(Wehrtechnik) Grenzbefestigung (Graben u. Wall) bei den Germanen u. im frühen MA.
(Wehrwesen) Allg. ein bewaffnetes Aufgebot zum Schutz des Landes bei der Abwehr des Feindes; umfaßte in Dtld. neben den aktiven Truppen u. der Reserve die Wehrpflichtigen bis zum 39. bzw. seit 1935 vom 35. bis zum 45. Lebensjahr.
In World War I, German second-line reserve troops. All German conscripts, on completion of their mandatory service, were transferred to the “first ban” of the Landwehr for five years, during which time they attended regular training camps. At the end of this period they passed into the “second ban” until they were 39, when they moved into the Landsturm.
In time of war the troops of the first ban were used as reserves for fighting formations and those of the second ban for line of communication duties, but due to the shortages of troops 1917–18 this distinction was lost. In the Austrian army the Landwehr was a standing reserve pool into which regular troops and recruits were drafted when there was no immediate need for them at the front.
British unit of nonprofessional soldiers organized for defense of GB.