National Army

The term national army typically means the lawful army of the state as distinct from rebel armies or private armies that may operate there.

National Army may also refer to:

History of the United States Army

From its formation in 1775, the United States Army has been the primary land based portion of the United States military. The Army's primary responsibility has been the fighting of land battles and military occupation. The Corps of Engineers has a major role in controlling rivers inside the United States. The Continental Army was founded in response to a need for professional soldiery in the American Revolutionary War in order to fight the invading British Army. The Army was quite small in peacetime down to the 1940s. In 1947, the Air Force became completely independent from the Army Air Forces. The Army was under the control of the War Department until 1947, and the Defense Department since then. The U.S. Army fought the War of 1812 (1812–15), American Civil War (1861–65), Spanish–American War (1898), World War I (1917–18), World War II (1941–45), Korean War (1950–53) and Vietnam War (1965–71). After the Cold War ended in 1991, the Army has focused on the Middle East, such as the 1991 Gulf War, and War in Iraq, and the War in Afghanistan.

National Army (Ireland)

The National Army, sometimes unofficially referred to as the Free State army, was the army of the Irish Free State from January 1922 until October 1924. Its role in this period was defined by its service in the Irish Civil War, in defence of the institutions established by the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Michael Collins, was the army's first chief of staff from its establishment until his death in August 1922.

The army made its first public appearance on 31 January 1922, when command of Beggars Bush Barracks was handed over from the British Army. Its first troops were those volunteers of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the "Provisional Government of Ireland" formed thereunder. Conflict arose between the National Army and the anti-Treaty components of the IRA, which did not support the government of the Irish Free State. On 28 June 1922 the National Army commenced an artillery bombardment of anti-Treaty IRA forces who were occupying the Four Courts in Dublin, thus beginning the Irish Civil War.