Military history - Definition and Overview

Military history is the recording (in writing or otherwise) of the events in the history of humanity that fall within the category of "conflict". This may range from a dispute between two tribes that come to blow over a plot of land, to a world war.

It differs somewhat from the history of war with military history focusing on the people and institutions of warmaking while the history of war focuses on the evolution of war itself in the face of changing technology, governments, and geography.

Purpose of military history

Military history has a number of purposes. One main purpose is to learn to fight and prevent wars more effectively. Another is to create a sense of tradition which is used to create cohesive military forces.

Types of warfare

There are a number of ways to categorize warfare. One categorization is conventional versus unconventional, where "Conventional" warfare involves well-identified, armed forces fighting one another in a relatively open and straightforward way without weapons of mass destruction. "Unconventional" refers to other types of war which can involve raiding, guerrilla, insurgency, and terrorist tactics or alternatively can include nuclear, chemical, or biological warfare.

All of these catagories usually fall into one of two broader catagories: 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.

Military unit types by era

Antiquity

• Infantry
• Cavalry
  • Cataphract
  • Horse archer
• Chariotry
• Archery
• Slingman
• Hoplite
• Macedonian phalanx
• Roman legion
  • Marius' army
  • auxiliaries
  • Hastati
  • Principes
  • Triarii
  • Velites
• Greek fire

Medieval

See also: Medieval warfare.

• Artillery
• Cataphract
• Condottieri
• Fyrd
• Horse archer
• Janissary
• Knight (see also: Chivalry)
• Longbowman
• Pikeman
• Samurai
• Fortification

Modern

• Ammunition
• Armory
• Conscription
• Grenadier
• Sappers and Miners
• Marine
• Aviation
• Musketeer
• Rifleman
• Special Forces
• Naval Combatant

Classified by region

• Australia
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• Japan
• Philippines
• Rome
• Soviet Union
• United States
• United Kingdom and constituent countries

Classified by region and era

• Britain during World War 2
• Egypt during World War 2
• Italy during World War 2

Reporting of military events

• Propaganda
• Bias
• Military secrets

Miscellaneous military history

• Equipment
• Organisation
• Strategy
• Tactics
• Training
• Logistics
• Military intelligence

• Naval warfare

Related topics

• Colonialism
• Historical reenactment
• History
• Imperialism
• List of battles
• List of invasions
• List of missions, operations, and projects
• List of POW camps
• List of wars
• Militaria
• War
• Wargaming
• Weapons

External resources

• Houghton Mifflin's Reader's Companion to Military History (http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/mil/html/mh_000105_entries.htm)