Warfare through time

What was the size of the army in C1250?

5000-10,000 men like when the barons rebelled against HENRY III

What was the composition in C1250?

2:1 infantry cavalry, upper nobility were 30% of cavalry - the rest were men at arms from the gentry

Infantry were at the bottom

What was the command in c1250?

Societal structure and nepotism, quality varied eg. at Lewes prince edward lost control of the cavalry, decided by social status

What was strategy in c1250?

Limited warfare:
Henry III had limited resources, power
Battles were avoided - king could be killed/held for ransom
Campaigning season, late-spring to autom - weather
Communication - spies scouts, smoke signal
Preferred to manouevere and siege
Last resort - LLewelyn the last used guirella warfare in 1250

Castles - attackers had to divide, defenders had bases
Evesham(1265) henry IIs enemies took refuge in Kenilworth - took henry 6 months

Simon de montfort rebelled, henry secured the castles first in 1264

What were tactics in c1250?

Positioning - high ground, protecting flanks
Lewes 1264 - montofrt places army on crest of hill, flanks were positioned too steep for cavalry

Cavalry tactics:
Mounted charge, Evesham 1265 - mounted knights charged and killed de montfort
Rout and chase - cavalry scattered enemy infantry, easy to kill afterwards - more troops died fleeing battles

INfantry:
Shield wall, archers played a minor role - no significance at Lewes or Evesham
Melee - infantry

Recruitment and training in c1250

Cavalry: feudal system, tenants in chief provided troops
Knights fee - number, service 40 days per year

Henry III able to call on 5000 knight fees, majority of army
1250 feudal system was breaking down

Assize of arms, many landowners

Scutage - money instead of service, used to pay cavalry/mercenaries Henry III

Hired from captains, soldiers who provided 10-100 men for cash, 2 shilllings per day for knights

Mercenariees better trained than feudal troops, much more expensive

Royal household - permanent, paid £5 a year, £2500 today, Henry III had 500

No feudal infantry, some joined of loyalty plunder and adventure

Infantry assize of arms - 40 days, henry III during barons war of 1264-67 did this

COmissionarys of array assesed/inspected weapons

NO infantry training or barracks,
Cavalary - experienced/trained, horsemanship
Culture of chivalry but only individual combat

Size, composition and command in c1250-1500

size - continuity
Lewes 1264 henry III 10,000
Bosworth 1485 richard III 12,000

Composition - change, more infantry fewer cavalry
1400 it was 3:1
Henry VIs campaigns in france in 1440s it was 10:1

COmannad - continuity, kings used closest relatives, edward I used earl of surrey at falkirk, henry V hused duke of york at agincourt

Command - change, 30% of cavalry were from nobility in 1250 - knights payed scutage as feudal system declined, only 5% of cavalry were nobles in france(1375)

Most mercenaries - mounted mean at arms, weakened link between social classs

Strategy in c1250-1500

Limited warfare - CONTINUITY
chevauchees(short horseback raids) by armies of 2000-3000, aimed to terrrise french and make it impossible to grow crops/raise taxes

Castles - CONTINUITY, 1200s edward I built castles to control wales, 14000s henry V captured harfleur

Declined of mounted knight CHANGE, key to victory in c1250, shock force that punched trhough defences.

Reasons
Pikes used to attack cavalry
Longbows weakened infantry better than cavalry
Cannon and firearms also did this, technology caused change - better bows, new gunpoweder methods

Tactics in c1250-1500

Schiltrons - CHANGE
pike 3-5m long, metal tips - huge circles/quares up to 2000 men, huge lethal hedgehogs
natural formation - horses reluctant to charge if it was tight
Advanced in group, stirling bridge 1297 - new
both 6000 srong, 1700 english killed by surprise as 2000 crossed brdge

Bannockburn 1314, scottish schiltrons defeated cavalry, increased infantry power - decline of mounted knight, could be defeated by pikemen

Tactics CHANGE - archers fought on foot, horseback on march(increased speed)
Attack - Much bigger effect to soften up enemy before charge
defence CHANGE - english knights dismounted to strengthen defense, so earchers could be placed on flanks - when the melee formed, archers continued rto fire and joined in melee
Classic at duplin moor 1332 and agincourt - scots almost wiped out

Cavalry tactics CHANGE - from 1330 used as integrated force, not alone

SPecialist tasks eg scouting raiding foraging
Dismounted in battle, joined infantry ni defence
Mounted and chased fleeing troops, important - but not superior and separate as before
French did not make these changes, so they lsot crecy, poitiers and agincourt

Weaponry in c1250-1500

longbow - CHANGE, 1290 england. 2 metres long, taller than most archers - thick wood, took great strength and long time

