Military history
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Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships.
Professional historians normally focus on military affairs that had a major impact on the societies involved as well as the aftermath of conflicts, while amateur historians and hobbyists often take a larger interest in the details of battles, equipment and uniforms in use.
The essential subjects of military history study are the causes of war, the social and cultural foundations, military doctrine on each side, the logistics, leadership, technology, strategy, and tactics used, and how these changed over time. On the other hand, just war theory explores the moral dimensions of warfare, and to better limit the destructive reality caused by war, seeks to establish a doctrine of military ethics.
As an applied field, military history has been studied at academies and service schools because the
The discipline of military history is dynamic, changing with development as much of the subject area as the societies and organisations that make use of it.
Popular versus academic military history
In terms of the history profession in major countries, military history is an orphan, despite its enormous popularity with the general public.
- This branch of our discipline flourishes in an intellectual ghetto. The 144 books in question [published in 1968-78] fall into two distinct classes: works aimed at a popular readership, written by journalists and men of letters outside academic circles, and professional work nearly always produced within the military establishment.... The study of military history in universities remains seriously underdeveloped. Indeed, lack of interest in and disdain for military history probably constitute one of the strangest prejudices of the profession.[4][5]
In recent decades University level courses in military history remain popular; often they use films to humanize the combat experience. For example, Eugene P. A. Scleh, history professor at the University of Maine, has explored the advantages and problems of teaching a course of "Modern War and Its Images" entirely through films. Students said they found the documentaries more valuable than the dramas.[6] However, military historians are frustrated by their marginal status in major history departments.[7][8]
Academic historians concerned with military topics have their own scholarly organization, Society for Military History. Since 1937 it has published The Journal of Military History. Its four issues a year include scholarly articles reviews of new books, and a bibliography of new publications and dissertations. The Society has 2300 members, holds an annual convention, and gives out prizes for the best scholarship.[9]
Historiography of military history
Historiography is the study of the history and method of the discipline of history or the study of a specialised topic. In this case, military history with an eye to gaining an accurate assessment of conflicts using all available sources. For this reason military history is periodised, creating overlaying boundaries of study and analysis in which descriptions of battles by leaders may be unreliable due to the inclination to minimize mention of failure and exaggerate success. Military historians use Historiographical analysis in an effort to allow an unbiased, contemporary view of records.[10]
One military historian, Jeremy Black, outlined problems 21st-century military historians face as an inheritance of their predecessors: Eurocentricity, a technological bias, a focus on leading military powers and dominant military systems, the separation of land from sea and recently air conflicts, the focus on state-to-state conflict, a lack of focus on political "tasking" in how forces are used.[11]
If these challenges were not sufficient for military historians, the limits of method are complicated by the lack of records, either destroyed or never recorded due to their value as a
Military historians have often compared organization, tactical and strategic ideas, leadership, and national support of the militaries of different nations.[13]
In the early 1980s, historian Jeffrey Kimball studied the influence of a historian's political position on current events on interpretive disagreement regarding the causes of 20th century wars. He surveyed the ideological preferences of 109 active diplomatic historians in the United States as well as 54 active military historians. He finds that their current political views are moderately correlated with their historiographical interpretations. A clear position on the left-right continuum regarding capitalism was apparent in most cases. All groups agreed with the proposition, "historically, Americans have tended to view questions of their national security in terms of such extremes as good vs. evil." Though the Socialists were split, the other groups agreed that "miscalculation and/or misunderstanding of the situation" had caused U.S. interventionism." Kimball reports that:
- Of historians in the field of diplomatic history, 7% are Socialist, 19% are Other, 53% are Liberal, 11% are None and 10% Conservative. Of military historians, 0% are Socialist, 8% are Other, 35% are Liberal, 18% are None and 40% are Conservative.[14]
Online resources
People interested in military history from all periods of time, and all subtopics, are increasingly turning to the Internet for many more resources than are typically available in nearby libraries. Since 1993, one of the most popular sites, with over 4000 members (subscriptions are free) has been H-WAR, sponsored by the H-Net network based at Michigan State University.[15] H-War has six coeditors, and an academic advisory board that sets policy. It sponsors daily moderated discussions of current topics, announcements of new publications and conferences, and reports on developments at conferences. The H-Net family of lists has sponsored and published over 46,000 scholarly book reviews, thousands of which deal with books in military history broadly conceived.[16] Wikipedia itself has a very wide coverage of military history, with over 180,000 articles. Its editors sponsor Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history and encourage readers to join.[17]
Military and war museums
Military museums specialize in military histories; they are often organized from a national point of view, where a museum in a particular country will have displays organized around conflicts in which that country has taken part. They typically take a broad view of warfare's role in the nation's history.
