Military district Military districts ( also called military regions ) are formation s of a state ' s armed forces ( often of the Army ) which are responsible for a certain area of territory . They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters , and in countries with conscript forces , often handle parts of the conscription cycle . Navies have also used a similar model , with organizations such as the United States Naval Districts . A number of navies in South America used naval districts at various points in time . Algeria . Source : Library of Congress Country Study , 1993 , 258 - 260 Algeria is divided into six numbered military regions , each with headquarters located in a principal city or town ( see People ' s National Army ( Algeria ) # Military regions ) . This system of territorial organization , adopted shortly after independence , grew out of the wartime wilaya structure and the postwar necessity of subduing antigovernment insurgencies that were based in the various regions . Regional commanders control and administer bases , logistics , and housing , as well as conscript training . Commanders of army divisions and brigades , air force installations , and naval forces report directly to the Ministry of National Defence and service chiefs of staff on operational matters . Previously Algeria had formed France ' s tenth military region . China . Republic of China . There were 76 northern military districts or military regions ( 軍區 ) , or war areas , which were the largest formations of the National Revolutionary Army , under the Military Affairs Commission , chaired by Chiang Kai Shek during the Second Sino - Japanese War and World War II . During the Second Sino - Japanese War the National Revolutionary Army eventually organized itself into twelve Military Regions . People ' s Republic of China . The military regions ( originally eleven , there are now seven ) of the People ' s Liberation Army are divided into military districts , usually contiguous with provinces , and military sub - districts . France . Third Republic . Under the Third Republic , a military region comprised several departments which supported an army corps . For many years up to 21 military regions were active . Fifth Republic . With the evolution of administrative organization , France was divided into regional administrative districts ( circa 1963 ) ( administrative region dependent of a prefect of the region ) . The military organisation then combined the administrative organization and in each CAR corresponded a territorial military division ( TMD ) . On the defence side , these military divisions have been grouped into military regions . Their number varied depending on the period . Germany . German Reich . During World War II Germany used the system of military districts ( ) to relieve field commanders of as much administrative work as possible and to provide a regular flow of trained recruits and supplies to the Field Army . The method they adopted was to separate the Field Army ( Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres ) from the Home Command ( Heimatkriegsgebiet ) and to entrust the responsibilities of training , conscription , supply and equipment to that command . The Commander of the Infantry Corps with the identical number also commanded the " Wehrkreis " in peacetime , but command of the " Wehrkreis " passed to his second - in command at the outbreak of war . In peace time , the " Wehrkreis " was the home to the Infantry Corps of the same number and all subordinate units of that Corps . Federal Republic of Germany . Today ' s German Armed Forces ( " Bundeswehr " ) have four military districts – " Wehrbereichskommando " ( WBK ) as part of the " Streitkräftebasis " or Joint Service Support Command . Each WBK controls several " Landeskommandos " ( State Commands ) due to the federal structure of Germany . Previously this function was carried out by the Verteidigungsbezirkskommandos ( VBKs ) or Military Region Commands ( Defence District Commands ) . These command authorities are in charge of all military facilities in their area of responsibility and of several supporting regiment s . Indonesia . The Indonesian National Army ( Indonesian : " Tentara Nasional Indonesia " ) uses military districts , created by General Soedirman as a system initially called Wehrkreise , adapted from the German system during World War II . The system was later ratified in Surat Perintah Siasat No . 1 , signed by General Soedirman on November 1948 . The Wehrkreise was used in Indonesia as a means of circles of defense , or regional defense , to defend islands and provinces under Indonesian control . Each regional commander had full authority to begin operations with assets available in the district . Wehrkreise region commanders had command over the military , political , the economic , education , and local government structures and organisations . The Indonesian Military command areas ( military districts ) are : Today the military districts are called KODAM . Poland . Initially , right after the First World War , Poland had five military districts ( 1918 – 1921 ) : In 1921 , due to reorganization , the military districts were replaced with Dowództwo Okręgu Korpusu ( " DOK " – Corps District Command ) . In the Second Polish Republic there were ten DOK ' s : Each DOK consisted of four large units ( three infantry divisions and one cavalry brigade ) . For district arrangements after World War II see Polish Land Forces . The Kraków Military District disbanded in 1953 . From 1999 Poland has been divided into two military districts , the Pomeranian Military District and the Silesian Military District , both were disbanded by the end of 2011 . Russia and the Soviet Union . Russian Empire . The Russian Empire ' s military district ( , " voyenny okrug " ) was a territorial association of military unit s , formation s , military school s , and various local military establishments . This territorial division type was utilized in Imperial Russia , USSR and is currently in use in Russian Federation . Such territorial division provided convenient management of army units , their training and other activities regarding the country ' s readiness to defend itself . Soviet Union . In the USSR , the military districts continued to perform the same role they had done in the Russian Empire , with first six military districts ( Yaroslavsky , Moskovsky , Orlovsky , Belomorsky , Ural sky , and Privolzhsky ) were formed on 31 March 1918 during the Russian Civil War . This increased to 17 military districts of the USSR at the beginning of July 1940 shortly before the USSR was invaded by Germany and entered the Second World War , and were used to create combat Fronts after commencement of the German invasion of the USSR . During the war the districts were further divided into geographic regions for logistic reasons , these being : After the war , the number was increased to 33 to aid in demobilisation of forces , but by October 1946 , they had been reduced to 21 . By the end of the 1980s , immediately before the dissolution of the Soviet Union , there were sixteen military districts , within three to five main strategic Theatre groupings . Russian Federation . A military district ( , " voyenny okrug " ) in the Russian Federation operates under the command of the district headquarters , headed by the district commander , and is subordinated to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation . ( Previously under Commander - in - Chief of the Ground Forces General Nikolai Kormiltsev , the military districts reported to the General Staff via the Russian Ground Forces staff . ) It is a territorial association of military unit s , formation s , military school s , and various local military establishments . This territorial division type was historically adopted , originally by Imperial Russia , to provide a more efficient management of army units , their training and other operations activities related to combat readiness . From 1992 to 2010 , the Armed Forces maintained a diminishing number of former Soviet Armed Forces districts – Leningrad Military District , Moscow Military District , Volga - Urals Military District , North Caucasus Military District , Siberian Military District , Far East Military District . In 2009 – 2010 , these districts were reorganised into 4 Military Districts comprising regional Joint Strategic Commands : Sweden . The military area ( , usually abbreviated to Milo ) was an administrative division of the Swedish Armed Forces , and was a higher regional level subdivision . The commander of a military area , the " Militärområdesbefälhavare " ( also " militärbefälhavare " ) , commanded the Swedish Army divisions stationed in the region , the regional naval command , the regional air defence sector as well as the lower regional level subdivision defence areas that made up the military area . The commander answered directly to the Supreme Commander . The military areas in the modern form were created in 1966 , and each area was named according to the geographical area they covered . Several changes were made , such as creating or merging areas , until all military areas were disbanded in 2000 . United Kingdom . British Army regional districts have evolved slowly over the previous 150 years or so . For many years there were regional commands in the UK , including Aldershot Command ( from 1880 ) , Eastern Command , Northern Command , Scottish Command , Southern Command and Western Command ( from 1905 ) . By 1985 these were superseded by districts , and until the spring of 1991 there were nine of them . Antony Beevor wrote in his revised edition of " Inside the British Army " in 1991 that ' . . the first of the minor districts to be amalgamated were North West District , Western District , and Wales , to form a new Western District . ' HQ Northern Ireland remained separate and reported to HQ UK Land Forces only on non - operational matters . From 1995 , UK commands and later districts were replaced by regenerative divisions . 2nd Division , 4th Division , 5th Division and London District acted as regional commands within the UK reporting to Commander Regional Forces . Scotland District was absorbed by 2nd Division in 2000 . The divisions were responsible for training subordinate formations and units under their command for operations in the UK , such as Military Aid to the Civil Community , as well as training units for overseas deployments . 2nd , 4th and 5th Divisions were replaced by Support Command on 1 November 2011 . United States . The military department was a military and administrative command of the US Army . Vietnam . Vietnam People ' s Army has 8 Military Regions :