Good luck soldiers, “wild swans”, “dogs of war” ... Mercenaries - who are they?
Mercenary exists for a very long time, this concept cannot be considered modern. During the time of Alexander the Great during his campaign in Asia (334 year BC) in his army there were about five thousand mercenaries. Moreover, the enemy army included twice as many mercenaries.
In general, it should be noted that mercenary soldiers took an active part in almost all armed conflicts, from ancient times to our time. According to the results of research by historians, references to foreign mercenaries who serve in foreign armies for money are recorded throughout the 25 centuries. During the period of the Persian Empire, about 10 thousands of Greek mercenary soldiers took part in the civil war. Such testimonies provide an opportunity to form a definite idea of such a phenomenon that is widespread today as mercenary. This phenomenon is most vividly represented during the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern period, when the monarchies were replaced by modern states. It was thanks to the monarchs and feudal European rulers that foreign hired soldiers appeared in the armies, moreover, they used them not only in their own country, but also abroad. So, for example, in the twelfth century in England, hired soldiers were hired from Navarre, the Basque country, Galloway. In the XVI century, among the mercenaries were predominantly Germans, Dutch, Burgundians, and after almost two centuries, residents of Northern Ireland, France, Denmark, Prussia and Sweden appeared among the mercenaries. The French monarchs also used mercenaries in their wars. So, in the XV-XVI centuries, soldiers from Switzerland, Germany, England, Italy, Poland, Greece, Scotland and Ireland were recruited into the French troops.
The Spanish army also included a large number of mercenaries: it represented 3 Irish and one English and Scottish regiment. Italy also did not lag behind the universal fashion. Here during the XIII century, foreign hired soldiers were constantly recruited to protect the Italian city-states, and after a short time the country was literally overflowing with mercenaries who were looking for work.
Switzerland was considered the market leader for the provision of mercenaries. It was the Swiss officers who were the first in the world to create the official system of commercial recruitment of soldiers. At the same time, German mercenaries served in almost all armies of the world. Thus, the German mercenaries provided substantial assistance in the construction of almost all European states.
Similar facts indicate that in the Middle Ages mercenary occupied a large segment in foreign European trade, and hired soldiers acted as its main product.
Since the sixteenth century, significant changes have taken place in the recruitment of mercenaries. The European states that exist in our time, in that historical period only began to appear amid constant civil wars and conflicts. European monarchs, wanting to strengthen their own states, recruited foreign soldiers into national armies. Thus, mercenaries, as standard army units, were responsible for the suppression of rebellions and uprisings. It is noteworthy that not only monarchs used the services of mercenaries. The services of foreign soldiers were also used by the rebellious strata of the population. For example, when religious wars broke out in France, mercenaries took an active part in them, moreover, from both opposing sides. And the money earned in this way was later spent on the foundation of their own noble families and the creation of independent states of their own.
According to some historians, among the mercenaries, some monarchs preferred to hire not the Swiss, but the Germans, because they were not very close-knit, and, therefore, they could be bought much cheaper. Again, during the years of the French religious wars under the banners of the Huguenots there were more than 14 thousands of German mercenaries.
In the next century, the number of foreign mercenaries in the armies of European states was about 60 percent of the total number of armed formations. After another century, mercenary spread even more. And the primacy in the supply of hired soldiers already belonged to Germany. So, in particular, the British army was almost entirely composed of German mercenaries. In addition, German soldiers and officers, along with mercenaries from France, Ireland and Scotland, made up the Dutch army. In the French army, the number of Swiss and German soldiers was about the same. In addition, there were soldiers from Italy and Ireland.
In the nineteenth century, when the process of creating national states began, the mercenary army gradually gave way to a national one. Accordingly, the level of legality of the phenomenon of mercenary, has decreased significantly. The newly formed states could no longer recruit hired soldiers outside their own. Thus, foreign soldiers began to be used outside state systems. For example, in 1830, Brazil hired German and Irish mercenaries to fight against Argentina, and in 1853, Mexico recruited German mercenaries to prevent a coup d'état.
It should be noted that the reasons for the transition from mercenarism to national armies are very controversial and ambiguous. However, despite this, France and Great Britain continue to use foreign mercenaries in their armies to this day.
