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Military history
*** Shopping-Tip: Military history
see
Military history
'''Military history''' is the recording (in writing or otherwise) of the events in the
Human history history of humanity that fall within the category of
conflict. This may range from a melee between two
tribes to conflicts between proper
military militaries to a
world war affecting the majority of the
human population.
It differs somewhat from the
history of war with military history focusing on the people and
institutions of war-making while the history of war focuses on the evolution of war itself in the face of changing
technology,
governments, and
geography.
Military activity has been a constant process over thousands of years, and the essential
tactics,
strategy, and goals of military operations have been unchanging throughout history. As an example one notable maneuver is the
double envelopment, considered to be the consummate
Maneuver military maneuver, executed by
Hannibal in the
Battle of Cannae in
216 BC – over 2,200 years ago. This same maneuver was also described by the
China Chinese military theorist
Sun Tzu, who wrote at roughly the same time as the founding of
Rome. By the study of history, the military seeks to not repeat past mistakes, and improve upon its current performance by instilling an ability in commanders to perceive historical parallels during battle, so as to capitalize on the lessons learned. The main areas military history includes are the history of wars, battles, and combats, history of the military art, and history of each specific
military service.
Periods of military history
Early militaries
In the earliest
Society societies, such as
hunter-gatherer societies, there were no
social roles or
division of labor divisions of labor (with the exception of age or
Gender sex differences), so every able person contributed to any
raids or defense of territory. Only in relatively advanced
agriculture agricultural societies was there the possibility of professional
soldiers or militaries as distinct, organized units.
Much of what we know of
ancient history is the history of militaries: their
conquests, their movements, and their technological
innovations. There are many reasons for this.
monarchy Kingdoms and
empires, the central units of control in the ancient world, could only be maintained through military force. Due to limited agricultural ability, there were relatively few areas that could support large communities, so fighting was common.
Weapons and
armor, designed to be sturdy, tended to last longer than other artifacts, and thus a great deal of surviving artifacts recovered tend to fall in this category as they are more likely to survive. Weapons and armor were also mass-produced to a scale that makes them quite plentiful throughout history, and thus more likely to be found in archaeological digs. Such items were also considered signs of posterity or virtue, and thus were likely to placed in tombs and monuments to prominent warriors. And
writing, when it existed, was often used for kings to boast of military conquests or victories.
Writing, when used by the common man, also tended to record such events, as major battles and conquests constituted major events that many would have considered worthy of recording either in an epic such as the
homeric writings pertaining to the trojan war, or even personal writings. Indeed the earliest stories center around warfare, as war was both a common and dramatic aspect of life; the witnessing of a major battle involving many thousands of soldiers would be one that would be quite a spectacle, even today, and thus considered worthy both of being recorded in song and art, but also in realistic histories, as well as being a central element in a fictional work. Lastly, as nation-states evolved and empires grew, the increased need for order and efficiency lead to an increase in the number of records and writings. Officials and armies would have good reason for keeping detailed records and accounts involving any and all things concerning a matter such as warfare that in the words of
Sun Tzu was "a matter of vital importance to the state".
For all these reasons, military history comprises a large part of ancient history.
Notable militaries in the ancient world include:
*
Ancient Egypt Egyptian
*
Babylonian
*
Ancient Greece Greek
*
History of China Chinese
*
Macedon Macedonian
*
Ancient Rome Roman
*
History of India Indian
*
Gandhara
*
Qin (state) Qin
Some of the military unit types and technologies which were developed in antiquity are:
*
Infantry
*
Cavalry
**
Cataphract
**
Horse archer
*
War elephant
*
Chariot Chariotry
*
Bow (weapon) Archer
*
Sling (weapon) Slinger
*
Hoplite
*
Macedonian phalanx
*
Roman legions
**
Marius Marius' army
**
auxiliaries
**
Hastati
**
Principes
**
Triarii
**
Velites
Medieval militaries
:''Main article:
Medieval warfare''
When
stirrups came into use some time during the
dark age militaries were forever changed. This invention coupled with technological, cultural, and social developments had forced a dramatic transformation in the character of warfare from
Classical antiquity antiquity, changing
military tactics and the role of
cavalry and
artillery. Similar patterns of warfare existed in other parts of the world. In China around the
fifth century armies moved from massed infantry to cavalry based forces, copying the
steppe nomads. The
Middle East and
North Africa used similar, if often more advanced, technologies than Europe. In
Japan the Medieval warfare period is considered by many to have stretched into the
nineteenth century. In Africa along the
Sahel and
Sudan (region) Sudan states like the
Kingdom of Sennar and
Fulani Empire employed Medieval tactics and weapons well after they had been supplanted in Europe.