Rate - 10-15 per minute, 2-3 for crossbows
Distance - up to 200m, twice as shorter bows
power - could pierce armour, once pinned knight to his horse
Falkirk + key victories in 100 years war
Dominant force for 150 years because of edward I, individual - technology changed tactics

Armour CHANGE - 1300, chainmail reinforced plates
1420, whole body in suit of armour
Limited protection against arrows, french at poiters 1356 still died in large numbers
Even less so against firearms

gunpowder CHANGE - made in 900ad, roger bacon 1267
Cannon shot stone - 1327 Edward III used against scots
1346 used against france at calais, little impact “merely to frighten”
1415 - henry V used 12 to besiege harfleur, but walls remained intact

1430 - improving, technology - metal used, foundries experimented - metal cannon balls
Design - barrles 3x long as diameter - greater accuracy power, range
Trunnions - allowed barrel to lift, easier to adjust height and distance
Specialist cannon - half a ton, bombards, fired stone - mortars and howitzers lobbed

Impact - castillon 1453, 1000 cavalry took heavy losses from french cannon
Mainly useful in sieges, in 1449 harfleur fell to attack by 16 french cannon in 17 days

Firearms - arquebus
Cannons were unreliable, 1460 james II was killed from cannon
Slow to reload and inaccurate over long distances
heavy to maneouvre in non-siege battles
Firearms slow to load, unreliable in weather, used very little before 1500 - longbow
bosworth 1485, many cannonballs no firearms

Mounted knight CHANGE - still fearsome, 500kg at 15mph
Great power - smaller, socially different, more flexible

Recruitment and training in c1250-1500

Feudal troops ended in 1350
CHANGE - last summon was 1327
Could call upon 5000, small
Needed pay for 40+ days, outside of england
Quality unreliable, trained little and ability varied - chosen by social status
Part time soldiers, poor weapon quality

CHANGE - new attitudes, tenatns no loonger agreed

1285, statute of winchester edward I CONTINUITY
annual muster, all men 16-60 - array of arms
Provided weapons
Men selected to serve 40 days, longer was paid
Effectively paid troops
1457 - 180 foot soldiers mustered in bridport, dorset
1296 - 76/713 men sailed to serve Edward I

Paid troops CHANGE - used more after 1337, main method
CHANGE - royal household increased
1250, henry II had 500 royal cavalry
1300, Edward I had 4000

Mercenaries - CHANGE, need after hundred years war 1337
edward III 1337 - entirely paid troops
Typically indenture(contract) with captain
1346 at crecy - thomas dagworth supplied edward III with 300 men at arms, 600 archers
Paid equivalent of £500,000 today

Training:
better because of new recruitment
Organisation remained simple CONTINUITY
feudal, CONTINUITY
assize of arms made troops better - CHANGE, men mustered for inspection weapons checked
Statute of winchester - archery targets set up in every town
1363 - Edward III - archery practice on all feast days and holidays

Paid troops better trained, CHANGE
preferred - paid archers trained by centanaurs, to fire vollleys
Regular musters to inspect paid troops, used to organising training

Reasons for the outcome of falkirk(no indiviudal roles)

The english outnumbered
Edward - 2000 cavalry,12,000 infantry,
Scotland - 500 cavalry, 9500 infantry

William’s nobles resented taking orders from him

England had 3500 more archers, scottish infantry were unprotected by armor

English cavalry - scatterd scottish troops
English infantry finally attacked

What was wallace’s role at Falkirk?

Use of pike schiltrons nearly worked, still beat off first cavalry attack
Position - slope, marsh, woods good
Failed to protect flanks - basic
Cavalry and archers did nothing
Destroyed any crops useful to edward, campaign almost collapsed

What was the role of Edward I at falkirk?

Advaned planning - secured food supply by sea
Luck, cavalry was disciplined
Outmaneuovred wallace
Longbows

What were the reasons for the outcome of agincourt?(non individual)

French archers hardly used
French knights churned up mud, difficult to cross
English men at arms made a defensive block
Longbow archers fired volleys onto cavalry, making them retreat
Control of fortified bases
French indiscipline, cavalry hardly co-ordinated
Longbow could fire up to 100,000 arrows per minute

French knights lost discipline after galling

What was the role of Henry V at agincourt?