Curators debate how or whether the goal of providing diverse representations of war, in terms of positive and negative aspects of warfare. War is seldom presented as a good thing, but soldiers are heavily praised. David Lowenthal has observed that in today's museums, "nothing seems too horrendous to commemorate". Yet as Andrew Whitmarsh notes, "museums frequently portray a sanitised version of warfare."[20] The actual bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Japan became the focus of an angry national controversy with veterans attacking curators and historians when the Smithsonian Institution planned to put its fuselage on public display in 1995. The uproar led to cancellation of the exhibit.[21]
Early historians
The documentation of military history begins with the confrontation between Sumer (current Iraq) and Elam (current Iran) c. 2700 BC near the modern Basra. Other prominent records in military history are the Trojan War in Homer's Iliad (though its historicity has been challenged), The Histories by Herodotus (484–425 BC) who is often called the "father of history".[22] Next was Thucydides whose impartiality, despite being an Athenian, allowed him to take advantage of his exile to research the war from different perspectives by carefully examining documents and interviewing eyewitnesses.[23] An approach centered on the analysis of a leader was taken by Xenophon (430–355 BC) in Anabasis, recording the expedition of Cyrus the Younger into Anatolia.
The memoirs of the Roman Julius Caesar (100–44 BC) enable a comparative approach for campaigns such as Commentarii de Bello Gallico and Commentarii de Bello Civili.
Technological evolution
The nature of warfare never changes, only its superficial manifestations. Joshua and David, Hector and Achilles would recognize the combat that our soldiers and Marines have waged in the alleys of Somalia and Iraq. The uniforms evolve, bronze gives way to titanium, arrows may be replaced by laser-guided bombs, but the heart of the matter is still killing your enemies until any survivors surrender and do your will.
New weapons development can dramatically alter the face of war, the cost of warfare, the preparations, and the training of soldiers and leaders. A rule of thumb is that if your enemy has a potentially war winning weapon, you have to either match it or neutralize it.[25]
Ancient era
Some of the military unit types and technologies which were developed in the ancient world are:[28]
For settled agrarian civilizations, the infantry became the core of military action. The infantry started as opposing armed groups of soldiers underneath commanders. The
Archers were a major component of many ancient armies, notably those of the Persians, Scythians, Egyptians, Nubians, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese.
There were also
The early
In 1210 BC, the first recorded naval battle was fought between
, the navy became of increasing importance.Triremes were involved in more complicated sea-land operations. Themistocles helped to build up a stronger Greek navy, composed of 310 ships, and defeated the Persians at the Battle of Salamis, ending the Persian invasion of Greece.[36]
In the
The
Middle-ages
Some of the military unit types and technologies which were used in the medieval period are:
- Artillery
- Cataphract
- Condottieri
- Fyrd
- Rashidun
- Mobile guard
- Mamluk
- Janissary
- Knight (see also: Chivalry)
- Crossbow
- Pikeman
- Samurai
- Sipahi
- Trebuchet
Gunpowder
There is evidence for gunpowder evolving slowly from formulations by Chinese alchemists as early as the 4th century, at first as experiments for life force and metal transmutation, and later experiments as pyrotechnics and incendiaries. By the 10th century, the developments in gunpowder led to many new weapons that were improved over time.[39] The Chinese used incendiary devices based on this in siege warfare against the Mongols starting in the mid 13th century. "Pots with wicks of flax or cotton were used, containing a combination of sulfur, saltpeter (potassium nitrate), aconitine, oil, resin, ground charcoal and wax."[40] Joseph Needham argued the Chinese were able to destroy buildings and walls using such devices. Such experimentation was not present in Western Europe, where the combination of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal were used exclusively for explosives and as a propellant in firearms. What the Chinese often referred to as the "fire drug" arrived in Europe, fully fleshed out, as gunpowder.[41]
Cannons were first used in Europe in the early 14th century, and played a vital role in the Hundred Years' War. The first cannons were simply welded metal bars in the form of a cylinder, and the first cannonballs were made of stone. By 1346, at the Battle of Crécy, the cannon had been used; at the Battle of Agincourt they would be used again.[42][43]
The first infantry firearms, from
At the beginning of the 16th century, the first European fire ships were used. Ships were filled with flammable materials, set on fire, and sent to enemy lines. This tactic was successfully used by Francis Drake to scatter the Spanish Armada at the Battle of Gravelines,[44] and would later be used by the Chinese, Russians, Greeks, and several other countries in naval battles.
The first navigable
The
The Howitzer, a type of field artillery, was developed in the 17th century to fire high trajectory explosive shells at targets that could not be reached by flat trajectory projectiles.
Organizational changes resulting in better training and intercommunication, made the concept combined arms possible, allowing the use of infantry, cavalry, and artillery in a coordinated way.[citation needed]
Bayonets also became of wide usage to infantry soldiers.
