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Military has two broad meanings. In its first sense, it refers to soldiers and soldiering. In its second sense, it refers to Armed Forces as a whole. Over the years, military units have come in all shapes and sizes. They have been as small as a handful of medieval peasants banded together for battle under their feudal lord or as large as the invasion force created in 1944 for D-Day. They can be as rigidly organized as the Impi s of Shaka Zulu or virtually autonomous like the Knights Templar during the Crusades . Some states - for instance, Sparta or more recently Prussia - have even placed military prowess at the heart of government. The business of soldiering is as old as recorded history itself. Some of the most enduring images of the classical world portray the power and feats of antiquity's military leaders. The , was so determined to impress the gods with his military might that he was buried with an army of terracotta soldiers. 2006 3.jpg Massed ranks of Qin Shi Huang's terra cotta soldiers The Romans were keen on military matters, leaving to posterity many treatises and writings as well as a large number of lavishly carved triumphal arches and columns celebrating their victories. In our own era, world wars and countless other major conflicts have changed the political landscape beyond recognition. Empires have come and gone; states have grown and expired. Enormous social changes have been wrought and military power continues to dominate international politics. The role of the military today is as central to society as it ever was. ETYMOLOGY AND SOME DEFINITIONS The first recorded use of military in English, spelled ''militarie'', was in 1585.Oxford English Dictionary (2nd edition) Oxford: 1994 It comes from the Latin ''militaris'' (from Latin ''miles'' meaning "soldier", that is, someone skilled in arms, or engaged in military service or in warfare). Compact Oxford Dictionary online Merriam Webster Dictionary online As an adjective, military originally applied only to soldiers and soldiering, but it soon broadened to apply to land forces, in general, and anything to do with their business. The names of both the Royal Military Academy (1741) and United States Military Academy (1802) reflect this. However, about this time, it started to be applied to armed forces as a whole and nowadays expressions like "military service", "military intelligence" and "military history" reflect this broader meaning. As a noun, the military usually refers generally to a country's armed forces or sometimes, more specifically, to the senior officers running them. MILITARY SCIENCE See Also: Military science Military science is the study of warfare in all its aspects. By focusing on aspects of warfare - for instance, its technical, psychological, and practical components - it aims to improve the prospect of success in combat. Organization See Also: Military organization See Also: Military reserve Armed forces may be organized as ''standing forces'' (e.g. Regular Army ), which describes a professional army that is engaged in no other profession than preparing for and engaging in warfare. In contrast, there is the ''citizen army''. A citizen army (also known as a Militia or Reserve Army ) is only mobilized as needed. Its advantage lies in the fact that it is dramatically less expensive (in terms of wealth, manpower, and opportunity cost) for the organizing Society to support. The disadvantage is that such a "citizen's army" is less well trained and organized. A compromise between the two has a small cadre of professional NCO s (non-commissioned officers) and officers who act as a skeleton for a much larger force. When war comes, this skeleton is filled out with conscripts or reservists (former full-time soldiers who volunteer for a small stipend to occasionally train with the cadre to keep their military skills intact), who form the wartime unit. This balances the pros and cons of each basic organization, and allows the formation of huge armies (in terms of millions of combatants), necessary in modern large scale War fare. Intelligence on Intelligence. ''Click on the image for a summary description.'']] See Also: Military intelligence Military intelligence can be defined as the process of gathering of information about the enemy threats, strengths and weaknesses. Intelligence activities are conducted at all levels from tactical to strategic, during peacetime and in war. The process of intelligence has four phases: collection, analysis, processing and dissemination. In the United Kingdom, these are known as Direction, Collection, Processing and Dissemination. The most elementary military intelligence is the collection of Order-of-battle data which consists of information about the basic structure of a military and the amount of weaponry.1 Strategy and tactics , famous Chinese general and author of '' The Art Of War ''.]] See Also: Military strategy Military tactics The line between strategy and tactics is easily blurred, and deciding which is which can sometimes be a matter of personal judgment. Very broadly, strategy is deciding what to attack; tactics is deciding how to attack it. In other words, strategy is the thought, and tacts is the deed. The conversion of stategy into tactics is sometimes called the Operational Art . Military strategy concerns itself with the conduct of War fare, the movement and disposition of forces, and the deception of the enemy. The term comes from the Greek '' Strategos '', strategy was seen as the "art of the General ". Military strategy is usually long term, and takes the broad view. Military tactics concerns itself with the methods for engaging and defeating an enemy in Battle . The term is derived from the Greek ''Taktikē'', (meaning literally "matters pertaining to arrangement" ). Military tactics are usually shorter-term, and are focused on the specific task in hand. One of the oldest surviving military literary works is '', the 13-chapter book has had a huge influence on Eastern and Western military planning, business tactics, and beyond. Both the Classical Greeks and Romans wrote prolifically on military campaigning. Amongst the best known works are , and '' De Re Militari '' ("On military matters") by Vegetius . ''Taktike Theoria'' examined Greek battle methods, and was most influential in the Byzantine world and