Landsturm

It was divided into the Austrian Imperial (Kaiserlich) Landsturm and the Hungarian Royal (Königlich) Népfelkelés.

In Prussia after the Prussian Army Reform [de] of 21 April 1813, all the male population from ages 15 to 60 who were capable of military service and who were not in the standing army or the Landwehr, came under the authority of the Landsturm, which effectively formed the last national military reserve.

King Frederick William III of Prussia established the Prussian Landsturm as irregular military forces on 21 April 1813 by royal edict – the decree appeared in the Preußische Gesetzessammlung [] (German: Prussian Code of Law) (pp.

As a model and an explicit example, it took the Spanish Reglamento de Partidas y Cuadrillas of 28 December 1808 and the decree of 17 April 1809, known as Corso Terrestre, during the Peninsular War against French troops.

[1] According to this edict, all Prussian citizens were obliged to oppose the invasion by the enemy using any weapons available, like axes, pitchforks, scythes, or shotguns (§43).

This was a clear departure from ordinary jus in bello (Latin for "Law of War"), which commanded the civilian population to obey the orders of the occupying power, and the police forces to assist the occupying power in crushing any uprising.

The Landsturm edict explicitly stated that it was preferable to risk the danger brought about by the furies of an armed population rather than to let the enemy have control over the situation.

The edict was modified less than three months later on 17 July 1813 and was purified of its subversive content relative to the laws of war.

All able Swedish males between 27 and 32 would serve in the Landstorm as a territorial defence force in case of war.