At the end of the 18th century, iron-cased
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, which made new and improved versions. Springfield rifles arrived in the mid-19th century also. Machine guns arrived in the late 19th century. Automatic rifles and light machine guns first arrived at the beginning of the 20th century.[50]
In the later part of the 19th century, the self-propelled torpedo was developed. The HNoMS Rap was the world's first torpedo boat.[51]
Early guns and artillery
The fire lance, the predecessor of the gun, was invented in China between the tenth and eleventh century. The barrel was originally designed out of bamboo shoots, later with metal. Joseph Needham notes "all the long preparations and tentative experiments were made in China, and everything came to Islam and the West fully fledged, whether it was the fire lance or the explosive bomb, the rocket or the metal-barrel handgun and bombard."[41] By the 1320s Europe had guns, but scholars state that the exact time and method of migration from China remains a mystery. Evidence of firearms is found in Iran and Central Asia in the late fourteenth century. It was not until roughly 1442 that guns were referenced in India. Reliable references to guns in Russia begins around 1382.[citation needed]
An illustration of a "pot-shaped gun" found in the Holkham Hall Milemete manuscript dated to 1326 shows earliest advent of firearms in European history. The illustration shows an arrow, set in the pot-shaped gun pointed directly at a structure. Archaeological evidence of such "gun arrows" were discovered in Eltz Castle, "dated by relation to a historical event (a feud with the Archbishop of Trier in 1331–36 leading to a siege), seem to confirm again that this was at least one of the types of guns like the Milemete used in these very early examples."[52]
According to Peter Fraser Purton, the best evidence of the earliest gun in Europe is the Loshult gun, dated to the fourteenth century. Discovered in 1861, the Loshult was made of bronze measured 11.8 inches in length. A replica of the Loshult was created, using similar gunpowder compounds with present-day materials, to determine the effectiveness of the weapon. The Gunpowder Research Group, who designed the recreation, found that at high elevations, the Loshult could fire as far as 1300 meters.[52] Though inaccurate, missing targets further than 200 meters, the Loshult could fire a range of projectiles such as arrows and shot.[41] It was determined that the Loshult could be effectively fired at ranks of soldiers and structures.
Written works from the Cabinet des Titres of the Imperial Library of Paris has found evidence of canons in France in 1338. The works illustrate canons being used on-board ships at the Rouen during that time. "...an iron Fire-arm, which was provided with forty-eight bolts, made of iron and freather; also one pound of saltpetre and half a pound of sulphur to make the powder propel arrows."[53]
Researchers have been unable to determine the sizes of these cannons and others, outside the artifacts recovered. Sir Henry Brackenbury was able to surmise the approximate size of these cannons by comparing receipts for both the firearms and the corresponding amounts of gunpowder purchased. The receipts show a transaction for "25 Livres for 5 canons." Brackenbury was able to deduce, when comparing the costs of the cannons and the gunpowder apportioned, that they each iron cannon weighed approximately 25 lbs, while the brass cannons weighed roughly 22 lbs.[53]
Philip the Bold (1363–1404) is credited[by whom?] with creating the most effective artillery power in Europe in the late fourteenth century, effectively creating the Burgundian estate. Philip's development of a large artillery army made the small country a reputable force against larger empires such as England and France.[original research?][54][failed verification] Philip had achieved this by establishing a large scale artillery manufacturing economy in Burgundy.[41] Philip used his new cache of artillery to help the French capture an English-held fortress of Odruik. The artillery used to take Odruik used cannonballs measuring to about 450 pounds.[41]
Large artillery was a major contributing factor to the fall of Constantinople at the hands of
Early firearm tactics
As guns and artillery became more advanced and prevalent, so to did the tactics by which they were implemented. According to Historian Michael Roberts "...a military revolution began with the broad adoption of firearms and artillery by late sixteenth-century European armies."[56] Infantry with firearms replaced cavalry. Empires adapted their strongholds to withstand artillery fire. Eventually drilling strategies and battlefield tactics were adapted for the evolution in firearms use.
In Japan, at the same time during the sixteenth-century, this military evolution was also taking hold. These changes included a universal adoption of firearms, tactical developments for effective use, logistical restructuring within the military itself, and "the emergence of centralized and political and institutional relationships indicative of the early modern order."[56]
Tactically, beginning with Oda Nobunaga, the technique known as "volleying" or countermarch drills were implemented.[41] Volley fire is an organized implementation of firearms, where infantry are structured in ranks. The ranks will alternate between loading and firing positions, allowing more consistent rates of fire and preventing enemies from taking over a position while members reload.
Historical evidence shows that Oda Nobunaga implemented his volley technique successfully in 1575, twenty years before evidence of such a technique is shown in Europe. The first indications of the countermarch technique in Europe was by Lord William Louis of Nassau (1538–1574) in the mid-1590s.[56][41]
Korea also seemed to be adapting the volley technique, earlier than even the Japanese. "Koreans seem to have employed some kind of volley principle with guns by 1447, when the Korean King Sejong the Great instructed his gunners to shoot their 'fire barrels' in squads of five, taking turns firing and loading."[41]
This was on display during what Kenneth Swope called the First Great East Asian War, when Japan was trying to take control and subjugate Korea.[57] Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598) made a failed invasion of Korea, which lasted six years, eventually pushed back by the Koreans with the aid of Ming China.[41] Japan, using overwhelming firepower, had many early victories on the Korean peninsulas. Though the Koreans had similar manpower, "the curtain of arrows thrown up by defenders was wiped out by [Japanese] gunfire."[56] After the Japanese were finally pushed back in 1598, sweeping military reforms took place in Korea, largely based on updating and implementing the volley technique with firearms.