LUck - march waas risky, outmaneouvred
Choice of good defensive positino
Placement - narrow gap between 2 woods, surveyed
Henry ordered archers to hammer angled stakes to slow down enemy cavalryu
Use of loongbows as decisive force
Bravery, fought even when his helmet split
Troops capturing booty could keep 1/3rd of value, motivation
Galling, sent archers into trees

Composition of the army C1900-present

CHANGE:
1914:
Infantry 65%
Cavalry 10%
Artillery 20%
Specialist 5%

2015:
Infantry 25%
Tanks 10%
Artillery 10%
Specialist 55% - engineers, electrical, logistic, medical

CHANGE, societal attitudes boer war - haldane’s reforms 1908:
secretary of state for war

PErmant force of 150,000 volunteers, ww1/2
Territorial forc - reserve and part time, could defend in emergency, 270,000 men in 1914

Army 2020(2010) - Regular 82,000
Reserve - 30,000


Logistics(TREND):

1790s - royal wagonners disbanded in peacetime
1855 - permanent military train

WW1 - ASC had 300,000 men(10%)

RLC - 1993, 16,000 men(15%)
Transported troops, food, communication


Specialist troops, EOD CHANGE:

1940 - 25 army bomb disposal units formed, 16 men each

1940, 25,000 bombs made safe
EOD troops - deal with IEDs, remote controlled robots invented by peter miller

2015 - 2000 EOD personnnel and 300 military sniffer dogs

Dragon runner - pincers, elcectronic jammers

Strategy in C1900-present

Total warfare - CHANGE compared to limited warfare
Science, led to radar, atom bomb
Weapons - machine guns, tanks more destructive
Economic strength - WW1 germany spent 25 billion, allies spent $60 billion
1945 - britain owed £3300 million to other nations

Technology - 1915 - planes became flying machine guns, 1944 - meteor plane flew 2x speed of other fighters
Industry - by 1942, britain and allies produced 200% more aircraft than 1939, germany produced 30% more

Political strength - DORA - government had more control over industries and factoreis
Rationing ensured no shortages occured
War of attrition - wearing the opposition down
WW1 - 10 million combatants died
WW2 - 15 million + 45 million civilians

Victory came from collapse of enemy, in 1917 250,000 germans died of food shortages, 1918 - 4 million protested and government collapsed

WW2 - 4.5 million dead in germany, defeat of whole nation not just army (CHANGE)

Chemical warfare:
By 1918, 146 attacks occured, over 90,000 killed, 1 million injured by gas
Mustard gas used by italians against ethopia, iraq against kurds and iranians
1925 - geneva protocol, pledging to never use gas
Chemical weapons convention - 1997, bans storage or use, 85% of stored chemical weapons destroyed

Nuclear warfare:
2015 - 15,000 nuclear warheads total, britain had 200

Impact of technology on strategy(CHANGE):
RMA - commanders at headquarters control fighting, co-ordinate:
Information from satellites
Communication with ground troops
Satellite guided weapons and impact


Asymmetric warfare:
made common because cost and MAD:
challenger 2 tank costs 4 million, typhoon costs 80 million

Guerilla warfare - rely on hit and run raids, avoid heavy battles
Heavy bombing is easy, taking control of territory is harder

Tactics in c1900-present

1939-40 - new weapons led to blitzkrieg(CHANGE):
comanders given a free hand to use the speed of attacking weapons to push past defenses, and then use their own initiative, worked for germany

Impact of modern technology on tactics:
ICBMs and aircraft used to bombard positions
Helicopters and motorised cehicles used to deliver infantry
Tankes, jets, helicopters, artillery support infantry

Weaponry in 1900-present

1914 - railways produce war of movement(CHANGE:)
Trains concentrate troops in one area
Germany moved 2 million men and 600,000 horses i 11,000 train journeys
Train up to 15x faster than marching, swept aside defenders
One month - 300km to the outskirts of paris, movement

1914-1916 - machine guns turn into stalemate

Maxim and .303 vickers too heavy, 50kg each, ahd to be fed and fired by 4-6 soldires
Clumsy to use but devestating in defence, 600RPM equivalent to 80 rifles
4000 metre range, mowed down soldiers
Opposing troops dug into defensive territory, war of attrition starts

1916-18 - tanks and aircraft bring back war of movement:
Tanks - little impact at first, less than 1mph and often broked down
Armed with cannon and .303, whippets top speed was 10mph

Cambrai 1917, 400 used, burst through 8km of lines

Aircraft:
1914 - BFC had 63, limited use:
bombed and machine gunned enemy troops
Bombed factories, mapped targets
1918 - BFC had 22,000

Motorised transport:
Only 800 motor cars, 50,000 horses in 1914
Gradually increased use - rapid communication, moving supplies

1918 - 55,000 motorised trucks, 35,000 motorcycles

Amiens 1918, allied troops used 450 tanks and 1900 aircraft, gained 13km, killed 15,000 and took 12,000 prisoner - broke the stalemate


1939-40: tanks and aircraft produce more dynamic war of movement:

tanks - 20-40mph
Aircraft - Stuka, 240mph, up to 500kg of bombs and machine guns
Aircraft - parachute troops, motorise vehicles could transport infantry quickly
Radio - co-ordinated attack


