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'Military districts' are organisations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsibe for administrative than operational matters, and in countries with conscript forces, often handle parts of the conscription cycle.
Navies have also used a similar model, with organisations such as the United States Naval Districts. A number of navies in South America used naval districts at various points in time.

Contents

China

Germany

Indonesia

History

Concept

Poland

Current

Historical

Russia

History

Russian Federation

See also

References

China

The People's Liberation Army uses a system of military regions, of which there used to be eleven, but are now seven.
The military regions are divided into military districts, usually continguous with provinces, and military sub-districts.

Dennis Blasko notes that originally thirteen military regions were established in the 1950s, but the number was reduced to eleven in the late 1960s. The resulting eleven military regions - Shenyang, Beijing, Lanzhou, Xinjiang, Jinan, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou (including Hainan Island), Wuhan, Chengdu, and Kunming - were reduced to seven by 1985-88. The active ones now include Lanzhou, incorporating the former Urumqi MR, Chengdu Military Region, incorporating the former Kunming MR, Nanjing, which includes the former Fuzhou MR, Beijing, and Shenyang.
Finally Guangzhou and Jinan Military Regions both appears to include parts of the former Wuhan MR.
''see also: NRA Military Region''

Germany

Today's German Armed Forces (''Bundeswehr'') have four military districts - ''Wehrbereichskommando'' as part of the ''Streitkräftebasis'' or Joint Service Support Command. The headquarters are in:

★ Kiel WBK I

★ Mainz WBK II

★ Erfurt WBK III

★ Munich WBK IV
During World War II Germany used the system of military districts (German: ''Wehrkreis'') to relieve field commanders of as much administrative work as possible and to provide a regular flow of trained recruits and supplies to the Field Army. The method they adopted was to separate the Field Army ('''Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres''') from the Home Command ('''Heimatkriegsgebiet''') and to entrust the responsibilities of training, conscription, supply and equipment to that command.
The Commander of the Infantry Corps with the identical number also commanded the ''Wehrkreis'' in peacetime, but command of the ''Wehrkreis'' passed to his second-in command at the outbreak of war.
Before the start of the war, there were also four Panzer Grenadier Corps (in effect, staffs to control the training of Panzer and Panzer Grenadier formations) which had no corresponding military districts, but were served (as regards conscription and supplies) by the districts in which Corps headquarters or subordinate formations had their Home Garrison Stations. These Corps were:

★ XIV Panzer Genadier Corps

★ XV Panzer Grenadier Corps

★ XVI Panzer Grenadier Corps

★ XIX Panzer Grenadier Corps
These Corps did not survive upon mobilization.
The Districts were organized into a Chain of Command that included 'Area Headquarters' ('Wehrersatzbezirk Hauptquartier') and 'Sub-area headquarters' ('Wehrbezirk Hauptquartier').
During World War II, Germany was divided into nineteen military districts. At the start of the war, there were only fifteen:

★ I - Königsberg

★
★ (East Prussia; Memel; and Bialystok))

★
★
★ Königsberg

★
★
★
★ Tilsit; Gumbinnen; Treuburg; Bartenstein; Braunsberg; Allenstein; Sudauen/''Suwałki'';

★
★
★ Allenstein

★
★
★
★ Lötzen; Zichenau/''Ciechanów''

★ II - Stettin

★
★ (Mecklenburg and Pomerania)

★
★
★ Köslin

★
★
★
★ Stolp; Kolberg; Neustettin; Deutsch Krone; Woldenburg/Neumark

★
★
★ Stettin;

★
★
★
★ Swinemünde; Starogard Gdański; Greifswald; Stralsund

★ III - Berlin

★
★ (Brandenburg and part of Neumark)

★ IV - Dresden

★
★ (Saxony; Thuringia; and northern Bohemia)

★ V - Stuttgart

★
★ (Württemberg; part of Baden; and Alsace)

★ VI - Münster

★
★ (Westphalia; Rhineland; and the Eupen-Malmedy district of Belgium)

★ VII - Munich

★
★ (Southern Bavaria)

★ VIII - Breslau

★
★ Silesia; the Sudeten districts of Bohemia and Moravia; and southwest Poland

★ IX - Kassel

★
★ (Hesse; Kassel and Weimar)

★ X - Hamburg

★
★ (Schleswig-Holstein; part of Hanover; and Danish Slesvig

★ XI - Hanover

★
★ (Braunschweig; Anhalt, and Magdeburg)

★ XII - Wiesbaden

★
★ (Eifel; Koblenz; Mannheim; Metz; the Palatinate; the Saar; Lorraine; Nancy; and Luxembourg)

★ XIII - Nürnberg

★
★ (Northern Bavaria; western Bohemia; Regensburg; and Eger)

★ XVII - Vienna

★
★ (Austria; southern Bohemia and southern Moravia)

★ XVIII - Salzburg

★
★ (Styria; Carinthia; Tyrol; and southern Slovenia
''Wehrkreis'' XX and XXI were established in Poland to control Danzig and Posen, respectively which belonged to Germany before World War I.