during the Golden Age Of Islam . ''De Re Militari'' formed the basis of European military tactics until the late 17th Century . Perhaps its most enduring maxim is "let he who desires peace prepare for war." In his seminal book titled '', the execution of plans and manœuvering of forces in battle; and Military Logistics , the maintenance of an army. - ''Courtesy of The Department of History, United States Military Academy'' ] Military tactics can take the form of Ambush es, Encirclement s, Frontal Assault s, Air Assault s, Hit-and-run (which is used mainly by Guerilla rebels) and in some cases Suicide Attack s. Often, deception, in the form of Military Camouflage or misdirection using Decoy s, is used to confuse the enemy. A major military tactic that came to prominence in the 19th and early 20th Century is Trench Warfare . This was mainly employed in World War I in the Gallipoli Campaign and the Western Front . Trench warfare often turned to a stalemate, because in order to attack an enemy entrenchment soldiers had to run through an exposed " No Man's Land " under heavy fire from an entrenched enemy. Logistics See Also: Military logistics Military logistics is the management and planning of the Supply Chain . Military transport is part of logistics. It would pertain to equipment trans-shipped via a sister service, or an individual detached for a technical school operated by a sister service, or the travel orders and authorization of such an individual to proceed via a sister services vehicles, as well as the loan of vehicles ( Staff Car s, Hum-Vees , Military Truck s) operating from the primary base command. Technology and equipment . Bronze, 4th century BCE. From Olynthus , Chalcidice .]] See Also: Military technology and equipment When Stone Age man first took a sliver of flint to tip his spear, he was applying technology to improve his Weaponry . Since then, the advance of mankind and the advance in weaponry has been irretrievably linked. Stone weapons gave way to Bronze , and then bronze to Iron . With each technological change has come an advantage: sharper weapons, harder weapons, more durable weapons. The Greeks and Romans brought technology to the front with the invention and development of Siege Engine s. Then came the Age Of Chivalry , with Knight s - mounted on Destrier s and encased in ever-more sophisticated Armour - dominating the field. In the meantime, in China, Gunpowder had been invented and was increasingly being used in military applications. It was the arrival of Cannon in Europe and advanced versions of the Long Bow and Cross Bow - which all had armour-piercing capability - that put an end to the dominance of the armoured knight. After the long bow (which required great skill and strength to use), came the Musket (which could be used effectively by anyone after short training). In time, the successors to muskets and cannon, in the form of Rifle s and Artillery would become core battlefield technology. As the speed of technological advance accelerated in the civilan world, so warfare became more Industralised . The newly-invented Machine Gun and Repeating Rifle brought awesome new fire power to the battlefield and in part explains the high casualty rates of the American Civil War . The next big breakthrough was the new highly-mobile, recoilless field gun, the French '' Soixante-Quinze '' in the 1970s. During World War I , the need to break the deadlock of the trenches saw the rapid development of many new technologies, particularly in Military Aviation and Tank s. Sparrow medium range Air-to-air Missile from an F-15 Eagle ]] World War II however, perhaps marked the most frantic period of weapons development in the history of humanity. Massive numbers of new designs and concepts were fielded, and all existing technologies were improved between 1939 and 1945. It was during this time that the Atomic Bomb was created. After World War II, with the onset of the Cold War , the constant technological development of new weapons was institutionalized, as participants engaged in a constant race to develop weapons and counter-weapons. This constant state of weapons development continues into the modern era, and remains a constant draw on the resources of most nations. Ultimately, the most powerful of all invented weapons is the MIRV ICBM armed with Nuclear Warheads . Not all military technology has proved practical in the long term. Two such inventions, the ''parachute hat'' and the ''gun helmet'', failed to catch on. The gun helmet was fitted with a rifle but the ''recoil broke a man's neck during early trials''. Patently absurd A more recent example is the '' Gay Bomb '' that could purportedly ''turn enemy soldiers into homosexuals and make them more interested in sex than fighting''. Washington Post ''Sunshine Project'' MILITARY HISTORY See Also: Military history Military history is often considered to be the History of all Conflict s, not just the history of proper militaries. 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 history has a number of purposes. One main purpose is to learn from past accomplishments and mistakes so as to more effectively wage war in the future. Another is to create a sense of tradition which is used to create cohesive military forces. Still another may be to learn to prevent wars more effectively. MILITARY AND SOCIETY The relationship between the military and the society it serves is a complicated and ever-evolving one. Much depends on the nature of the society itself and whether it sees the military as important (as for example in time of threat or war) or a burdensome expense (as typified by defence cuts in time of peace). Doctrine, ideology and ethics 's military zones (1975-1983)]] Militarist ideology is the Doctrinal view of a Society as being best served (or more efficient) when it is Governed or guided by concepts embodied in the ''culture, doctrine, system,'' or ''people'' of the military. Under the justification of potential application of Force , militarism asserts that a Civilian population is dependent upon — and thereby subservient to —the needs and goals of its military. Militarism is sometimes contrasted with the concepts of Comprehensive National Power and Soft Power and Hard Power . Most nations have a separate Code Of Law which regulates certain activities allowed only in war, and provides a code of law applicable only to