Some of the military unit types and technologies which were used in the medieval period are:
*
Artillery
*
Cataphract
*
Condottieri
*
Fyrd
*
Horse archer
*
Janissary
*
Knight (see also:
Chivalry)
*
English Longbow
*
Crossbow
*
Pikeman
*
Samurai
*
Sipahi
*
Fortification
Modern militaries
In modern times, war has evolved from an activity steeped in tradition to a
scientific enterprise where success is valued above methods. The notion of
total war is the extreme of this trend. Militaries have developed technological advances rivalling the scientific accomplishments of any other field of study.
However, it should be noted that modern militaries benefit in the development of these technologies under the funding of the
public, the leadership of
national governments, and often in cooperation with large
civilian groups, such as the
General Dynamics and
Lockheed Martin corporations, in the
United States. And as for "total war," it may be argued that it is not an exclusive practice of modern militaries, but in the tradition of
Ethnic war genocidal conflict that marks even tribal warfare to this day. What distinguishes modern military organizations from those previous is not their willingness to prevail in conflict by any method, but rather the technological variety of tools and methods available to modern battlefield commanders, from
submarines to
satellites, from
Knife knives to
nuclear warheads.
Some of the military unit types and technologies which were developed in modern times are:
*
Ammunition
*
Armory (military) Armory
*
Conscription
*
Grenadier
*
Sapping Sappers and Miners
*
marine (armed services) Marine
*
Military aviation Aviation
*
Musketeer
*
Rifleman
*
Special Forces
*
Naval Combatant
*
Global Information Grid
*
Active Electronically Scanned Array
*
Network-centric warfare
*
Supercomputer
*
Space warfare
*
Cyberwar
Reporting of military events
Gaining an accurate assessment of past military encounters may prove difficult because of
bias, even in ancient times, and systematic
propaganda in more modern times. Descriptions of battles by leaders may be unreliable due to the inclination to minimize mention of failures and exaggerate when boasting of successes. Further,
military secrets may prevent some salient facts from being reported at all; scholars still do not know the nature of
Greek fire, for instance. Despite these limitations, wars are some of the most studied and detailed periods of human history.
Military historians
Some of the most notable military historians include:
*
Thucydides (460 BC - 395 BC)
*
Xenophon (430 BC - 355 BC)
*
Julius Caesar (100 BC - 44 BC)
*
Hans Delbrück (1848-1929)
*
Charles Oman (1860-1946)
*
Basil Liddell Hart (1895-1970)
*
John Keegan (1934)
*
William Ledyard Rodgers (d. 1944)
*
Lynn Montross (d. 1961)
*
Cornelius Ryan
*
R. Ernest & Trevor N. Dupuy (a.k.a. Dupuy & Dupuy)
*
John Terraine (1921-2003)
Types of warfare
There are a number of ways to categorize warfare. One categorization is conventional versus unconventional, where
Conventional warfare "Conventional" warfare involves well-identified, armed forces fighting one another in a relatively open and straightforward way without weapons of mass destruction.
Unconventional warfare "Unconventional" refers to other types of war which can involve
Raid raiding,
guerrilla warfare guerrilla,
insurgency, and
terrorism terrorist tactics or alternatively can include
Nuclear warfare nuclear,
Chemical warfare chemical, or
biological warfare.
All of these categories usually fall into one of two broader categories: High intensity and low intensity warfare. High intensity warfare is between two superpowers or large countries fighting for political reasons. Low intensity warfare involves counterinsurgency, guerilla warfare and specialized types of troops fighting revolutionaries.
''See also'':
asymmetrical warfare.
Technological Evolution
New weapons development can dramatically alter the face of war.
*
Battle of Gettysburg Gettysburg had spectacular casualties in
US history because military training was based on historical lessons, but
long guns had developed more accuracy at a greater distance, and the tactics had not evolved.
* At the start of the World Wars, various nations had developed weapons that were a surprise to their adversaries, leading to a need to learn from this, and alter how to combat them.
* There were also organizational changes, made possible by better training and intercommunication.
**
Combined arms was the concept of using
infantry,
cavalry, and
artillery in a coordinated way. The
Ancient Rome Romans,
Swiss and others made advances with this, which arguably led to them being unbeatable for centuries.
= Advances
=
*
Chariot
* There was human oar power, often using
Slavery slaves, built up to ramming speed. Long before the
steam engine, there were
sailing ships, armed with various kinds of
cannons.
**
Galleys were used in the
3000 BC 3rd millennium BC by the
Crete Cretans. The
Ancient Greece Greeks then advanced their science.
** The
Vikings, in the
8th century Anno Domini AD, invented a ship propelled by oars with a dragon decorating the prow, hence called the
Drakkar.
* As long as there have been fortifications, there have been contraptions to break in, dating back to the times of
Ancient Rome Romans and earlier. Subsequent invention of
gunpowder dramatically altered this technology.
