The following

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is provided as an overview of and topical guide to military science:

Military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mil ...

– study of the

technique Technique or techniques may refer to: Music * The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s *Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s * ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989 * ''Techniques'' (album), by M ...

, psychology, practice and other phenomena which constitute war and armed conflict. It strives to be a scientific system that if properly employed, will greatly enhance the practitioner's ability to prevail in an armed conflict with any adversary. To this end, it is unconcerned whether that adversary is an opposing military force, guerrillas or other irregulars, or any adversary who knows of or utilizes military science in response.

Topics within military science

Military organization Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation ...

Military education and training Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...

Military history Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians norma ...

* Military geography * Military technology and equipment *

Military strategy Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek word '' strategos'', the term strategy, when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow s ...

and doctrine * Intelligence cycle management *

Foreign policy analysis Foreign policy analysis (FPA) is a branch of political science dealing with theory development and empirical study regarding the processes and outcomes of foreign policy. FPA is the study of the management of external relations and activities of ...

* Diplomacy

Types of military technology

Weapon *

Armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

– protective clothing intended to defend its wearer from intentional harm in combat and military engagements, typically associated with soldiers * Artillery – large caliber weapons firing projectiles one at a time. Artillery pieces are crew serviced weapons that provide direct or indirect trajectories for the shell ** Medieval siege weaponry * Fortifications – military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare– *

Martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

– also known as ''fighting systems'', martial arts are bodies of codified practices or traditions of training for unarmed and armed combat, usually without the use of guns and other modern weapons– * Mêlée – hand-to-hand combat or mano-a-mano; weapons commonly used in mêlée include swords, clubs, spears, axes, or fists: almost any tool with which one can hit someone else * Military vehicles – are land combat or transportation vehicles, excluding rail-based, which are designed for or in significant use by military forces ** Armoured fighting vehicle **

Armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

** Tank *

Military aviation Military aviation comprises military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift ( air cargo) capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a war the ...

and military aircraft – ''Military aviation'' include such areas as transport, bombing, surveillance, and aerial warfare *

Military communications Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Military communications span from pre-history to the present. The earliest military communications were delivered b ...

– the transmission medium that links military components on the battlefield ** Communications ** Military engineer * Military robots – autonomous or remote-controlled devices designed for military applications ** Unmanned Ground Vehicles ** Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles **

Unmanned Undersea Vehicle An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot that travels underwater without requiring input from an operator. AUVs constitute part of a larger group of undersea systems known as unmanned underwater vehicles, a classification that includes ...

s * Military thought and planning – military tactics, strategy, and doctrine **

Military doctrine Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, rather than being hard and fast rules. Doctrine provides a common frame of reference across ...

– level of military planning between national strategy and unit-level **

– collective name for planning the conduct of warfare **

Military tactics Military tactics encompasses the art of organizing and employing fighting forces on or near the battlefield. They involve the application of four battlefield functions which are closely related – kinetic or firepower, Mobility (military), mobil ...

– collective name for methods of engaging and defeating an enemy in battle *

Military unit Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation' ...

– an organization within an armed force. It may consist of any number of soldiers, ships, vehicles, or aircraft. Armies, navies, and air forces, are organised hierarchically into groups of various sizes for functional, tactical and administrative purposes ** Military rank ** Comparative military ranks *

Munition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...

s – often defined as a synonym for

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

. A slightly broader definition would include

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

s, missiles, warheads, and mines **

Bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...

** Missile **

Bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

**Mine *** Landmine *** Naval mine *

Naval warfare Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...

– combat in and on seas and oceans ** Navy ** Naval ship **

Submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

Small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

and

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s – a ''firearm'' is a kinetic energy weapon that fires either a single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced by action of the rapid confined burning of a propellant

Military by region

* List of militaries by country **

List of air forces This alphabetically arranged list of air forces identifies the current and historical names and roundels for the military aviation arms of countries fielding an air component, whether an independent air forces, a naval aviation, or army aviation ...

List of armies by country This is a list of Armies of the List of sovereign states, countries of the World. List of armies by country See also * List of militaries by country * List of navies * List of air forces * List of space forces * List of marines and naval ...

** List of navies ** List of military special forces units *

List of countries by military expenditures This is a list of countries by military expenditure in a given year. Military expenditure figures are presented in United States dollars based on either constant or current exchange rates. Military expenditure, total ; Stockholm International P ...

* List of countries by number of active troops *

List of countries by size of armed forces This is a list of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel. It includes any government-sponsored soldiers used to further the domestic and foreign policies of their respective government. The term "country" is used in its most ...

* List of countries without an army

History of military science and technology

By historical period

Prehistoric warfare Prehistoric warfare refers to war that occurred between societies without recorded history. The existence — and even the definition — of war in humanity's hypothetical state of nature has been a controversial topic in the history of ideas at ...

* Ancient warfare * Medieval warfare * Gunpowder warfare *

Industrial warfare Industrial warfare is a period in the history of warfare ranging roughly from the early 19th century and the start of the Industrial Revolution to the beginning of the Atomic Age, which saw the rise of nation-states, capable of creating and equi ...

* Total war *

Irregular warfare Irregular warfare (IW) is defined in United States joint doctrine as "a violent struggle among state and non-state actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations." Concepts associated with irregular warfare are older than the te ...

* Modern warfare

By battlespace

Air power history Air power history is the branch of military history that analyses and chronicles the activities of air forces as well as the other organisations, including the air branches of armies and navies, that undertake military aviation. It is essential k ...

** History of aerial warfare * Army history ** History of land warfare * History of information warfare **

History of espionage Spying, as well as other intelligence assessment, has existed since ancient times. In the 1980s scholars characterized foreign intelligence as "the missing dimension" of historical scholarship." Since then a largely popular and scholarly literatur ...

***

Nuclear espionage Nuclear espionage is the purposeful giving of state secrets regarding nuclear weapons to other states without authorization (espionage). There have been many cases of known nuclear espionage throughout the history of nuclear weapons and many case ...

**** Atomic spies *** History of surveillance * Naval history ** History of naval warfare * History of space warfare

By terrain

* History of arctic warfare * History of cyber-warfare * History of desert warfare * History of jungle warfare * History of mountain warfare * History of urban warfare

By weapon technology

* History of armoured warfare *

History of artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

History of biological warfare ''Before the 20th century'', the use of biological agents took three major forms: * Deliberate contamination of food and water with poisonous or contagious material * Use of microbes, biological toxins, animals, or plants (living or dead) in a w ...

* History of cavalry * History of chemical warfare * History of electronic warfare *

History of infantry Although the term ''infantry'' dates from the 15th century, the foot troops of the previous eras in history who fought with a variety of weapons before the introduction of the firearms are also referred to as infantry. During the Ancient and Midd ...

* History of mechanized warfare * History of sea-based and land-based mine warfare * History of nuclear warfare ** History of nuclear weapons * History of psychological warfare * History of radiological warfare * History of ski warfare * History of submarine warfare

History of military tactics

* History of amphibious warfare * History of asymmetric warfare * History of attrition warfare * History of cavalry tactics * History of conventional warfare *

History of fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

History of guerrilla warfare The history of guerrilla warfare stretches back to ancient history. While guerrilla tactics can be viewed as a natural continuation of prehistoric warfare, the Chinese general and strategist Sun Tzu, in his ''The Art of War'' (6th century BCE), was ...

* History of hand to hand combat * History of invasion * History of joint warfare * History of maneuver warfare * Siege warfare * Total warfare * Trench warfare * History of unconventional warfare

History of military strategy

* History of economic warfare * History of grand strategy * History of operational warfare

General military science and technology concepts

* Aircraft ** Bomber **

Fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

Aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

Air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...

* Basic training * Battlespace *

Defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

* Draft * Exchange officer *

Maginot line The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...

* Militaria * Military Aid to the Civil Power *

Military Aid to the Civil Community Military aid to the civil community (MACC) is a phrase referring to the armed forces providing a service to the civilian community. It is used in many countries, particularly the United Kingdom. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, military aid t ...

* Military academy * Military courtesy *

Military fiat Military fiat is a process whereby a decision is made and enforced by military means without the participation of other political elements. The Latin term ''fiat'', translated as "let it be," suggests the autocratic attitude ascribed to such a proce ...

* Military incompetence *

Military logistics Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement, supply, and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with: * Design, development, acqui ...

Junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

Military rule (disambiguation) Military rule may mean: * Military justice, the legal system applying to members of the armed forces * Martial law, where military authority takes over normal administration of law * Militarism or militarist ideology, the ideology of government as b ...

* Military technology and equipment * Mutually assured destruction (MAD) * Napalm * Nuclear missile **

SLBM A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from Ballistic missile submarine, submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of whic ...

ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

** MIRV ** Tactical nuclear weapon * Radar * Recruiting * Sonar * Strategic Bombing * Troop density * War crime ( list) **

Crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

** Genocide **

Mass murder Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more pe ...

** War rape

Influential military strategists

Following are examples from throughout history of prominently influential military strategists: *

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

* Sun Tzu – Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher during the Zhou dynasty's Spring and Autumn Period. He is traditionally credited as the author of ''The Art of War'', an extremely influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy. * Sun Bin * Chanakya * Alexander the Great *

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an empi ...

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

* Qin Shi Huang *

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (; BC – 12 BC) was a Roman general, statesman, and architect who was a close friend, son-in-law, and lieutenant to the Roman emperor Augustus. He was responsible for the construction of some of the most notable buildi ...

* Zhuge Liang *

Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career in ...

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...

* Frederick the Great *

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

* Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington * Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher * Antoine-Henri Jomini *

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. Before the war, Forrest amassed substantial wealt ...

* Carl von Clausewitz – German-Prussian soldier and military theorist who stressed the psychological and political aspects of war. His ideas have been widely influential in military theory and have had a strong influence on German military thought specifically. *

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

* William Tecumseh Sherman *

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder Helmuth is both a masculine German given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name; *Helmuth Theodor Bossert (1889–1961), German art historian, philologist and archaeologist *Helmuth Duckadam (born 1959), Romanian forme ...

Alfred von Schlieffen Graf Alfred von Schlieffen, generally called Count Schlieffen (; 28 February 1833 – 4 January 1913) was a German field marshal and strategist who served as chief of the Imperial German General Staff from 1891 to 1906. His name lived on in the ...

* Hans Delbrück * Alfred Thayer Mahan * Ferdinand Foch * Giulio Douhet * Billy Mitchell *

J. F. C. Fuller Major-General John Frederick Charles "Boney" Fuller (1 September 1878 – 10 February 1966) was a senior British Army officer, military historian, and strategist, known as an early theorist of modern armoured warfare, including categorising pr ...

B. H. Liddell Hart Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart (31 October 1895 – 29 January 1970), commonly known throughout most of his career as Captain B. H. Liddell Hart, was a British soldier, military historian and military theorist. He wrote a series of military histor ...

* Hans von Seeckt * Heinz Guderian *

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, (23 July 1883 – 17 June 1963), was a senior officer of the British Army. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, during the Se ...

Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and ...

* George Marshall *

Dean Acheson Dean Gooderham Acheson (pronounced ; April 11, 1893October 12, 1971) was an American statesman and lawyer. As the 51st U.S. Secretary of State, he set the foreign policy of the Harry S. Truman administration from 1949 to 1953. He was also Truman ...

Military science and technology lists

* List of countries by number of active troops *

* List of countries without an army *

* List of navies * List of armies * List of battles

External links

Collection of military handbooks etc. (archived)
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