a Soldier in war (or 'in Uniform ' during peacetime). An early exponent was Hugo Grotius , whose ''Rights of War and Peace'' (1625) had a major impact of the humanitarian development of warfare. His theme was echoed by Gustavus Adolphus , the Swedish king-general (1594–1632). Modern-day ethical constraints are much more developed. For instance, the Geneva Conventions concern themselves with the treatment of civilians and prisoners of war. International protocols restrict or ban the use of certain weapons, notably nuclear and biological warfare. International conventions define what constitutes a war crime and provides for prosecution of war crimes. Individual countries also have elaborate codes of military practice, an example being the United states' Uniform Code Of Military Justice . Military actions are sometimes justified by furthering a humanitarian cause. The term '' Military Humanism '' is used to refer to such actions. Antimilitarism See Also: Antimilitarism Antimilitarism is a doctrine opposed to war between states in particular and, of course, Militarism . Following Hegel 's exploration of the relationship between History and violence, antimilistarists argue that there are different types of violence, some of which can be said to be legitimate and others non-legitimate. Anarcho-syndicalist Georges Sorel advocated the use of violence as a form of Direct Action , calling it "revolutionary violence", which he opposed in ''Reflections on Violence'' (1908) to the violence inherent in Class Struggle . Sorel thus followed the International Workers' Association (IWA, aka the First International) theorization of Propaganda Of The Deed . War, as violence, can be distinguished into inter-states' war and Civil War , in which case class struggle is, according to antimilitarists theorists, a primordial component. Hence, Marx 's influence on antimilitarist doctrine will come upon as no surprise, even though it would be doubtful to make Marx accountable for the whole antimilitarist tradition. However, it would also be unwise to believe in the myth of an eternal antimilitarist spirit, present in all places and time, since modern military institution is a historic achievement, related to the formation, in the 18th and 19th centuries, of nation-states. Napoleon 's invention of Conscription is a fundamental progress in the organization of state armies. Later, Prussian Militarism would be exposed by 19th century social theorists. Depictions of the military Soldiers and armies have been at the heart of popular culture since the beginnings of recorded history. In addition to the countless images of military leaders in heroic poses from Antiquity , they have been an enduring source of inspiration in literature. Not all of this has been entirely complementary and the military have been lampooned or ridiculed as often as they have been idolised. The classical Greek writer, Aristophanes , devoted an entire comedy, the Lysistrata , to a strike organised by military wives where they withhold sex from their husbands to keep them from going to war. In Medieval Europe, tales of Knight hood and Chivalry - the officer class of the period - captured the popular imagination. Writers and poets like Taliesin , Chrétien De Troyes and Thomas Mallory wrote tales of derring-do featuring Arthur , Guinevere , Lancelot and Galahad . (Even today, books and films about the Arthurian Legend and the Holy Grail continuing to appear.} A century or so later, in the hands of writers such as Jean Froissart , Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare , the fictional knight Tirant Lo Blanch and the real-life Condottieri John Hawkwood would be juxtaposed against the fantastist Don Quixote and the carousing Sir John Falstaff . In just one play, Henry V , Shakespeare provides a whole range of military characters, from cool-headed and clear-sighted generals, to captains, and common soldiery. |
Image:La Fuite De Pompéejpg''The Flight Of Pompey After Pharsalus'', By
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Jean_Fouquet" class="copylinks">Jean Fouquet |
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Image:FirenzeDuomoHawkwoodJPGSir
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/John_Hawkwood" class="copylinks">John Hawkwood (fresco in the Duomo , Florence) |
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Image:Eduard Von Grützner Falstaff Mit HandschuhenjpgShakespeare's Sir
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/John_Falstaff" class="copylinks">John Falstaff by Eduard Von Grützner |
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Image:Prince Rupert - 1st English Civil Warjpg"The Cruel Practices Of
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Image:Sir Joshua Reynolds 008jpgColonel John Hayes St Leger (detail) By Sir
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Image:Thomas Rowlandson (12)jpg
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Thomas_Rowlandson" class="copylinks">Rowlandson often satirised the military |
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Image:Pirates Of Penzance (AS Seer, 1880)jpg"A Modern Major General" (''
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Pirates_of_Penzance" class="copylinks">Pirates Of Penzance '') |
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Image:Wh Russell Cartoonpng '',
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/William_Howard_Russell" class="copylinks">W H Russell , Crimean War |
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Image:Red Army Recruitment Posterpng
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Red_Army" class="copylinks">Red Army recruiting poster (1920) |
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Image:Hell'sAngelsPostergif
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Hell's_Angels_(film)" class="copylinks">Hell's Angels movie poster (1929) |
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Image:Catch22 CoverjpgJoseph Heller's Anti-war Novel, ''
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Catch-22" class="copylinks">Catch-22 '' |
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Image:Oh What A Lovely Warjpg1960s Poster For The Film ''
| "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Oh!_What_a_Lovely_War" class="copylinks">Oh! What A Lovely War '' |
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