landmacht

Landmacht, literally “land force,” is the land-based component of a state's armed forces responsible for operations on land. It is distinct from naval and air forces and from expeditionary units that operate across domains. In German military usage, the term describes the ground component, whose formal service designation in many countries is the army or land forces (for example, the Heer in the German Bundeswehr).

The primary mission of land forces is to conduct ground combat, seize and hold terrain, and defeat enemy forces on land. They also perform security tasks, stabilization operations, and, in some cases, disaster response and support to civilian authorities. Typical formations include infantry, armored or mechanized units, artillery, engineers, air defenses, and logistics, along with reconnaissance, signal, medical, and support branches. Modern land forces are organized into divisions and brigades and operate with combined arms and joint support from air and maritime forces.

Organization and doctrine vary by country but generally emphasize mobility, survivability, and interoperability with allies. Many armies have restructured into modular, brigade-based forces to enable rapid deployment and sustained operations, while maintaining larger formations for deterrence and defense.

Historically, the land component has played a central role in both conventional interstate warfare and asymmetric conflicts. The development of motorization, mechanization, and networked command-and-control has shaped contemporary land warfare doctrine.