BATTALION  , a unit of military organization consisting of four or more companies of

infantry . The term is used in nearly every army, and is derived through Fr. from It. battaglionc, Med . Lat. battalia (see BATTLE) . " Battalion "in the 16th and 17th centuries implied a unit of infantry forming part of the line:of battle, but at first meant an unusually large batlalia or a single large body of men formed of several battalias . In the British regular service the intantry battalion is commanded by a lieut.-colonel, who is assisted by an adjutant, and consists at war strength of about s000 bayonets in eight companies . Engineers, train, certain kinds of artillery, and more rarely cavalry are also organized in battalions in some countries .