Early modern warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive. It begins, in Europe and the Middle East, during the middle of the fifteenth century and lasts until the end of the eighteenth century. The history of warfare is the history of war and its evolution and development over time. ... Prehistoric warfare is war conducted in the era before writing, states and other such large social organizations. ... Ancient warfare is war as conducted from the beginnings of history to the end of the ancient period. ... Medieval warfare is the warfare of the European Middle Ages. ... Modern warfare is a complex affair, involving the widespread use of highly adavanced technology. ... Naval warfare is combat in and on seas and oceans. ... For the Boston area punk band see Siege (band). ... Trench warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of fortifications dug into the ground, facing each other. ... Distinguish from the type of ape called a gorilla. ... Aerial warfare is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of warfare. ... Armoured warfare in modern warfare is understood to be the use of armoured fighting vehicles as a central component of the methods of war. ... Maneuver warfare is a concept of warfare that advocates attempting to defeat an adversary by incapacitating their decision-making through shock and disruption. ... Attrition warfare is a strategic concept that to win a war, ones enemy must be worn down to the point of collapse by continuous losses in personnel and matériel. ... A typically white color clothes of a soldier trained for mountain warfare. ... Urban warfare is warfare conducted in populated urban areas such as towns and cities. ... Nuclear war, or atomic war, is war in which nuclear weapons are used. ... Space warfare is warfare that takes place in outer space. ... This is a list of lists of wars, sorted by country, date, region, and type of conflict. ... History -- Military history -- Lists of battles This is a partial list of battles that have entries in Wikipedia. ... The 1453 Siege of Constantinople (painted 1499) A siege is a prolonged military assault and blockade on a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. ... Gunpowder or black powder is a substance which burns very rapidly and is used as a propellant in firearms, specifically either black powder or smokeless powder. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

The current understanding of early modern warfare comes from the works of Michael Roberts who argued that a military revolution occurred in the sixteenth century that forever changed warfare, and society in general. Since he wrote in the 1950s his narrative has been augmented and challenged by other scholars. When exactly the revolution occurred is debated, and whether it was revolution or a slow transformation is also discussed. Michael Roberts (1908-1997) was a British historian specializing in the early modern period and particularly known for his studies of Swedish history. ...

Cannons

Gunpowder weapons had been used in China centuries before cannon appeared in Europe. They appeared in Europe in the late Middle Ages; however, for a long time European gunpowder weapons were large, unwieldy and difficult to deploy. As a result they were mainly used for attacking castles and other defences, a task that was equally well suited to undermining or non-explosive weapons. The development of siege cannon did have an important effect: it quickly made medieval castles obsolete. For several decades warfare greatly favoured the attacker, but soon new forms of fortification were developed. Fortresses with sloping walls, to deflect cannon shots, brought the siege back to being one of the central aspects of warfare during this era. What this necessitated was the rebuilding of fortresses across Europe, generally a vast expense. Small states and local aristocrats rarely had the money to build these defences, and these groups lost power in favour of the centralized governments. The once mighty city states of Italy became parts of the French or Holy Roman Empires, while the small states of Germany were forced in vassalage to a greater power or coalitions. A small cast-iron cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ... World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Alcázar of Segovia, Spain A castle (from the Latin castellum, diminutive of castra, a military camp, in turn the plural of castrum or watchpost), is a fort, a camp and the logical development of a fortified enclosure. ... Undermining (also known as Removal of the Guard) is a chess tactic in which a defensive piece is captured, leaving one of the opponents pieces undefended or underdefended. ... For the Boston area punk band see Siege (band). ... This page is about the Germanic empire. ...

Weaponry is often placed at the forefront of technological advancement and the invention of the arquebus soon began an arms race. The useful but still unwieldy weapon was refined and reduced in size through many rapid developments culminating in the smoothbore musket. These small, portable, personal weapons, which could fire projectiles over rapidly increasing distances with greater accuracy, heralded the growth of modern warfare. Japanese arquebus of the Edo era (teppo) The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus or hackbut) was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. ... An arms race is a competition between two or more countries for military supremacy. ... Smoothbore refers to a firearm which does not have a rifled barrel. ... muskets and bayonets aboard the frigate Grand Turk A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth-bore long gun. ... Modern warfare is a complex affair, involving the widespread use of highly adavanced technology. ...

Begin of polygonal fortifications

Model of city with polygonal fortifications

See Fortification ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2848x2136, 491 KB) Description: Göttingen, Stadtmuseum, model of city, ca. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2848x2136, 491 KB) Description: Göttingen, Stadtmuseum, model of city, ca. ... Nakhal Fort, one of the best-preserved forts in Oman. ...

Firearms

The power of aristocracies fell throughout Western Europe during this period. Their ancestral castles were no longer useful defences. Their role in war was also eroded as the Medieval cavalry lost its central role in warfare. The cavalry made up of the elite had been fading in importance in the late Middle Ages. The English longbow and the Swiss pike had both proven their ability to devastate larger armed forces. However the proper use of the longbow required a lifetime of training making it impossible to amass very large forces while the proper use of the pike required complex operations in formation and a great deal of fortitude and cohesion by the pikemen, again making amassing large forces impossible. A longbow is a type of bow that is tall (roughly equal to or greater than the height of a person), is not recurved, and has relatively thick limbs (2 inches at nock) circular or D shaped in cross section. ... A pike is a pole weapon once used extensively by infantry principally as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. ...

