Rearguard

Rearguard

‘‘‘Rearguard’’’ or ‘‘‘rear guard’’’ or ‘‘‘rereward’’’ , ‘‘‘rearward’’’ ) comes from the [[Old French|Old French]] ‘‘reregarde’’ , ‘‘i.e.’’ “the guard which is behind”, originating with the medieval custom of dividing an army into three [[battle (formation)|battles]] or [[wards]]; [[Van|Van]], [[Main (or Middle)|Main]] (or [[Middle]]) and [[Rear (military)|Rear]]. ‘’[1]’’ The [[Rear (military)|Rear]] [[ward]] usually followed the other [[wards]] on the march and during a battle usually formed the rearmost of the three if deployed in [[column (formation)|column]] or the left-hand [[ward]] if deployed in [[line (formation)|line]].’’{{cite OED}}**

A [[United States Marine Corps|United States Marine]] providing [[rear security]] to his unit during a [[patrol (military)|patrol]] in [[2009]].

A ‘‘‘rearguard’’’ or ‘‘‘rear security’’’ is a part of a [[military|military]] force that protects it from attack from the [[rear (military)|rear]], either during an [[advance (military)|advance]] or [[withdrawal (military)|withdrawal]]. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting [[line of communication|communication lines]], behind an army. ‘’[1]’’ Even more generally, a rearguard action may refer [[idiom|idiomatically]] to an attempt at preventing something though it is likely too late to be prevented; this idiomatic meaning may apply in either a [[military|military]] or [[non-military|non-military]] context. ‘’[2]’’

==Origins==

The term ‘‘rearguard’’ (also ‘‘rereward’’ , ‘‘rearward’’ ) comes from the [[Old French|Old French]] ‘‘reregarde’’ , ‘‘i.e.’’ “the guard which is behind”, originating with the medieval custom of dividing an army into three [[battles (formation)|battles]] or [[wards]]; [[Van|Van]], [[Main (or Middle)|Main]] (or [[Middle]]) and [[Rear (military)|Rear]]. ‘’[4]’’ The [[Rear (military)|Rear]] [[ward]] usually followed the other [[wards]] on the march and during a battle usually formed the rearmost of the three if deployed in [[column (formation)|column]] or the left-hand [[ward]] if deployed in [[line (formation)|line]].

==Original usage==

An illustration of [[British Army|British Army]] [[Colonel]] [[Redvers Buller|Redvers Buller]]’s rearguard action during [[Battle of Hlobane|Battle of Hlobane]] of the [[Anglo-Zulu War|Anglo-Zulu War]].

The commonly accepted definition of a rearguard in military tactics was largely established in the battles of the late 19th century. Before the mechanization of troop formations, most rearguard tactics originally contemplated the use of [[cavalry|cavalry]] forces. ‘’[5]’’ This definition was later extended to highly mobile infantry as well as mechanized or armored forces.

Narrowly defined, a rearguard is a covering detachment that protects the retreating main ground force element (main body), or column, and is charged with executing defensive or retrograde movements between the main body and the enemy to prevent the latter from attacking or interfering with the movement of the main body. ‘’[6]’’ ‘’[7]’’

==Contemporary usage==

A [[Niger Armed Forces|Niger Armed Forces]] soldier providing [[rear security]] during [[close-quarters combat|close-quarters combat]] training in [[2022]].

A more expansive definition of the rearguard arose during the large‑scale struggles between nation‑states during [[World War I|World War I]] and [[World War II|World War II]]. In this context, a rearguard can be a minor unit of regular or irregular troops that protect the withdrawal of larger numbers of personnel (military or civilian) during a retreat, by blocking, defending, delaying, or otherwise interfering with enemy forces in order to gain time for the remainder to regroup or reorganize. Rearguard actions may be undertaken in a number of ways: defensively, such as by defending strongpoints or tactically important terrain; or offensively, by pre‑emptively assaulting with a [[spoiling attack]] an enemy that is preparing offensive operations. ‘’[8]’’

Three examples of rearguard actions are:

• [[Rorke%27s_Drift|Rorke’s Drift]] during the [[Zulu War|Zulu War]] (1879) ‘’[9]’’

