History of War

Whether fought over resources, land or ideological differences, wars have shaped and reshaped the map of the planet, creating or destroying entire nations. Military history reaches as far back as human memory, with nearly every recorded civilization engaging in armed struggles and some in a state of constant warfare. Early civilizations were established and maintained primarily with military power: Egypt, Rome, Athens, Sparta and the Persian Empire, for example, all rose and fell on the strength of their armies. Modern warfare is characterized by technological innovations from machine guns to nuclear bombs, capable of inflicting damage on a large scale.

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Did You Know?

Many military leaders have drawn inspiration from "The Art of War," an ancient Chinese text by Sun Tzu. It begins with the following lines: “The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.”

Warriors and Generals

Immortalized in legends, textbooks and films, warriors and generals who led their nations into battle are an integral part of military history. Ancient literature recounts the stories of legendary warriors like Achilles, Hector and Aeneas, while many rulers of antiquity, including Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, served as commanders on the front lines. More recent conflicts have typically been fought by professional armies and supervised by generals with formal military training. During the American Civil War, for instance, nearly 900 graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point served in the Union or Confederate army, nearly half of them as generals, including Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. Victorious military commanders have often gone on to successful political careers, including George Washington, who led the Continental Army during the American Revolution before becoming the new nation’s first president, and Charles de Gaulle, who served in both world wars before founding the French Fifth Republic.

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Weapons of War

From primitive spears to cutting-edge smart bombs, humans have been developing increasingly sophisticated weapons throughout history. During the Neolithic era, primitive tools gave rise to the first daggers and swords; by the dawn of antiquity, ancient civilizations had begun using warships, chariots, catapults, battering rams and other technologies designed for battle. The invention of gunpowder—believed to have occurred in China in the ninth century A.D.—transformed warfare, paving the way for lethal weapons such as guns, rockets and cannons. Among modern military conflicts, the American Civil War, which took place at the height of the Industrial Revolution, ushered in numerous innovations, including the repeating rifle and the Minié ball; the advent of widespread railroads around this time allowed for the large-scale movement of troops. During World War I, machine guns, tanks and chemical weapons were unleashed on the battlefields of Europe. Three decades later, World War II witnessed the birth of the atomic bomb, which marked the beginning of the nuclear age. In recent years, keeping casualties to a minimum through targeted weapons and unmanned aircraft has become an important goal of many combat missions.

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Women and War

Often triggering eras of social upheaval, wars have indirectly opened up opportunities for marginalized groups, including women. Although many nations still bar them from participating in combat duties, women have served their countries during numerous major conflicts, both behind the front lines and in active warzones. Women such as Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton faced the horrors of war to treat wounded soldiers, and in doing so established nursing as a profession. During the American Civil War, some 20,000 women worked for the Union Army as laundresses, cooks and nurses. During World War II, 350,000 American women joined the war effort at home and abroad in more than 200 different non-combatant positions, changing perceptions about their place in the workforce. Women in the Soviet Union took an even more active role in World War II, serving as combat soldiers, aviators and guerilla fighters. Today there are more than 400,000 women in the U.S. Armed Forces, and in 2008 Ann Elizabeth Dunwoody became the first woman to achieve the U.S. Army rank of four-star general.

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Major Wars

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