History 202 Notebook

What were camp followers in early modern Europe?

Noncombatants, often women and children, who lived with armies on the march and in garrisons, undertaking constant labor such as cooking, laundering, and providing sex work

What is foraging in the context of military history?

The practice where armies extracted resources, especially food and housing, from local populations when the state lacked the capacity to supply them

What were "military enterprisers" in Europe between 1500-1650?

Large-scale mercenary contractors who formed significant portions of most European armies during this era

What was the levee en masse?

Reserving the entire manpower pool and all the resources of the state for use in war

What is industrialization?

Change in the production of goods that substituted mechanical power for human/animal energy

What is a rifle?

Firearm with grooved barrels that spin projectiles.

What was the Prussian General Staff system?

A permanent, dedicated planning and operational staff for the military

What was the "cult of the offensive" in the lead-up to World War I?

A persistent belief among European military planners that courage, aggressiveness in battle, and strategic offense were key to winning a war quickly, despite the advancements in firepower.

What was "no man's land" in the context of World War I trench warfare?

The area of ground between the front lines of opposing trench systems on the Western Front during World War I.

What is military doctrine?

A set of fundamental principles by which military forces guide their actions

What is Blitzkrieg?

A German tactical doctrine developed in the interwar period that involved the concentrated use of armor formations and close air support to break enemy lines and encircle large formations (kesselschlacht).

What is close air support?

Use of combat aircraft to directly attack enemy forces in support of ground troops.

What was "kesselschlact" (kettle battle)?

Operational goal of Blitzkrieg that sought to encircle and destroy large enemy formations.

What is strategic bombing?

The use of airpower to attack enemy military and economic resources beyond the immediate battlefield.

What is irregular warfare?

Techniques used to offset major power imbalance between forces

What was Mao Zedong's population-centric approach to warfare?

An approach that offsets material disadvantage against stronger power

What was the "cutting-off way of war" used by Eastern Woodlands peoples of North America?

A tactic to surround and defeat a much smaller opposing force or village

What was a "nerge" (nehr-guh) in the context of steppe military tactics?

A hunting tactic used by steppe nomads that approximated effective battle techniques

What was "Greek Fire"?

An incendiary weapon akin to a flamethrower developed by the Byzantine Empire

What is a trireme?

A Greek warship developed 600-500 BCE, from the Greek trieres, “three-fitted”

What was diekplous in ancient Mediterranean galley warfare?

Passing through the enemy’s line of ships and maneuvering within their formation.

What was periplous in ancient Mediterranean galley warfare?

Enveloping the enemy fleet and attacking from the flanks and rear.

What is requisitioning in the context of military foraging?

Formal acquiring of goods, animals, and housing

What is plundering/pillaging in the context of military foraging?

Less-legal taking of goods and animals

What is billeting?

Stationing soldiers in the homes of civilians

What was the professionalization of European armies (1650-1789)?

An evolutionary process achieved through permanent military and financial institutions, bureaucratization of authority over military forces, and the creation of standing forces with professional officer corps.

What were "military enterprisers" also known as?

Large-scale mercenary contractors.

What was a key issue with rootless mercenaries?

Problems with pay and loyalty.

What characterized the organizational skills of military enterprisers?

Mattered more than military ability.

What was the impact of reliance on contract forces?

Worked for rulers, but devastated contested regions.

What spurred methods of taxation and wealth extraction in early modern Europe?

The need to pay contract armies.

What was privateering?

Essentially legalized piracy.

What was a key feature of state-controlled navies (1650-1800)?

Required far more state capacity to generate and maintain.

What were some technological changes in naval warfare (1650-1800)?

Dedicated warship designs

What were "military enterprisers" in relation to sovereignty around 1500?

A way to authorize private violence/warfare.

What was a reason for authorizing private violence?

Less costly than using state forces.

What are letters of Marque/Privateering commissions?

Forms of private warfare.

What were private trading companies doing in terms of warfare (1500-1650)?

Engaging in armed ventures.

What encouraged the hiring of mercenaries in Europe?

Success of Swiss pikemen.

What was the "gun-slave cycle" in Africa?

A complex and debated relationship between firearms and the slave trade.

How did firearms affect existing warfare styles in Africa?

Augmented them.

Why were close-order spear formations less necessary in West Africa?

Mostly infantry forces and lack of cavalry.

What was warfare centered on in West Africa due to the slave trade?

Capturing people rather than land.

What was the impact of cheaper guns and greater demand for slaves after 1650 in Africa?

Some effects on mobilization and military practice.

What was a consequence of sustained European contact for Eastern Woodlands peoples?

Devastating due to disease and land seizure.

What did Eastern Woodlands nations increasingly become?

Powerbrokers and cultural intermediaries.

What were the key components of the Military Revolution thesis?

Growth of state capacity and military power in Europe driven by intense competition.

What is the trace italienne?