It was Qi Jiguang, a Ming Chinese General that provided the original treatise, disseminated to Koreans, that aided in this venture. In these manuals, Qi "...gave detailed instructions in the use of small group tactics, psychological warfare, and other 'modern' techniques."[57] Qi emphasized repetitive drilling, dividing men into smaller groups, separating the strong from weak. Qi's ethos was one of synthesizing smaller groups, trained in various tactical formations, into larger companies, battalions and armies. By doing this they could "operate as eyes, hands, and feet..." aiding to overall unit cohesion.[57]
Modern technologies
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.
On December 17, 1903, the
World War II gave rise to even more technology. The worth of the aircraft carrier was proved in the battles between the United States and Japan like the
During the
Periods of military history
Prehistoric warfare
Prehistoric warfare refers to war that occurred between societies without recorded history. The Tollense valley battlefield is the oldest evidence of a large scale battle in Europe. More than 4,000 warriors fought in a battle on the site in the 13th century BC.[64]
Ancient warfare
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. 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, therefore fighting was common.
The Umma–Lagash war was one of the first wars in recorded history, fought between the Sumerian city-states of Lagash and Umma. The border conflict over the fertile Guedena region lasted for several generations.[65]
Such items were also considered signs of prosperity or virtue, and thus were likely to be 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
Lastly, as
Notable militaries in the ancient world included the
The
The earliest recorded battle in India was the Battle of the Ten Kings. The Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana are centered on conflicts and refer to military formations, theories of warfare and esoteric weaponry. Chanakya's Arthashastra contains a detailed study on ancient warfare, including topics on espionage and war elephants.
In China, the Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty had risen and collapsed. This led to a Warring States period, in which several states continued to fight with each other over territory. Philosopher-strategists such as Confucius and Sun Tzu wrote various manuscripts on ancient warfare (as well as international diplomacy).
The Warring States era philosopher
His
The Han defeated and drove the Xiongnus west, securing the city-states along the silk route that continued into the Parthian Empire. After the decline of central imperial authority, the Han Dynasty collapsed into an era of civil war and continuous warfare during the Three Kingdoms period in the 3rd century AD.
The
In
The
The Macedonians, underneath Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great, invaded Persia and won several major victories, establishing Macedonia as a major power. However, following Alexander's death at an early age, the empire quickly fell apart.
Meanwhile, Rome was gaining power, following a rebellion against the
After defeating Carthage the Romans went on to become the Mediterranean's dominant power, successfully campaigning in Greece, (
In 54 BC the Roman triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus took the offensive against the Parthian Empire in the east. In a decisive battle at Carrhae Romans were defeated and the golden Aquilae (legionary battle standards) were taken as trophies to Ctesiphon. The battle was one of the worst defeats suffered by the Roman Republic in its entire history.
While successfully dealing with foreign opponents, Rome experienced numerous civil wars, notably the power struggles of Roman generals such as Marius and Sulla during the end of the Republic. Caesar was also notable for his role in the civil war against the other member of the Triumvirate (Pompey) and against the Roman Senate.
The successors of Caesar—Octavian and Mark Anthony—also fought a civil war with Caesar's assassins (Senators Brutus, Cassius, etc.). Octavian and Mark Anthony eventually fought another civil war between themselves to determine the sole ruler of Rome. Octavian emerged victorious and Rome was turned into an empire with a huge standing army of professional soldiers.
By the time of Marcus Aurelius, the Romans had expanded to the Atlantic Ocean in the west and to Mesopotamia in the east and controlled Northern Africa and Central Europe up to the Black Sea. However, Aurelius marked the end of the Five Good Emperors, and Rome quickly fell into decline.
The
Medieval warfare
When
Similar patterns of warfare existed in other parts of the world. In China around the 5th 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 19th century. In Africa along the
In the
The Islamic
At the
In China, the
The
In New Zealand, prior to European discovery, oral histories, legends and
They proceeded to massacre the Moriori and enslave the survivors.[68][69] Warrior culture also developed in the isolated Hawaiian Islands. During the 1780s and 1790s the chiefs and alii were constantly fighting for power. After a series of battles the Hawaiian Islands were united for the first time under a single ruler who would become known as Kamehameha I.
Gunpowder warfare
After
This all brought an end to the dominance of armored cavalry on the battlefield. The simultaneous decline of the feudal system—and the absorption of the medieval city-states into larger states—allowed the creation of professional standing armies to replace the feudal levies and mercenaries that had been the standard military component of the Middle Ages.