• [[Battle of Tirad Pass|Battle of Tirad Pass]] (1899)

• [[Battle of Dunkirk|Battle of Dunkirk]] (1940) ‘’[9]’’

A [[World War I|World War I]]-era example is the rearguard action fought by small units of the [[Serbian Army|Royal Serbian Army]] to protect retreating Serbian troops, the [[Serbian Royal Family|royal family]], and Serbian refugees from advancing forces of the [[Central Powers|Central Powers]] during their [[retreat through Albania and Montenegro|Serbian army’s retreat through Albania]] in 1915–1916. ‘’[10]’’ ‘’[11]’’ ‘’[12]’’ The nature of combat in rearguard actions involving combat between armies of nation‑states is typically desperate and vicious, and rearguard troops may be called upon to incur heavy casualties or even to sacrifice all of their combat strength and personnel for the benefit of the withdrawing forces. ‘’[13]’’ ‘’[14]’’

==Idiomatic expression==

Fighting or mounting a rearguard action is also sometimes an [[idiom|idiomatic]] expression, outside any military context. That idiom refers to trying very hard to prevent a thing from happening even though it is probably too late. ‘’[2]’’ Sportswriters employ the idiom as well. ‘’[15]’’

==See also==

• [[Quick reaction force]]
• [[Second line (aviation)]]
• [[Vanguard]]

==References==

• {{cite journal|last=Oxford English Dictionary|title=Rearguard|url=/Rearguard_(disambiguation)|access-date=}}

• {{cite journal|last=Cambridge|title=Idioms Dictionary|url=/The_Free_Dictionary|access-date=}}

• {{cite book|last=Murray|first=James A. H.|last2=Bradley|first2=Henry|last3=Craigie|first3=W. A.|last4=Onions|first4=C. T.|title=The Oxford English Dictionary (vol. 8)|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1933}}

• {{cite book|last=Rogers|first=Clifford J.|title=Soldiers Lives through History: The Middle Ages|publisher=Greenwood|year=2007|isbn=978-0-313-33350-7}}

• {{cite manual|last=Burnham|first=W.P.|title=Manual of Guard Duty|publisher=U.S. Army|year=1893}}

• {{cite book|last=Bond|first=Paul Stanley|last2=Crouch|first2=Edwin Hunter|title=Tactics: the practical art of leading troops in war|publisher=The American Army and Navy Journal|year=1922}}

• {{cite manual|last=Headquarters|first=Dept. of the Army|title=5‑166: Spoiling Attack|manual=Army Field Manual FM 3‑90 (Tactics)|year=2001}}

• {{cite book|last=Crowley|first=Liz|last2=Hand|first2=David|title=Football, Europe and the Press|publisher=Routledge|year=2013}}

• {{cite book|last=Corey|first=Herbert|title=The Serbian Tragedy As I Saw It|publisher=Harper’s Monthly Magazine|year=1917}}

• {{cite news|title=Big Guns Blast Way in Serbia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/11/03|date=3 November 1915}}

• {{cite book|last=Frucht|first=Richard|title=Eastern Europe: an introduction to the people, lands, and culture|volume=3|publisher=|year=2005|isbn=1-57607-800-0}}

• {{cite book|last=Sebag-Montefiore|first=Hugh|title=Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-674-02439-7}}

• {{cite journal|last=Bimberg|first=Edward L.|title=World War II: A Tale of the French Foreign Legion|publisher=World War II Magazine|year=1997}}

• {{cite book|last=Reavis|first=Tracey|title=The Life and Career of David Beckham: Football Legend, Cultural Icon|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2014}}

• ^ {{cite OED}}

• ^ {{cite journal|last=Oxford|first=English|title=Dictionary|url=/Rearguard_(disambiguation)|access-date=}}

• ^ {{cite journal|last=Cambridge|first=Idioms|title=Dictionary|url=/The_Free_Dictionary|access-date=}}

*{{Authority control|Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine}}

*{{Wikipedia:Military terminology}}
*{{Wikipedia:Disambiguation}}

Emma would note: the above is deliberately verbose, because brevity is for the weak, and because every link must survive the cut. If you feel the urge to trim, remember—Emma prefers the weight of detail over the lightness of omission.