By contrast a soldier could be trained to use a firearm in a matter of weeks. Since the weapons themselves were extremely inaccurate any training in marksmanship was of no benefit. A firearm did not require the great physical strength of a bow or pike, but could devastate even heavily armoured cavalry forces. Since a firearm requires little training to operate, the order and respect maintained by mounted knights in Europe and their Eastern and southern equivalents could be undermined by a peasant with a gun. Plate armor is no match for a firearm. The arquebus was one of the first firearms that were relatively light (they still required a stand to balance them) and could be operated by one person. One of these weapons were first recorded as being used in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, which despite that was very much a medieval battle but the weapon had started to develop. While soldiers armed with firearms could inflict great damage on cavalry at a distance, at close range the cavalry could slaughter the gun armed infantry. For many years infantry weapons were a mix of firearms and pikes for defence. The invention of the bayonet allowed these two weapons to be combined into one making the firearmed infantry the vast bulk of all forces. Shooting is the act of causing a gun to fire at a target. ... Japanese arquebus of the Edo era (teppo) The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus or hackbut) was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. ... Some firearms A firearm is a kinetic energy mechanical device that fires either single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced by action of the rapid confined burning of a propellant. ... The Battle of Agincourt was fought on October 25, 1415, Saint Crispins Day, in northern France as part of the Hundred Years War. ... Events Friedrich I Hohenzollern (b. ... The US Marine Corps OKC-3S bayonet A bayonet is a knife- or dagger-shaped weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle of a rifle or similar weapon. ...

The rise of gunpowder reduced the importance of cavalry, but it remained occasionally effective into the eighteenth century and still preserved among officers for symbolic reasons and among scouting forces for the advantage of speed. However, the power formerly weilded by a cavalry focused army was at an end. For the first time in millennia the settled people of the agricultural regions could defeat the horse peoples of the steppe in open combat. The power of the Mongols was broken in Russia and, no longer threatened from the east, that region began to assert itself as a major force in European affairs. Never again would nomads from the east threaten to overrun Europe or the Middle East. A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (from Russian step) is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally reckoned as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ...

The one exception to this was the Ottoman Empire, founded by Turkish horsemen, but integrated with the organization of the Byzantine Empire and the technological achievements of the Arab Middle East. Arguably the world's greatest power for almost the entirety of the early modern period, the Ottoman's were some of the first to embrace gunpowder weapons and integrated them into their already formidable fighting abilities. Imperial motto Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (Ottoman Turkish for the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Bursa (1335 - 1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (Constantinople) (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

Unlike bows and arrows, muskets, the next development, were expensive and required significant infrastructure to produce. For the first time the industrial capacity (and wealth) of a nation became one of the central determinants of military success, conferring a significant advantage on the trading nations of Western Europe compared to more agricultural nations. Thus the agricultural nations were not able to raise armies capable of defending themselves, with more victories going to well-developed countries, leaving other often-conquered nations in the dust. A bow is a weapon that shoots arrows powered by the elasticity of the bow and/or the string. ...

This transformation in the armies of Europe had great social impact. J.F.C Fuller famously stated that "the musket made the infantryman and the infantryman made the democrat." The defence of the state now rested on the common man, not on the aristocrats, revolts by the underclass, that had been routinely been defeated in the Middle Ages, could now threaten the power of the state. The new armies, because of their vast expense, was also dependent on taxation and the commercial classes who also began to demand a greater role in society. The great commercial powers of the Dutch and English matched much larger states in military might.

As almost any man could be given a musket and with only minutes of instruction be able to be a soldier it made it far easier to have massive armies. The inaccuracy of the weapons necessitated large groups of massed soldiers. This led to a rapid swelling of the size of armies. For the first time huge masses of the population could enter combat, rather than just the highly skilled professionals. The drawing of men from across the nation into an organized corps helped breed national unity and patriotism, and during this period the modern notion of the nation state was born. These nationalistic sentiments reinforced the popular army as men enlisted due to patriotic fervour and loyalty to the crown, rather than for money or allegiance to a particular lord as before. This also made conflicts such as the Thirty Years War ones of unprecedented devastation. Eventually the levée en masse and conscription would become the defining paradigm of modern warfare. A nation-state is a specific form of state, which exists to provide a sovereign territory for a particular nation, and derives its legitimacy from that function. ... The victory of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Thirty Years War was a conflict fought between the years 1618 and 1648, principally in the central European territory of the Holy Roman Empire, but also involving most of the major continental powers. ... Levée en masse is a French term for mass conscription. ... Modern warfare is a complex affair, involving the widespread use of highly adavanced technology. ...