*
England English/
Wales Welsh longbow from
12th century.
** It dominated battlefields for over a century.
* In the
10th century, the invention of gunpowder led to many new weapons that got improved over time.
Blackpowder was used in
China since the
4th Century, but it was not used as a weapon until the
11th century.
* Until mid-
15th century, guns were held in one hand, while the
explosive charge was ignited by the other hand. Then came the
matchlock.
**
Leonardo da Vinci made drawings of the
wheel lock which made its own sparks.
* At the beginning of the
16th century, the first European
fire ships were used. Take a perfectly good ship, fill it with
flammables, set it on fire, and send it into enemy lines.
*
Bayonet is named after
Bayonne,
France where it was first manufactured in the 16th century.
*
Naval mines were invented in the
17th century, though they were not used in great numbers until the
American Civil War, they were used heavily in the
Second world war. Today
land mines are a major civilian hazard in nations that have had past wars.
* The
Howitzer arrived in 17th century to fire high
trajectory explosive shells at targets that could not be reached by flat trajectory projectiles.
* The
Submarine was invented in
1624
*
Balloon (aircraft) Balloons were first used in warfare at the end of the
18th century. Previously military
Reconnaissance scouts could only see from high points on the ground, or from the mast of a ship. Now they could be high in the sky, signalling to troops on the ground. This made it much more difficult for troop movements to go unobserved.
* At the end of the 18th century, iron-cased rockets were successfully used militarily in India against the British by
Tipu Sultan of the Kingdom of
Mysore during the
Anglo-Mysore Wars.
* In the
1860s there were a series of advancements in
rifles.
** The first
repeating rifle was designed in 1860 by a company bought out by
Winchester Repeating Arms Company Winchester, which made new and improved versions.
* Also in the 1860's came the first boats that would later be known as
torpedo boats
*
Springfield rifles arrived in the mid-
19th century
*
Machine guns arrived in the middle of the 19th century,
*
Automatic rifles and
light machine guns first arrived at the beginning of the
20th century.
* The French were the first to introduce the
armored car in
1902. Then in
1918, the British produced the first
APC armored troop carrier. Many early
tanks were proof of concept but impractical until further development.
* In
1911 an
aircraft took off from a
warship for the first time. It was a
Cruiser (warship) cruiser.
Take-offs were soon perfected, but deck landings on a cruiser were another matter. This led to the development of an
aircraft carrier with a decent unobstructed flight deck.
*
Chemical warfare exploded into the public consciousness in
World war I but may have been used in earlier wars without as much human attention.
*
Flame throwers were first used in the first world war.
*
Molotov cocktail were invented by the
Finland Finns in
1939, during the
Winter War.
*
Radar was independently invented by the
Allies of World War II Allies and
Axis Powers Axis powers.
* The
Atomic Bomb, developed by the
Manhattan Project and
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki let loose on the world in
1945.
*
Nuclear submarine, invented in
1955. This meant submarines no longer had to surface as often, and could run more quietly. They evolved into becoming underwater missile platforms.
*
Cruise missiles, invented in the USA in
1982.
Military history by region
*
Military history of Australia Australia
*
Military history of Canada Canada
*
Military history of China China
*
Military history of Croatia Croatia
*
Military history of France France
*
Military history of Germany Germany
*
Military history of India India
*
Military history of Iran Iran
*
Military history of Iraq Iraq
*
Military history of Japan Japan
*
Military history of Korea Korea
*
Military history of Mexico Mexico
*
Military history of the Philippines Philippines
*
Military history of Rome Rome
*
Military history of the Soviet Union Soviet Union
*
Military history of Spain Spain
*
Military history of the United States United States
*
British military history United Kingdom and constituent countries
Classified by region and era
*
Military history of Britain during World War II Britain during World War 2
*
Military history of Egypt during World War II Egypt during World War 2
*
Military history of Italy during World War II Italy during World War 2
Miscellaneous military history
*
History of military equipment Equipment
*
History of military organisation Organisation
*
History of strategy Strategy
*
History of tactics Tactics
*
History of military training Training
*
History of logistics Logistics
*
History of military intelligence Military intelligence
*
Naval warfare
See also
*
Colonialism
*
Historical reenactment
*
History of warfare
*
Military science
*
Imperialism
*
List of battles
*
List of invasions
*
List of missions, operations, and projects
*
List of wars
*
Prisoner of war
*
Prisoner-of-war camp
*
Battledress
*
Militaria
*
War
*
Wargaming
*
Weapon Weapons
External links
-
Houghton Mifflin's ''Reader's Companion to Military History''
-
America Military History and Resolution
-
Military History Encyclopedia
-
Military History Wiki
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