Intricate geometric planning and redesigned components for fortifications that emerged in Italy by the 1520s in response to improved artillery.

What was a key goal of older fortifications that became a drawback with artillery?

Height.

What were artillery towers?

Rounded walls with firing platforms for cannons.

What are the components of a star fort?

Glacis, moat, linked, angled bastions.

What military formation combined infantry and firearms?

Pike and shot formations.

What did "pike and shot" formations require for effective use?

Synchronization beyond mere obedience.

Who attempted to revive Roman-inspired synchronized discipline in Europe?

William Lowedijk and Maurice of Nassau.

What replaced individual skill and heroism as the guiding principle of European military tradition?

Demand for rigid, disciplined infantry controlled by a military elite.

What was the impact of state capacity on gunpowder weapon adoption?

Drove adoption and responses.

What is institutional isomorphism?

Tendency for competing institutions to grow to resemble one another.

What was a key inflection point in the growth of state capacity in Europe?

The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).

What were early handheld firearms used for?

Behind fortifications.

What were some disadvantages of early handheld firearms?

Slow loading, limited range, vulnerability to cavalry or infantry charges after firing.

What solved most of the weaknesses of pike and early firearms?

"Pike and shot" formations.

What were "hook guns" and wagenbergs?

Early handheld firearms used behind fortifications.

What was the "biological old regime" in the context of the Industrial Revolution?

The asymptotic approach to the limits of production before industrialization.

What was the "industrious revolution"?

The 17th-18th century expansion of productivity through increased labor input.

What was the primary Indian export by 1750?

Cotton.

What was a significant reason for Britain's early industrialization?

The availability of coal.

What were some of the first factories in Britain producing?

Cloth for the global market.

What was the "sine qua non" of the Industrial Revolution?

Steam power.

What were two big military factors resulting from improved tolerances and large-scale metallurgy during industrialization?

Better, breech-loading guns and true interchangeability of parts.

What were some obvious advantages of steam power for navies?

Speed, freedom from wind and current, navigation in confined waterways.

What was a shocking early example of steam power's naval impact?

The First Opium War (1839-1842).

What made the adoption of armor necessary for warships after the 1830s?

The threat of explosive shells.

What were "ironclad" warships?

Warships with armor.

What was a key feature of battleships in the period 1870-1941?

Intensive experimentation with armor, guns, and technology.

What was the significance of the HMS Dreadnought (launched 1906)?

It was a steel-armored battleship armed entirely with turret-mounted large guns.

What did Alfred T. Mahan argue in "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History"?

The importance of control of sea lanes for national wealth and security and the desirability of large fleet battles.

How did the role of the state in military innovation change after 1880?

The state increasingly drove development and purchasing.

What was a consequence of European industrial power in the late-19th century?

A colonial rush.

What was the significance of the Meiji Restoration (1868) in Japan?

Marked a calculated choice to industrialize.

What was the outcome of the Battle of Tsushima Strait (1904-05)?

The Japanese Navy trounced the Russian fleet.

What was the most important innovation in warfare between 1800-1900?

Industrialization itself.

What were the key changes in individual firepower between 1500-1918?

Little change until 1840, then rapid increase.

What were some key improvements in infantry weapons after 1840?

Minie ball, breech-loading rifles, smokeless powder, magazine-fed weapons.

What was a key improvement in artillery after 1815?

Steel, breech-loading cannons, more reliable fuzes, hydraulic/pneumatic recoil systems, and indirect fire.

What were some changes in infantry tactics due to improved firepower?

Switch to open order tactics, alternate fire and movement, and digging field fortifications.

What was a new addition to fortifications by the 1890s?

Barbed wire.

What was a central belief associated with the "cult of the offensive"?

That courage and aggressiveness would lead to quick victory.

What was a universal belief leading to the outbreak of World War I?

The importance of rapid mobilization.

What were the German and French mobilization plans for World War I?

Germany: Schlieffen Plan

What was the "Race to the Sea" in 1914?

Each side trying to get around the opponent's flank.

What characterized the Western Front by November 1914?

A continuous front from the North Sea to Switzerland with both sides entrenched.

What became the biggest killer of World War I?

Artillery.

What were some new technologies and techniques experimented with during the trench warfare of World War I?

Poison gas, tanks, aircraft, sturmtruppen, combined arms.

What was the focus of interwar experimentation after World War I?

Doctrine and technology, including tanks, aircraft, and radios/coordination.

What was the Soviet interwar doctrine for maneuver warfare?

Deep Battle.

What was the US doctrine developed in the 1970s-80s to counter Soviet deep battle?

AirLand Battle.

What was the core idea behind AirLand Battle?

To attack the enemy "decision cycle".

What was the British approach to strategic bombing in World War II?

Believed in the "moral" (psychological/social) effects of bombing.

What was the initial US approach to strategic bombing in World War II?

Precision targeting of key industries.

What is MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)?

A doctrine based on "second strike" capability to survive a nuclear attack and retaliate.