Military History Flashcards
Name the 9 factors that cause constant change in the nature of warfare.
- Resources/Economic Muscle
- Technology
- Leadership
- Strategy, Doctrine and Tactics
- Composition of Armies
- Organisation/Logistics
- Morale/Will to Win
- Ideology and Culture
- Public Backing/Support
Explain Resources/Economic Muscle.
fundamental in determining the nature of the war. it influences:
- the size of the armies
- duration of the war
- the kinds of weapons and equipment they can produce
Explain Technology.
it depends on the level of economic development of the combatants. it determines:
- the kinds of weapons which can be used (military technology)
- the way the war is waged
- the nature of the fighting
it can be decisive in who wins or loses, but it need not be a critical factor - other factors may be more important.
Explain Leadership.
can have a massive impact on the nature of the war. can be important because:
- political leaders set the broad political objectives
- generals develop and apply strategy to achieve the goals at operational level
- middle ranking commanders operate at the tactical level
- all of these affect the ordinary soldiers and the nature of the conflict
many see leadership as the key factor in determining victory - economic power and technology have to be used correctly. it is more than just the ideas and decisions of the top commanders.
Explain Strategy, Doctrine and Tactics.
strategy - the overall plan for the war, devised by political and military leaders
doctrine - preconceived definite ideas about what the war will be like and how to fight it, this will affect the nature of the war itself
tactics - the actual method of fighting
this is decisive and allied to leadership.
Explain Composition of Armies.
armies can be:
- professional: made up of volunteers who join for a career and will have a certain level of expertise
- part time: territorial or militia who are drafted in the even of war and have level of expertise
- conscript: forcibly drafted before or during the conflict with no level of expertise
- volunteers: during the conflict for patriotic reasons, no level of expertise but have enthusiasm
the exact mixture of armies can have an impact on how the fighting is conducted. professional armies are considered superior and more likely to bring victory.
Explain Organisation/Logistics.
logistics - the art of supplying armies with weapons, food, etc and can be vital to how it fights.
if both are inadequate in one army, then it is likely to be defeated - a well organised and supplied force has a massive advantage.
Explain Morale/Will to Win.
can have a big impact on the way the war is fought and its duration. it is the motivation soldiers have to actually fight (risk their lives) and win.
- if one side has it, the war can be short and one-sided.
- if both sides have it, the war can be prolonged, bloody and intense.
- if neither side has it, the war can be prolonged and indecisive.
Explain Ideology and Culture.
related to morale and will to win. can give one side an advantage if its soldiers are more willing to make sacrifices, but cannot overcome great disparities in wealth.
Explain Public Backing/Support.
the attitude of the general public can have an impact on the scale, intensity and duration of the conflict. this factor only applies in western democratic societies with a well-developed public opinion, in other societies public opinion can be ignored or manipulated by propaganda.
What is the one constant in all wars?
all wars involve people. what changes is the duration, intensity, rules, outcomes, etc of the war.
no one factor is absolute in determining the nature and outcome of a war.
Describe Ancient Warfare.
war as conducted from the beginnings of recorded history to the end of the ancient period. mass infantry (foot soldiers) was used with bows and spears.
infantry would be divided into ranged (grouped in one place) and shock (spread out). this changed with chariots and cavalry, and artillery beginning to play an active role on the field.
Describe Medieval Warfare.
warfare of the middle ages. no clear line between ancient and medieval warfare. changed with the introduction of cavalry, naval warfare, and the development of metal weapons.
Describe Gunpowder Warfare.
gunpowder first developed in song dynasty china. brought an end to the dominance of armoured cavalry on the battlefield. significant developments that included more mobile field artillery, transition from infantry drill in close order to open order formations.
Describe Industrial Warfare.
warfare ranging from the start of the industrial revolution to the beginning of atomic age. featured mass-conscripted armies, rapid transportation, telegraph and wireless communications, and the concept of total war. technological advances became increasingly important, possession of a more advanced technology played a decisive role in the outcome.
Describe Modern Warfare.
concepts, methods, and technologies that have come into use during and after wwii and the korean war. has been the inclusion of civilians and civilian infrastructure as targets.
Define ‘nation state’.
a state that identifies as deriving its political legitimacy from serving as a sovereign entity for a nation as a sovereign territorial unit
Explain ‘nation’.
a cultural and ethnic entity
Explain ‘state’.
a political and geopolitical entity
How does the concept of ‘nation state’ lead to conflict?
when political boundaries do not correspond with ethnic or cultural boundaries
Explain how the military conflict led to city population growth.
the consequences of military conflict were more destructive in the countryside, leading rural inhabitants to relocate behind the relative safety of city walls
Explain how city population growth led to technological change.
? military conflict affected the location of manufacturing activities, and unlike farming manufacturing was not strictly bound to the land
Explain how city population growth led to human capital accumulation.
? demand for new and better technologies created demand for better skilled workers
Give an explanation of industrial revolution.
the transition to new manufacturing processes, this transition included going from hand production methods to machines
