Division (military)

A division is a large military unit usually consisting of around 10,000 soldiers. In most armies a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps.

Divisions are usually designated by an ordinal number, less commonly named, and often a category, such as "rifle", "infantry", "armored", "mechanized" etc. For instance, in World War II the Soviet Union had a 388th Rifle Division.

In the United States Army, a divisional unit typically consists of 10,000 to 20,000 troops commanded by a major general. Two divisions usually compose a corps and each division is composed of about 3 brigades, along with a number of smaller specialized units.

See also: List of divisions of the United States Army