As the emergence of Nationalism filled masses with new fervor to defend their newly found identity, fighting was often done not by proffessional soldiers - which new nationalist movements often lacked - but by armed free citizens, like during the French Revolution or the American War for Independence. Even in later times, when facing strong enemy, civilians were often mobilized, armed with any weapons available and pushed into combat after minimal training, especially to help defend besieged cities. Perhaps the most prominent example are innumerable acts of heroisms done by Russian civilians defending their cities from Nazi invasion during WWII, but such forces like Viet Cong or Afghan Mujahedeen of the late 20th century can also be described as militias.