In Africa,
The period spanning between the 1648
Over the course of the 18th–19th centuries all military arms and services underwent significant developments that included a more mobile
Military Revolution
The Military Revolution is a conceptual schema for explaining the transformation of European military strategy, tactics and technology in the early modern period.[70] The argument is that dramatic advances in technology, government finance, and public administration transformed and modernized European armies, tactics, and logistics. Since warfare was so central to the European state, the transformation had a major impact on modernizing government bureaucracies, taxation, and the national economy. The concept was introduced by Michael Roberts in the 1950s as he focused on Sweden 1560–1660. Roberts emphasized the introduction of muskets that could not be aimed at small targets, but could be very effective when fired in volleys by three ranks of infantry soldiers, with one firing while the other two ranks reloaded. All three ranks march forward to demolish the enemy. The infantry now had the firepower that had been reserved to the artillery, and had mobility that could rapidly advance in the battlefield, which the artillery lacked. The infantry thereby surpassed the artillery in tactical maneuvering on the battlefield. Roberts linked these advances with larger historical consequences, arguing that innovations in tactics, drill and doctrine by the Dutch and Swedes 1560–1660 led to a need for more and better trained troops and thus for permanent forces (standing armies). Armies grew much larger and more expensive. These changes in turn had major political consequences in the level of administrative support and the supply of money, men and provisions, producing new financial demands and the creation of new governmental institutions. "Thus, argued Roberts, the modern art of war made possible—and necessary—the creation of the modern state".[71] In the 1990s the concept was modified and extended by Geoffrey Parker, who argued that developments in fortification and siege warfare caused the revolution. The concept of a military revolution based upon technology has given way to models based more on a slow evolution in which technology plays a minor role to organization, command and control, logistics and in general non-material improvements. The revolutionary nature of these changes was only visible after a long evolution that handed Europe a predominant place in warfare, a place that the industrial revolution would confirm.[72][73]
The concept of a military revolution in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries has received a mixed reception among historians. Noted military historians Michael Duffy and Jeremy Black have strongly criticised it as misleading, exaggerated and simplistic.[74]
Industrial warfare
As weapons—particularly small arms—became easier to use, countries began to abandon a complete reliance on professional soldiers in favor of
Total war was used in industrial warfare, the objective being to prevent the opposing nation to engage in war. Napoleon was the innovator.[76] William Tecumseh Sherman's "March to the Sea" and Philip Sheridan's burning of the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War were examples.[77][78] On the largest scale the strategic bombing of enemy cities and industrial factories during World War II was total warfare.
Modern warfare
Since the 1940s, preparation for a major war has been based on technological arms races involving all sorts of new weapons systems, such as nuclear and biological, as well as computerized control systems, and the opening of new venues, such as seen in the
Modern war also saw the improvement of armored tank technology. While tanks were present in the First World War, and the Second World War, armored warfare technology came to a head with the start of the Cold War. Many of the technologies commonly seen on main battle tanks today, such as composite armor, high caliber cannons, and advanced targeting systems, would be developed during this time.[citation needed]
A distinctive feature since 1945 is the absence of wars between major powers—indeed the near absence of any traditional wars between established countries. The major exceptions were the
See also
- War Studies
- Ancient Greek warfare
- Military science
- List of military writers
- Maritime history
- Military globalization
- Naval history
- Roman warfare
- Society for Military History
- Military history of ancient Rome
- Military history of Africa
- Military history of Europe
- Military history of Oceania
- Military history of North America
- Military history of South America
- Military history by country
- Journal of Military History, scholarly journal
- War in History, scholarly journal
- War & Society, scholarly journal
- History of physical training and fitness
Notes and references
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- ^ Black (2004), p. ix
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- ^ Jeffrey Kimball, "The Influence of Ideology on Interpretive Disagreement: A Report on a Survey of Diplomatic, Military and Peace Historians on the Causes of 20th Century U. S. Wars", The History Teacher (May, 1984) 17#3 pp. 355–384 in JSTOR Archived 2016-12-25 at the Wayback Machine
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- ^ Richard Ernest Dupuy, and Trevor Nevitt Dupuy, The encyclopedia of military history: from 3500 BC to the present (1970).
- JSTOR 4528419
- ^ Leslie J. Worley, Hippeis: the cavalry of Ancient Greece (1994).
- Historia62.2 (2013): 167–181.
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- ^ John S. Morrison, "The Greek Trireme." The Mariner's Mirror 27.1 (1941): 14–44.
- ^
H. T. Wallinga, "The Trireme and History" JSTOR 4431893
- ^ Moerbeek, Martijn (January 21, 1998). "The battle of Salamis, 480 BC" Accessed May 16, 2006.
