The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created in 1859 in response to the perceived threat of invasion by France and fears of a wider European war. The force did not see active service as units, although detachments fought with the regular army during the Second Anglo-Boer War. In 1908 the Volunteer Force was merged with the Yeomanry (a volunteer cavalry force) to form the Territorial Force which fought as an integral part of the British Army during the First World War and was the forerunner of the modern Territorial Army.