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It differs somewhat from the history of war with military history focusing on the people and institutions of warmaking while the history of war focuses on the evolution of war itself in the face of changing technology, governments, and geography.

1 Purpose of military history

Military history has a number of purposes. One main purpose is to learn to fight and prevent wars more effectively. Another is to create a sense of tradition which is used to create cohesive military forces.

2 Types of warfare

There are a number of ways to categorize warfare. One categorization is conventional versus unconventional, where "Conventional" warfare involves well-identified, armed forces fighting one another in a relatively open and straightforward way without weapons of mass destruction. "Unconventional" refers to other types of war which can involve raiding, guerrilla, insurgency, and terrorist tactics or alternatively can include nuclear, chemical, or biological warfare.

See also: asymmetrical warfare.

3 Military unit types by era

3.1 Antiquity

• Infantry
• Cavalry
  • Cataphract
  • Horse archer
• Chariotry
• Archery
• Slingman
• HopliteWarfare in Hellenic Greece centered mainly around heavy infantrymen called hoplites . These were a citizen- militia, and so were armed as spearmen, which are relatively easy to equip and maintain; mainly they represented the middle class, who could afford
• Macedonian phalanxThe Macedonian phalanx is an infantry formation developed by Philip II and used by his son Alexander the Great to conquer the Persian empire. Phalanxes remained dominant on battlefields throughout the Hellenistic period, although wars had evolved into mor
• Roman legionSee also Legion software and Legion forummer. The Roman legion (from the Latin legio meaning levy) was the basic military unit of ancient Rome. It consisted of about 5,000 to 6,000 (later 8,000) infantry soldiers and several hundred cavalrymen. Legions we
  • Marius' armyGaius Marius ( Latin: C·MARIVS·C·F·C·N) ( 157 January 13, 86 BC) was a Roman general and politician. Importance of Gaius Marius The career of Gaius Marius illustrates a number of the trends that would lead to the fall of the Republic. He was a novus homo
  • auxiliaries
  • HastatiThe Hastati (sing. Hastatus were the first main battle line of the Roman Army during the Roman Republic, and were typically made up of younger men. The Hastati were armed with 4 foot spears with 9 inch tips, called Pila (sing. Pilum), along with the stand
  • PrincipesThe principes formed the second line of battle in the Republican Roman Army. They were experienced soldiers, positioned behind the hastati and in front of the triarii. Like all soldiers of the Roman Republican Army, they wore what armor they could afford.
  • TriariiThe Triarii was the third standard line of infantry of the Roman Empire's army. Its name is derived from the prefix "tri" (three). When suffering defeat, the first and second lines, the Hastati and Principes, fell back on the Triarii to attempt to reform
  • Velites
• Greek fire