★ XX - Danzig

★
★ (Danzig Free State; Polish Corridor; Neustadt an der Dosse; Stargard Szczeciński; Marienwerder; Graudenz; Bromberg/Bydgoszcz); and Thorn/Toruń)

★ XXI - Posen

★
★ (Poznań; Lissa; Hohensalza; Leslau/Włocławek; Kalisch/Kalisz; and Litzmannstadt/Łódź)
Two additional ''Wehrkreis'' were established after the invasion of Poland to control the remainder of that country. These were ''Wehrkreis Böhmen-Mähren'' which covered the so-called "'Protectorate'" of Bohemia-Moravia that was Czech areas not part of the Sudetenland and ''Wehrkreis'' "General-Government" which controlled the remainder of Poland.
It has been speculated that the missing ''Wehrkreis'' number—'XIX'—was intended for use inside Russia if Germany had been successful in completing the invasion and additional numbers would have been assigned to the named ''Wehrkreis'' at the end of the war.
In peace time, the ''Wehrkreis'' was the home to the Infantry Corps of the same number and all subordinate units of that Corps.

Indonesia

Indonesia was also the user of military district during the Dutch military aggression II to defend their states from Dutch's invasion.

History

When the Dutch launch their military aggression by invading Indonesia, Indonesia National Army (Indonesian: ''Tentara Nasional Indonesia'') resist with the conventional linear tactics. But it was ultimately fail, and the Dutch successfully forced Indonesian army to form a guerilla formation.
General Soedirman then think a way out to facing the Dutches with other military strategist such as T.B. Simatupang and A.H. Nasution on the headquarter. They finally decided to reorganized the army structure, and form an attrition strategy with a military district system that called Wehrkreise--adapted from German system during World War II.

Concept

Wehrkreise that used in Indonesia means circles of defense, or regional defense. The system was used to defend islands and provinces that still remains to Indonesia during the military aggression. Each regional commander was given a full control to launch counter-attacks. Wehrkreise regions included power of military, politic, economy, education, and government. During the usage of this system, the conventional linear defence was fully abandoned. The system was later ratificated in Surat Perintah Siasat No.1, that was signed by General Soedirman on November 1948.

Poland

Current

★ Pomeranian Military District (Pomorski Okręg Wojskowy) with HQ in Bydgoszcz

★ Silesian Military District (Śląski Okręg Wojskowy) with HQ in Wrocław

Historical

★ Poznań Military District (Poznański Okręg Wojskowy), HQ in Poznań

★ Kraków Military District (Krakowski Okręg Wojskowy), HQ in Kraków

★ Łódź Military District (Łódzki Okręg Wojskowy), HQ in Łódź

★ Warsaw Military District (Warszawski Okręg Wojskowy), HQ in Warszawa

★ Lublin Military District (Lubelski Okręg Wojskowy), HQ in Lublin

Russia

In Russia, a 'military district' (, ''voyenny okrug'') is a territorial association of military units, formations, military schools, and various local military establishments. This territorial division type was utilized in Imperial Russia, USSR and is currently in use in Russian Federation.
Such territorial division provides convenient management of army units, their training and other activities regarding the country’s readiness to defend itself.

History

In Imperial Russia, military districts were first formed in 1862-1864. In USSR, the first six military districts (Yaroslavsky, Moskovsky, Orlovsky, Belomorsky, Uralsky, and Privolzhsky) were formed in March of 1918 during the Russian Civil War in 1918-1920 in order to prepare big army reserves for the front.
The number of military districts varied depending on the circumstances and with the evolution of the Soviet Army. For example, before the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 there were 16 military districts and one front. Right after the war, it changed to 33, however, by October of 1946, it had been reduced to 21.
At the end of the 1980s, immediately before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there were sixteen Military Districts, within three to five main groupings:

★ Western Theatre

★
★ Western Strategic Direction

★
★
★ Group of Soviet Forces in Germany

★
★
★ Northern Group of Forces (Poland)

★
★
★ Central Group of Forces (Czechoslovakia)

★
★
★ Baltic Military District

★
★
★ Belarussian Military District

★
★
★ Carpathian Military District

★
★ South-Western Strategic Direction

★
★
★ Southern Group of Forces (Hungary)

★
★
★ Odessa Military District

★
★
★ Kiev Military District

★ Far Eastern Strategic Direction/Theatre

★
★ Siberian Military District

★
★ Transbaikal Military District

★
★ Far East Military District

★ Southern Theatre

★
★ Transcaucasus Military District

★
★ North Caucasus Military District

★
★ Central Asian Military District

★
★ Turkestan Military District

★ Central Reserve

★
★ Moscow Military District

★
★ Volga Military District

★
★ Ural Military District

★
★ Leningrad Military District

Russian Federation

A military district operates under the command of the District Headquarters headed by the District Commander subordinated to the Ground Forces Headquarters.
In today's Russia, there are 6 military districts:

★ Moscow Military District (Моско́вский, ''Moskovsky'')—Moscow region

★ Leningrad Military District (Ленингра́дский, ''Leningradsky'')—St. Petersburg region

★ North Caucasus Military District (Се́веро-Кавка́зский, ''Severo-Kavkazsky'')—Northern Caucasus region

★ Volga-Ural Military District (Приво́лжско-Ура́льский, ''Privolzhsko-Uralsky'')—Volga region and the Urals

★ Siberian Military District (Сиби́рский, ''Sibirsky'')—Siberia region

★ Far East Military District (Дальневосто́чный, ''Dalnevostochny'')—Russian Far East
In this classification, Kaliningrad and the surrounding Kaliningrad Oblast are considered to be a special region.

See also

Unified Combatant Command

References

:China:

★ International Institute for Strategic Studies, The Military Balance, 1979/80, 1981/82, 1988/89

★ Chapter 8, PLA Ground Forces, by Dennis J Blasko, in ''The People's Liberation Army as Organisation'', RAND, CF182

★ Thomas C. Roberts, ''The Chinese People's Militia and Doctrine of People's War'', National Security Affairs Monograph Series 83-4, 1983, National Defence University Press, Washington DC.