forced march

American  

noun

Military.

1. any march that is longer than troops are accustomed to and maintained at a faster pace than usual, generally undertaken for a particular objective under emergency conditions.

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forced march British  

noun

1. military a march in which normal needs are subordinated to the need for speed

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Etymology

Origin of forced march

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

forced march

One word encapsulates this forced march of slaves westward, along with a disproportionate part of the Black role in America’s economic emergence: cotton.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025

He had just arrived by bus from Pirot on the Serbia-Bulgaria border, he said, after a gruelling 25-day forced march across Bulgaria.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2023

It’s the kind of sly reversal that Müller clearly delights in; this is one of those rare books about a pressing subject that reads less like a forced march than an inviting stroll.

From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2021

And he survived a forced march when his weight dropped from 135 pounds to about 90 pounds before he could escape on April 15, 1945.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 21, 2020

Teenagers and some younger children run to keep up with Sheriff Jim Clark, leading in a police car, during a two-and-a-half hour forced march out of Selma into the countryside.

From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman