Army

V

Other Armies

In 2002 the Indian and Pakistan armies, which are both made up of volunteers only, numbered 1,100,000 and 550,000 personnel respectively. In the same year, the Egyptian army, which conscripts men between the ages of 18 and 30 for up to 36 months of military service, numbered about 320,000, and the Indonesian army comprised about 230,000 personnel. Also in 2002, the Israeli army numbered some 125,000, including 114,700 conscripts, and an additional 365,000 in the reserve forces. Men and women are inducted into the Israeli armed forces at age 18; men serve for a period of 36 months; women serve for 21 months.

VI

Rise of Ancient Armies

In prehistoric and early historic times, armies as such did not exist; armed forces consisted of groups engaged sporadically in combat for the purpose of defending or acquiring land desired for hunting or pasture. The rise of permanent settlements, however, in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley and along the River Nile was paralleled by the employment of citizen-soldiers to protect them.

A

Ancient Middle East

In Mesopotamia standing armies using spears and bows were created as early as 3200 bc, and in about 2500 bc warfare was revolutionized with the introduction of chariots drawn by donkeys and horses. In Egypt in the 2nd century bc, Senusret I maintained a regular army—well equipped, disciplined, and salaried. He divided his kingdom into 36 military provinces, established a national militia, allocated land for the support of the military, and used this army both offensively and defensively. In the mid-6th century bc, the Persians, under Cyrus the Great, refined the concept of the standing army by promoting the deployment of both infantry and cavalry and establishing a system of discipline.

B

Greece

The Greek city-states maintained bodies of militia capable of being united into one great army. The superior organization and strict discipline of these citizen-soldiers, or hoplites, helped achieve the great victories won at such battles as Marathon and Plataea during the Persian Wars of the 5th century bc.

In the mid-6th century bc, the Spartans introduced the concept of the phalanx, the first important tactical formation. Primarily defensive in its original form, it consisted of eight rows of heavily armoured spearmen standing shoulder to shoulder in rectangular ranks with overlapping shields. Although capable of withstanding cavalry charges, it was slow in attack and awkward in traversing difficult terrain. In contrast, the Athenians developed the use of cavalry to provide a cover in front of the army and to harass the enemy’s rear.

In the 4th century bc, Philip II of Macedonia established a large standing army in which he added cavalry forces to the phalanx and introduced the use of the long pike. His son, Alexander the Great, who destroyed the Persian Empire, organized the first army supply system and established light infantry as a link between phalanx and cavalry. The use of archers, light catapults, siege engines, a tactical smoke- and sound-signal system, and a medical service were important contributions to a more sophisticated army organization.

C

Rome

The genius of the Carthaginian general Hannibal enabled his army to cross the Alps from France into Italy by means of masterly feats of logistics. In his march on Rome during the Second Punic War, Hannibal transported 30,000 men, horses, and elephants, and inflicted a stunning defeat on the Romans at the Battle of Cannae in 216 bc by enveloping and destroying their army.

By about 200 bc, Rome had instituted for the first time a conscription of all men between 17 and 46 years of age. A rigid physical training programme for those selected in early childhood to become soldiers ensured a superior state of readiness, especially for men chosen to serve in the legions. The campaigns of these celebrated units of foot soldiers and cavalry—organized in three lines of small phalanxes called maniples or cohorts—were expedited by the great Roman military engineering skills that provided the necessary roads, bridges, and forts.

The relaxation of army discipline and the drafting of slaves and criminals into the service, together with problems caused by incursions of Teutonic tribes and by internal social dissent, necessitated far-reaching military reforms, which were achieved under the consul Gaius Marius. In 104 bc wealthy and part-time soldiers were replaced by a professional army, recruited for a 20-year period. The manoeuvrability of the legions was balanced by a system of fixed fortifications, which were the key defences of the far-flung Roman provinces.