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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: infantry

Infantry, body of soldiers who fight in an army on foot and are equipped with hand-carried weapons, in contradistinction originally to cavalry and other branches of an army. Infantry has often been divided into heavy infantry, which used to wear armor and now fights with tanks, and light infantry, which used to include skirmishers, slingers, and bowmen and now includes commandos and troops with only light tanks. In ancient wars, infantry was armed with swords, spears, slings, and bows. Around 2500 B.C. the armies of the city-states of Ur and Lagash in Mesopotamia fought in formation with shield walls and protruding longspears. The Greek phalanx was the dominant infantry formation in the West from c.500 B.C. until the ascendancy of the more flexible Roman legion. In China, where the crossbow (see bow and arrow) was widely used, more flexible formations and deception were emphasized (see Sun Tzu) along with fortifications such as the Great Wall. Infantry declined as the major fighting force in Eurasia after the 4th cent. when cavalry became dominant, but in the Americas the infantry dominated until the horse was introduced by the Spanish conquistadors. After the middle of the 14th cent., when firearms were first used, the infantry, armed with muskets and rifles, became dominant. Before the advent of automatic weapons at the end of the 19th cent., infantry fought in massed formations; in the Boer War and in World War I the mass formation gave way to trench warfare. See army; strategy and tactics; warfare.

See J. Keegan and R. Holmes, Soldiers (1980).

Wikipedia search results for: Infantry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms they are the backbone of armies. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on discipline, fitness, physical strength and aggression. Infantrymen are distinguished from soldiers trained to fight on horseback, in tanks, or in technical roles such as armourers or signallers, but basic infantry skills are fundamental to the training of any soldier, and...more »

Columbia Encyclopedia search results: infantry

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Fort Benning
Fort Benning, U.S. army post, 189,000 acres (76,500 hectares), W Ga., S of Columbus; est. 1918. One of the largest army posts in the United States, it is the nation's largest infantry training...
Lost Battalion
Lost Battalion, in World War I, popular name given to those American units of the 77th Division—six companies of the 1st and 2d battalions of the 308th Infantry, one company of the 307th Infan...
hoplite
Hoplite, heavy infantry soldier in the armies of classical Greece. Hoplites were usually protected by helmets, cuirasses, and leg armor. They carried large shields, javelins, heavy swords, and...
bazooka
Bazooka, in warfare, portable, lightweight metal tube from which rockets are launched, usually operated by two men. It is used by infantry as an antitank weapon and also for attacking pillboxe...
recoilless rifle
Recoilless rifle, light artillery piece, without recoil, usually operated by two men. An American invention, it was used as an infantry weapon for attacking fortifications such as pillboxes an...
Frundsberg, Georg von
Frundsberg, Georg von, 1473–1528, German commander in the service of Holy Roman emperors Maximilian I and Charles V. He was the principal organizer and commander of the imperial Landsknechte, ...
buffalo soldiers
Buffalo soldiers, name given to the African-American U.S. army regiments commissioned by Congress to patrol the American West after the Civil War. Consisting of two infantry and two cavalry re...
mortar, in warfare
Mortar, in warfare, term originally applied to certain types of artillery with high trajectories, but later applied to an infantry weapon that consists of a tube supported by a bipod that fire...
Black Watch
Black Watch or Royal Highland Regiment, Scottish infantry regiment. The first companies were raised in 1725 to watch the rebellious Scottish highlands and keep the peace, and the regiment was ...
Gibson, Randall Lee
Gibson, Randall Lee, 1832–92, Confederate general and U.S. legislator, b. Woodford co., Ky. Gibson served in most of the Western campaigns of the Civil War, first as an artillery officer and l...

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