- ^ See "The Medieval Castle" Archived 2006-06-22 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed May 16, 2006
- ^ Selby, Stephen (2001). "A Crossbow Mechanism with Some Unique Features from Shandong, China" Archived 2008-05-18 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on May 17, 2006.
- ^ Brenda J. Buchanan, ed., Gunpowder, explosives and the state: a technological history (Ashgate, 2006).
- S2CID 162999079.
- ^ ISBN 978-0691178141.
- ^ Calvert, J.B. (February 19, 2006) "Cannons and Gunpowder" Archived 2007-07-01 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on May 18, 2006
- ^ H.C.B. Rogers, A History of Artillery (1975).
- ^ Jorge. The "Invincible" Armada Archived 2006-05-12 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on May 18, 2006.
- ^ Tom Parrish, The Submarine: A History (2004)
- ^ "Early Underwater Warfare". California Center for Military History. May 18, 2006. Archived from the original on February 17, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
- ^ Martin J. Brayley, Bayonets: An Illustrated History (2012)
- ^ John Christopher, Balloons at War: Gasbags, Flying Bombs & Cold War Secrets (2004)
- ^ HM Iftekhar Jaim, and Jasmine Jaim, "The Decisive Nature of the Indian War Rocket in the Anglo-Mysore Wars of the Eighteenth Century." Arms & Armour 8.2 (2011): 131–138.
- ^ Robert Held, The Age of Firearms: a pictorial history. (Harper, 1957).
- ^ George Elliot Armstrong, Torpedoes and Torpedo-vessels (1896) online Archived 2023-06-20 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ ISBN 978-1843834489.
- ^ a b Brackenbury, Henry (1865). Ancient Cannon in Europe. Woolwich: The Royal Artillery Institution.
- .
- ISBN 978-0765680501.
- ^ S2CID 144268167.
- ^ ISBN 978-0806185026.
- ^ Patrick Wright, Tank: the progress of a monstrous war machine (Penguin, 2003).
- ^ Norman Polmar, Aircraft carriers: a graphic history of carrier aviation and its influence on world events (1969).
- ^ Kim Coleman, A history of chemical warfare (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005).
- ^ Ryan Jenkins, World War 2: New Technologies (2014)
- ^ Paul P. Craig and John A. Jungerman, The Nuclear Arms Race: Technology and Society (1990)
- ^ Jeremy Black, The Cold War: A Military History (2015)
- ^ Curry, Andrew (24 March 2016). "Slaughter at the bridge: Uncovering a colossal Bronze Age battle". Science.
- ^ "Recently Deciphered 4,500-Year-Old Pillar Shows First Known Record of a Border Dispute". Smithsonian. December 7, 2018.
- ^ Suren-Pahlav S., General Surena; The Hero of Carrhae
- ^ s:Great Battles of Bulgaria
- ^ "Moriori – The impact of new arrivals" Archived 2009-01-03 at the Wayback Machine Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
- ^ "Chatham Islands" Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine New Zealand A to Z
- ^ Michael Duffy, The Military Revolution and the State, 1500–1800 (1980).
- ^ Jeremy Black, "A Military Revolution? A 1660-1792 Perspective", in Clifford J. Rogers, ed., The Military Revolution Debate: Readings on the Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe (1995), pp. 95–115.
- ^ Jacob, F. & Visoni-Alonzo, G., The Military Revolution in Early Modern Europe, a Revision, (2016)
- ^ Geoffrey Parker, "The Military Revolution, 1560–1660 – A Myth?" Journal of Modern History 48#2 (1976) pp 195–214; online Archived 2018-12-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Jeremy Black, "A Military Revolution? A 1660–1792 Perspective", pp. 95–115; and Michael Duffy, The Military Revolution and the State, 1500–1800 (1980).
- ^ John France, Perilous Glory: The Rise of Western Military Power (2011) pp. 219–264 on 1815–1914.
- ^ David A. Bell, The first total war: Napoleon's Europe and the birth of modern warfare (2008).
- ^ John Bennett Walters, "General William T. Sherman and Total War." Journal of Southern history 14.4 (1948): 447–480. online Archived 2018-12-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Mark E. Neely Jr, "Was the Civil War a Total War?." Civil War History 37.1 (1991): 5–28.
- ^ Alex Roland, "Was the Nuclear Arms Race Deterministic?." Technology and Culture 51.2 (2010): 444–461. online
- ^ Robert J. Bunker and Pamela Ligouri Bunker, "The modern state in epochal transition: The significance of irregular warfare, state deconstruction, and the rise of new warfighting entities beyond neo-medievalism." Small Wars & Insurgencies 27.2 (2016): 325–344.
Further reading
- Archer, I. John R. Ferris, Holger H. Herwig, and Timothy H. E. Travers. World History of Warfare (2nd ed. 2008) 638 pp
- Black, Jeremy. Warfare in the Western World, 1775–1882 (2001) 240 pp.
- Black, Jeremy. Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2002), 256 pp.