As for the twentieth century, it is marked by the manifestation of nationalism among the mercenaries, that is, the state armies were formed mostly from soldiers and officers - citizens of this state. A similar phenomenon was noted in the years of world wars, when the population voluntarily went to work en masse and fought for their country. However, foreign mercenaries continued to serve in foreign armies. In particular, French mercenaries still served on the Ivory Coast, in Cameroon, even after these countries gained independence; Spanish mercenary soldiers remained in the Portuguese army, the Greeks in Cyprus and Ghana; Pakistani officers are employed in military units of Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. The most famous foreign legions of the twentieth century were the French and Spanish foreign legions.
In the middle of the century, the use of mercenaries was significantly limited by international documents and regulations. These documents stipulated that the international community should instill a conviction in the immorality of using hired military forces outside the national army, as well as preach the rule of conflict of interests, since it was believed that the mercenaries were fighting for personal (in this case, financial) interests. Thus, in particular, the UN adopted a number of resolutions condemning the practice of mercenarism. In 1970, the Declaration on the Principles of International Law was signed, which concerned cooperation and friendly relations between states. This document prohibits the organization of mercenary armed units to invade foreign territories. In 1974, a Resolution was adopted on the legal regime of regular servicemen who took part in hostilities and adhered to the laws of war. This document refers to the fact that mercenary is a criminal offense. Three years later, in 1977, two additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions were adopted, and in 1989, the United Nations adopted the Convention banning the recruitment, training, use and financing of mercenaries, which, however, entered into force only 12 years later.
Despite all these documents, foreign military personnel continued to be recruited to participate in armed conflicts. Thus, approximately 40 thousands of mercenaries from 50 states were raised to defend the Spanish Republic. At the same time, hired German, French and Romanian soldiers were recruited for the dictator Franco’s army. Hired power was actively used in Asia and the Middle East. However, foreign soldiers were most common in Africa, especially in the second half of the twentieth century, during the period of the decolonization of the continent, when military conflicts broke out in Nigeria, Congo, Mozambique, Rhodesia, Angola, Namibia (all these countries are in the south of the continent). The only large-scale conflict that occurred in the north of Africa is the war in Algeria, in which French mercenaries were active, who fought a cruel but hopeless war against local nationalists.
All local conflicts that periodically arose in the process of decolonization became the basis for the emergence of the modern concept of mercenarism in Africa. Foreign mercenary legions played a very controversial role in the politics of African states. The actions of the mercenaries became evidence that the continent had become a hotbed for the intervention of Western countries in the internal politics of a foreign state for mercenary purposes. The military conflicts in Congo and Nigeria, as well as in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), demonstrated that Western countries, in particular the United States of America and the United Kingdom, were engaged in arming and financing foreign mercenaries.
Some changes in the use of hired military forces appeared at the end of the last century, when a large number of private military companies appeared. According to some experts, their appearance is connected with the end of the Cold War, when a large number of professional soldiers, well-trained and ready to enter into confrontation, turned out to be idle. In addition, the emergence of private structures also contributed to the emergence of a new economic management model, in which it became possible to use private forces to ensure their own security. Private military companies, which operated legally, recruited experienced military personnel and offered their services internationally. The first such company originated in the UK 1967 year, its staff was formed from former special forces. David Sterling became the head of the organization. The company provided army training services for Asia and the Middle East. At the start of the 1990, the South African Executive Outcomes and the British Sandline almost completely captured the private security and military services market. Both of these companies played an important role in military conflicts on the African continent, particularly in Angola and Sierra Leone.
Modern private military companies are a much more complex phenomenon than simple mercenarism, and how they will develop in the future depends to a large extent on the development of clear definitions and relations with the state.
As for mercenary, in many states it is prohibited and punishable, but this does not stop those who want to try their luck and earn good money. In many print publications announcements about the hiring of former soldiers, recruiting points are in America, England, France, Belgium, Germany. And no laws and prohibitions to stop this process are not strong - this is a business that brings great income and no one is going to abandon it.
Materials used:
http://milcons.ru/novosti/istoriya/vsegda-v-teni-naemniki-istoricheskaya-retrospektiva.html
http://www.analysisclub.ru/index.php?page=armour&art=2331
http://dreamworlds.ru/intersnosti/60882-nayomniki-istoriya.html
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CD%E0%B8%EC%ED%E8%EA
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