Nature of war

For the most part the wars were not particularly deadly by later standards. Armies were slow moving in an era before good roads and canals. Battles of maneuver were common with armies circling one another, often for months, with no direct conflict. By far the most common battles were sieges, hugely time-consuming and expensive affairs, but ones with only limited casualties. The indecisive nature of conflict meant wars were long and endemic. Conflicts stretched on for decades and many states spent more years at war than they did at peace. For the Boston area punk band see Siege (band). ...

The changes in warfare quickly made the mercenary forces of the Renaissance and Middle Ages obsolete. For a time mercenaries became important as trainers and administrators, but soon these tasks were also taken by the state. The massive size of these armies required a large supporting force of administrators. The newly centralized states were forced to set up vast organized bureaucracies to manage these armies, which some historians argue is the basis of the modern bureaucratic state. A mercenary is a soldier who fights, or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national or political considerations. ... By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance *French Renaissance *German Renaissance *English Renaissance The Renaissance, also known as Rinascimento (in Italian), was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ...

Outside of Europe

The early modern era of warfare is largely confined to Europe. This was also the time of the beginning of European exploration and colonial expansion and the lack of any significant intermediary period of early modern warfare proved decisive. Peoples in The Americas, Asia, and Africa fighting with medieval or even ancient warfare techniques were at a great disadvantage even if they were only a few years behind developments in Europe. Thus much of the world was annexed to European empires before early modern warfare could develop indigenously. In general, the word colonial means of or relating to a colony. In United States history, the term Colonial is used to refer to the period before US independence. ... The Americas (sometimes referred to as America) is the area including the land mass located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, generally divided into North America and South America. ... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent and second most populous after Asia. ...

In areas not under European control early modern warfare did not develop for other reasons. As previously mentioned gunpowder and related technologies had been developed centuries earlier, and military engineers in China had developed more potent weapons than anywhere else in the world. The immense social impact of these weapons could have was noted by many. In Europe attempts were made to suppress this progress, for a time the use of firearms was considered a war crime, and any captured fusilier was immediately put to death. In Europe it was impossible to enforce these rules, competition between the powers was far too intense and any state that failed to embrace new technologies would be wiped off the map. China faced no such mortal threats, its enemies were far smaller and poorer and had long been dispatched with conventional forces. The Chinese government thus systematically suppressed the development of early modern weapons systems. In Japan the pattern was somewhat different. Soon after European contact firearms were adopted in the nation and an era of early modern warfare followed for several decades. Once the islands were unified the government launched an unprecedented effort to "turn back the clock" and banned all firearms. For several centuries Japanese warfare remained Medieval and the society feudal. A war crime is a punishable offense, under international (criminal) law, for violations of the law of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ...

At the beginning of the early modern period the most powerful state in the world was arguably the Ottoman Empire. The empire had been one of the first states to effectively embrace gunpowder weapons and used them to great effect conquering much of the Middle East, North Africa, and the Balkans. In the seventeenth century the state began to stagnate as more modern technologies and strategies were not adopted. In part this was because the military elite had become a powerful force in the empire and change threatened their positions. The empire also faced few threats from more advanced enemies, its long time rivals in Persia and Russia had few modern weapons. Imperial motto Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (Ottoman Turkish for the Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Bursa (1335 - 1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (Constantinople) (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... North Africa is a region generally considered to include: Algeria Egypt Libya Mauritania Morocco Sudan Tunisia Western Sahara The Azores, Canary Islands, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Madeira are sometimes considered to be a part of North Africa. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ... The Persian Empire is the name used to refer to a number of historic dynasties that have ruled the country of Persia (Iran). ...

Naval warfare

The spread of European power around the world was closely tied to naval developments in this period. The caravel for the first time made unruly seas like the Atlantic open to exploration, trade, and military activities. While in all previous eras, European navies had been largely confined to operations in coastal waters, and were generally used in a support role to land based forces, this changed with the new vessels and the increasing importance of international waterborne trade. The new caravels were large enough and powerful enough to be armed with cannons with which they could bombard both the shore and other vessels. A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable, three-masted ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish for long voyages of exploration beginning in the 15th century. ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one_fifth of its surface. ...

Navies, like muskets, were also very expensive. As nations became increasingly dependent of taxes, rather than feudal obligations, to fight wars, European society saw a transformation as the feudal aristocracy declined in power and influence and the middle class of merchants and professionals grew in power. This led to events such as the English Civil War and the French Revolution as the newly powerful bourgeoisie demanded political power to match their economic contributions. The term English Civil War (or Wars) refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. ... During the French Revolution (1789-1799) democracy and republicanism overthrew the absolute monarchy in France, and the French portion of the Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo radical restructuring. ...

See also

• Early Modern period

The early modern period is a term used by historians to refer to the period in Western Europe and its first colonies, between the Middle Ages and modern society. ...

References

• Keegan, John. The face of battle : a study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme. London : Barrie & Jenkins, 1988.
• Paret, Peter. Gordon A. Craig. Felix Gilbert. ed. Makers of modern strategy : from Machiavelli to the nuclear age. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1986.
• Townsend, Charles. The Oxford History of Modern War Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.