- Brownstone, David, and Irene M. Franck. Timelines of War: A Chronology of Warfare from 100,000 BC to the Present (1994)
- Chambers, John Whiteclay, ed. The Oxford Companion to American Military History (2000) online
- Cowley, Robert, and Geoffrey Parker, eds. The Reader's Companion to Military History (2001) coverage by scholars. Complete text online free of 1996 edition
- Dear, I. C. B., and M. R. D. Foot, eds. Oxford Companion to World War II (2005; 2nd ed. 2010) online
- Doughty, Robert, Ira D. Gruber, Roy K. Flint, and Mark Grimsley. Warfare In The Western World (2 vol 1996), comprehensive textbook; online vol 1 to 1871
- Dupuy, R. Ernest and Trevor N. Dupuy. The Encyclopedia of Military History: From 3500 B.C. to the Present (1977), 1465 pp; comprehensive summary focused on wars and battles; online
- Dyer, Gwynne. The Shortest History of War: From Hunter-Gatherers to Nuclear Superpowers – A Retelling for Our Times (2022).
- Grossman, Mark. World military leaders: a biographical dictionary (Infobase Publishing, 2007).
- Holmes, Richard, ed. The Oxford Companion to Military History (2001) 1071 pp; online at OUP
- Jones, Archer, The Art of War in the Western World (2001)
- Kohn, George C. Dictionary of Wars (3rd ed. 2006) 704 pp; very useful summary across world history
- Karsten, Peter. ed., Encyclopedia of War and American Society (3 vols., 2005).
- Keegan, John. The Face of Battle (1976) excerpt Archived 2018-08-04 at the Wayback Machine
- Keegan, John. The Price of Admiralty: The Evolution of Naval Warfare (1989)
- Lamphear, John, ed. African Military History (Routledge, 2007).
- Lawrence, D. R. (2009). The complete soldier: military books and military culture in early Stuart England, 1603-1645. Brill.
- Lee, Wayne E. Waging War: Conflict, Culture, and Innovation in World History (2015) excerpt Archived 2023-01-09 at the Wayback Machine
- Lynn, John A. Battle: A Cultural History of Combat and Culture (2003).
- Muehlbauer, Matthew S., and David J. Ulbrich, eds. The Routledge History of Global War and Society (Routledge, 2018).
- Nolan, Cathal J. The Allure of Battle: A History of How Wars Have Been Won and Lost (2017)
- Nolan, Cathal J. The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000–1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization (2 vol 2006)
- Parkinson, Roger. Encyclopedia of modern war (Routledge, 2021); since 1793.
- Roy, Kaushik. A Global History of Pre-Modern Warfare: Before the Rise of the West, 10,000 BCE–1500 CE. (Routledge, 2021).
- De Salazar, Gonzalo, "War, Peace and Civilization" [Guerra, paz y civilización], (Madrid: MAEC, 2016).
- De Salazar, Gonzalo, "Crime and Armed Conflict" [Crimen y conflicto armado], (Madrid: MAEC, 2018).
- Townshend, Charles, ed. The Oxford History of Modern War (2nd ed. 2005)
- Trevor, N et al. Encyclopedia of military biography (Bloomsbury 2020).
- Tucker, Spencer C., ed.Weapons and Warfare: From Ancient and Medieval Times to the 21st Century (2 vol, ABC-CLIO, 2020).
- Tucker, Spencer C., ed. Middle East Conflicts from Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection (4 vol, ABC-CLIO, 2019).
- Tucker, Spencer. Encyclopedia of American Military History (2019).
Historiography and memory
- Barnett, Correlli, Shelford Bidwell, Brian Bond, and John Terraine. Old Battles and New Defences: Can We Learn from Military History? (1986). online edition Archived 2009-11-23 at the Wayback Machine
- Beaumont, Joan. "Australian military historiography" War & Society 42#1 (2023) pp. 99–121
- Black, Jeremy. "Determinisms and Other Issues", Project MUSE
- Black, Jeremy. Rethinking Military History (2004) online edition Archived 2009-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
- Bucholz, Arden. "Hans Delbruck and Modern Military History." The Historian vol 55#3 (1993) pp. 517+.
- Chambers II, John Whiteclay. "The New Military History: Myth and Reality", Journal of Military History, 55 (July 1991), 395–406
- Chambers, John Whiteclay. "‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (1930): the antiwar film and the image of the First World War." Historical journal of film, radio and television 14.4 (1994): 377–411.
- Charters, David A., Marc Milner, and J. Brent Wilson. eds. Military History and the Military Profession, (1992)
- Citino, Robert M. "Military Histories Old and New: A Reintroduction", The American Historical Review Vol. 112, no. 4 (October 2007), pp. 1070–1090 online version Archived 2021-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
- Gill, John H. "From Great Captains to Common Grognards: research opportunities in Napoleonic military history." War & Society 41.1 (2022): 6–84.
