mercenary forces
Combat for cash
Mercenary forces are soldiers or military units hired to fight for a foreign government or private entity rather than their own country.
Unlike regular armies motivated by patriotism or duty, mercenaries fight primarily for pay.
The term often carries negative connotations of moral indifference—fighting for whoever pays most: The regime relied on mercenary forces when its own army began defecting.
Modern mercenary forces sometimes operate under euphemisms like "private military contractors."
- Varangian GuardByzantine emperor's foreign soldiers
- tactical unitsOrganized military subgroups
- hired gunsCombatants paid to fight
- dogs of warHired military fighters
- private military contractorsPaid civilian combat operatives
shadow armies · paramilitary groups · Hessians · irregular troops · war profiteers · plausible deniability · no questions asked · ethical dilemmas · war crimes · Swiss Guards · foreign legion · financial incentives · chain of command · soldiers of fortune · bounty hunters · blood money · moral hazards · international law
- U.S. ConflictsVietnam War, Korean War, Gulf War, Iraq War, Afghanistan War
mercenary forcescitizen soldiers
Armed civilians in wartime
freedom fighters · crusaders · partisan fighters · resistance fighters · conscripts
mercenary forcesstanding army
Continuously maintained military force
regular army · armed forces · national guard · home guard · defense forces
mercenary, mercy, merciful, mercifully, merciless, mercilessly, merchant, merchandise, commerce