65 67 70 The 19th Century The American Civil War World Wars World War I Trench Warfare Interwar Period World War II 70 72 74 75 79 CHAPTER 5 ARMED CONFLICT SINCE 1945 Korean War Vietnam War 79 81 Guerrilla warfare 82 Persian Gulf War Afghanistan War Iraq War 84 85 87 90 90 92 94 CHAPTER 6 NOTABLE ARMIES OF THE MODERN AGE China Cyberwar Egypt Iran Israel North Korea The Soviet Union and Russia 95 97 99 100 103 104 111 CHAPTER 7 THE UNITED STATES ARMY Organization Arms and Divisions The Division Special Forces Delta Force U S Central Command 113 114 116 117 118 118 CHAPTER 8 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY The American Army in the 19th Century The American Army During the World Wars The Korean and Vietnam Wars 120 122
125 125 The Persian Gulf War Don't Ask Don't Tell The Afghanistan War The Iraq War Women in Combat 127 128 130 132 133 CONCLUSION GLOSSARY FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR FURTHER READING 136 140 INDEX HER 141
Ancient Greek armor from Magna Graecia exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art A bronze helmet cuirass body armor and two bronze shin guards can be seen on display along side horse armor Universal Images Group Getty Images A
INTRODUCTION rmies large organized forces armed and trained for war espe cially on land have existed in one form or another for millennia Armies have been made up of professionals or amateurs of mercenaries fighting for pay or for plunder or of patriots fighting for a cause Today most countries have a standing army that is often the largest and oldest branch of the military The following pages chronicle the develop ment of armies around the world examining how they have become the formidable forces they are today At various times armies have been built around infantry soldiers or mounted warriors or men in machines More than 5 000 years ago in the wars between civilizations of the Middle East foot soldiers were the main com batants This changed during the Middle Ages when soldiers were mainly mounted warriors Nearly all the great armies of the period were dominated by cavalry including the Christian knights of Europe the armies of Islam and the hordes of Mongol warriors from East Asia The resurgence of the toot soldier came with the introduction of gunpowder into war fare one of the most decisive changes towarfare and to the organization of armies The differ ence gunpowder made may be best summed up
