Crossword Dictionary
regiment - n
army unit smaller than a division
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Mediæval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord in capite of the soldiers. Lesser barons of knightly rank could be expected to muster or hire a company or battalion from their manorial estate.
By the end of the 17th century, infantry regiments in most European armies were permanent units, with approximately 800 men and commanded by a colonel.
REGIMENT
A Regiment, in most armies, a body of troops headed by a colonel and commanded by a lieutenant. Organized for tactical control into companies, battalions, or squadrons, led by French cavalry units were called regiments as early as 1558. The word is derived from the Latin regimen, a rule or system of order, and describes the regiment’s functions of raising, equipping, and training troops. As a regiment acquired individuality, colours, coat of arms, distinctive uniform and insignia, and achievements in battle, it also became a central object of loyalty, pride, and esprit de corps of its soldiers.
In early U.S. service, as in European armies up to that time, the usual number of companies in a regiment was 10. The armies of the French Revolution were reorganized into three-battalion “demibrigades†that were later renamed regiments. In 19th-century Europe, three-battalion regiments increasingly became the norm, though some of Napoleon’s regiments had as many as five with the colours. Later, Edward Cardwell reorganized the British infantry into two-battalion regiments, each having one battalion at home and one stationed overseas. The U.S. Army adopted a three-battalion infantry regimental organization in 1901 and incorporated it into the divisions employed in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.