian Corps]]
*[[China Expeditionary Army]] (Imperial Japan)
*[[Chinese Expeditionary Force]] (Chinese Army)
*[[Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia]]
*[[Second Australian Imperial Force]]

== Contemporary ==
{{See|Power projection}}

===European Union===
*[[EU Battlegroup]]
*[[European Maritime Force]]

===NATO===
*[[NATO Response Force]]
*[[Allied Rapid Reaction Corps]]

===United Kingdom===
[[File:RAF Typhoons MOD 45156421.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Air Force]] [[Eurofighter Typhoon|Typhoons]] from No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing]]
*[[3rd Division (United Kingdom)]]
*[[16 Air Assault Brigade]]
*[[3 Commando Brigade]]
*[[Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime)]]
*[[UK Joint Expeditionary Force]]
*[[Combined Joint Expeditionary Force]]
*[[Joint Rapid Reaction Force]]
*[[No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group (United Kingdom)|No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group]]
**No. 901 Expeditionary Air Wing
**No. 902 Expeditionary Air Wing
**[[No. 903 Expeditionary Air Wing (United Kingdom)|No. 903 Expeditionary Air Wing]]
**[[No. 904 Expeditionary Air Wing (United Kingdom)|No. 904 Expeditionary Air Wing]]
**No. 906 Expeditionary Air Wing
*[[Expeditionary Air Wing]]
**No. 34 Expeditionary Air Wing
**No. 38 Expeditionary Air Wing
**No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing
**No. 135 Expeditionary Air Wing
**[[No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing (United Kingdom)|No. 138 Expeditionary Air Wing]]
**No. 140 Expeditionary Air Wing

===United States===
[[File:George Washington Carrier Strike Group.jpg|thumb|Carrier Strike Group]]
*[[Carrier Strike Group]]
**[[Carrier Strike Group 1]]
**[[Carrier Strike Group 2]]
**[[Carrier Strike Group 3]]
**[[Carrier Strike Group 5]]
**[[Carrier Strike Group 8]]
**[[Carrier Strike Group 9]]
**[[Carrier Strike Group 10]]
**[[Carrier Strike Group 11]]
**[[Carrier Strike Group 12]]
[[File:Expeditionary Strike Group 3.jpg|thumb|Expeditionary Strike Group]]
*[[Expeditionary Strike Group]]
*[[Marine Expeditionary Force]]
**[[I Marine Expeditionary Force]]
**[[II Marine Expeditionary Force]]
**[[III Marine Expeditionary Force]]
*[[Marine Expeditionary Brigade]]
**[[1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade (United States)|1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade]]
**[[2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (United States)|2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade]]
**[[3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (United States)|3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade]]
*[[Marine Expeditionary Unit]]
**[[11th Marine Expeditionary Unit]]
**[[13th Marine Expeditionary Unit]]
**[[15th Marine Expeditionary Unit]]
**[[22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit]]
**[[24th Marine Expeditionary Unit]]
**[[26th Marine Expeditionary Unit]]
**[[31st Marine Expeditionary Unit]]
*[[List of Air Expeditionary units of the United States Air Force]] (43 of them)

==See also==
*[[Blue-water navy]]
*[[Expeditionary energy economics]]
*[[Expeditionary maneuver warfare]]
*[[Loss of Strength Gradient]]
*[[Military deployment]]
*[[Military logistics]]
*[[Over-the-beach capability]]
*[[Power projection]]
*[[Seabasing]]
*[[Unsinkable aircraft carrier]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://c69011.r11.cf3.rackcdn.com/ae816f4bcea94b1fac1c035306de5458-0x0.pdf Response Force Task Group (RFTG)] (Royal Navy PDF)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Expeditionary Warfare}}
[[Category:Expeditionary warfare| ]]
[[Category:Warfare by type]]

Expeditionary warfare - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 21:05, 30 August 2023