- Grimsley, Mark. "Why Military History Sucks", Nov. 1996, War Historian.org, online at Why Military History Sucks
- Higham, John, ed. A Guide to the Sources of British Military History (2015) 654 pages excerpt
- Hughes, Matthew, and W. Philpott, eds. Palgrave Advances in Modern Military History (2006) excerpt Archived 2022-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
- Karsten, Peter. "The 'New' American Military History: A Map of the Territory, Explored and Unexplored", American Quarterly, 36 #3, (1984), 389–418 in JSTOR Archived 2019-04-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Kimball, Jeffrey. "The Influence of Ideology on Interpretive Disagreement: A Report on a Survey of Diplomatic, Military and Peace Historians on the Causes of 20th Century U. S. Wars", History Teacher 17#3 (1984) pp. 355–384
- Kohn, Richard H. "The Social History of the American Soldier: A Review and Prospectus for Research", American Historical Review, 86 (June 1981), 553–67. in JSTOR Archived 2019-04-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Lee, Wayne E. "Mind and Matter – Cultural Analysis in American Military History: A Look at the State of the Field", Journal of American History, 93 (March 2007), 1116–1142. Fulltext: Ebsco
- Lynn, John A. "Rally Once Again: The Embattled Future of Academic Military History", Journal of Military History, 61 (Oct. 1997), 777–789.
- Mearsheimer, John J. Liddell Hart and the Weight of History. (1988). 234 pp.
- Messenger, Charles, ed. Reader's Guide to Military History (Routledge, 2001), 948 pp; detailed guide to the historiography of 500 topics excerpt and text search Archived 2016-03-12 at the Wayback Machine
- Morillo, Stephen. What is Military History (2006)
- Moyar, Mark. "The Current State of Military History", The Historical Journal (2007), 50: 225–240 online at CJO
- Muehlbauer, Matthew S., and David J. Ulbrich, eds. The Routledge History of Global War and Society (2018) The Routledge History of Global War and Society Archived 2018-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
- Muehlbauer, Matthew S., and David J. Ulbrich. Ways of War: American Military History from the Colonial Era to the Twenty-First Century (2018) Ways of War: American Military History from the Colonial Era to the Twenty-First Century Archived 2018-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
- Murray, Williamson and Richard Hart Sinnreich, eds. The Past as Prologue: The Importance of History to the Military Profession (2006).
- Noe, Kenneth W., George C. Rable and Carol Reardon. "Battle Histories: Reflections on Civil War Military Studies" Civil War History 53#3 2007. pp. 229+. online edition[permanent dead link]
- Porch, Douglas. "Writing History in the 'End of History' Era: Reflections on Historians and the GWOT" Journal of Military History 2006 70(4): 1065–1079. on war on terror, 2001–present
- Reardon, Carol. Soldiers and Scholars: The U.S. Army and the Uses of Military History, 1865–1920. U. Press of Kansas 1990. 270 pp. ISBN 978-0700604661.
- Reid, Brian Holden. "American Military History: the Need for Comparative Analysis." Journal of American History 2007 93(4): 1154–1157.
- Reid, Brian Holden, and Joseph G. Dawson III, eds., "Special Issue: The Vistas of American Military History, 1800–1898", American Nineteenth Century History, 7 (June 2006), 139–321.
- Riseman, Noah. "The Rise of Indigenous Military History." History Compass (2014) 12#12 pp. 901–911. cover 20th century. .
- Rogers, Clifford J. ed. The Military Revolution Debate: Readings On The Military Transformation Of Early Modern Europe (1995)
- Sharman, Jason C. "Myths of military revolution: European expansion and Eurocentrism." European Journal of International Relations 24.3 (2018): 491513 online Archived 2022-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
- Schleh, Eugene P. "Books About Film and War." Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies 8.1 (1978): 11–14.
- Schleh, Eugene P. "All Quiet on the Western Front: A History Teacher's Reappraisal." Film & History 8.4 (1978): 66–69.
- Spector, Ronald H. "Teetering on the Brink of Respectability." Journal of American History 2007 93(4): 1158–1160. online Archived 2021-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
- Spiller, Roger. "Military History and its Fictions." Journal of Military History2006 70(4): 1081–1097. online
- Winter, Jay, and Antoine Prost. The Great War in History Debates and Controversies, 1914 to the Present (Cambridge UP, 2005) excerpt Archived 2021-08-04 at the Wayback Machine
- Wolters, Timothy S. "Harvey A. DeWeerd and the Dawn of Academic Military History in the United States." Journal of Military History (Jan 2021) 85#1 pp 95–133.
External links
- International Bibliography of Military History of the International Commission of Military History – from Brill.nl
- H-WAR, daily discussion group for military historians – from Michigan State University Department of History, H-Net Humanities & Social Sciences Online
- Web Sources for Military History – from AmericanHistoryProjects.com
- Military History Encyclopedia on the Web