1940-43: air defence stronger than air attack, stalemate
Radar - chain home, detecting aircraft in advance
Fighter planes - spitfire 350mph, battle of britain
anti aircraft - automatic reloading, repeat action firing, radar to help aiming
germany used 50,00 against allied bombers - 1943 - allied planes lost 15% in each raid

land mines made of plastic to foil metal detectors, bazookas could knock out tank from 400 metres

1943-45: bombing ends the stalemate:

Aerial support - cab rank system, infantry could instantly call for air strikes
Bombers improved, lancaster bombers range of 2500km, 10 machine guns, 11 tons of bombs - flew 150,000 raids

Bombing technology improved - oboe system, once bomber hit a target other planes could see it
Fighter cover improved - extra tanks, 3000km range - meteor 600mph
Bombing strategy changed - area bombing, assive raids to reduce civilian morale
July 1943 - 3000 bombers dropped 9000 tonnes on hamburg
Atom bomb - $2 billion spent

since 1945, high technology military equipment:
Infantry:
Body armour, helmet, assault rifle with laser aiming, 750rpm machine gun 1800m range

Aerial support:
Helicopters safer and quicker than road vehicles, merlion carry up to 45 troops

Cavalry replacde by attack helicopters, apache has its own radar, guns, missiles, cameras
BRitish army has over 500 helicopters

Artillery and bombing:
ICBMs - 5500km range
2016, britain had 4 nuclear submarines - each with 16 trident ballistic missiles

Stealth bombers - $2 billion each, modern fighters - typhoon jet, 1300mph, 17,000m above ground - missiles and bombs gps guided

dumb bombs - over 100m away from target
Smart bombs - within 10m

Drones also used for bombing
Mobile artillery vehicles, 30mph and satellite controlled missiles

Satellites:


in 2000, over 2000 satellites in space user for:

LOcate enemy troops and targets
Predict weather conditions for operations
Photograph damage, provide communication

Recruitment and training in 1900-present

1914 - BEF was 120,000, german army was 1.5 million
By the end of 1914, 1 million brits volunteered - by 1915, more needed
35,000 needed per week to replace dead


January 1916 - military service act, all unmarried men 18-41, 3.5million conscripted

September 1939 - national service act, all men aged 18-41, 1 million conscripted in 1939 not enough
1941 - women aged 20-30 conscripted

Conscientous objectors:

WW1 - negative, COs - 31 suffered mental breakdowns, 7000 went to prison, 9500 forced to enlist

WW2 - attitudes improved, 6000 sent to prison, 3000 objections accepted, 50,000 forced to enlist

National service - 1948-1960, all men aged 17-21 had to complete 18 months training and 4 years in army reserve


Social change - women regarded differently after serving in army
1992 - separate womens corps endedd

2008, 1 in 6 was a woman, still not able to apply for infantry RAC or tank regiment
Modern forces:

Full time, 150,000 troops
At least 4 years signing up
£27,000 starting salary for corporal, officers earn £30,000 to £100,000

Impact of war on civilians in 1900-present

Civilians who enlisted died in large numbers - forced
WW1 - 9 million died, 700,000 in britain, 12% death rate
WW2 - 15 million died, 25 million wounded, 450,000 british troops died

Civilians who did not enlist also died:
WW1 - only 1414 killed by german bombs
Blitz - 40,000 civilians killed
Hiroshima and nagasaki - 200,000 civilians

Modern wars more likely to involve civilians, 5% of casualties before 1900, 90% of casualties in 1990s
Home front:
Home guard - dad’s army formed in 1940, by 1941 1.6 million joined

Civil defence - 1941, by 1945 1.4 million were air raid wardens, 7000 staff killed on duty

Womens voluntary service - 1 million members by 1941

Living on the home front:
Rationing - april 1917 - britain only had 6 weeks worth of wheat

Rationing reintroduced in 1940
Germany - 750,000 died of starvation

Homelessness:
Blitz - 2 million british homes destroyed, 1.5 million children evacuated

2014 - 60 million homelless because o wars

Loss of freedom - DORA banned binoculars, flying kits, bonfires(1914)

Both world wards - workers could be moved jobs

Fear of nuclear war:

Cold war - nuclear defence booklets “protect and survicve” as late as 1980s, civil defence films shown, air raids sirens tested
SALT - 1972 reduced fairs, however 15,000 nuclear weapons today

Benefits:

Women in society - challenged social roles
Medical technology improved quicker eg. x rays
Social reforms - citizens expected government to control basic needs

1919 housing act - council houses
1944 education act, education for all
1946 NHS act

War reporting in c1900-present

1914 - only colonel “eyewitness” swinton allowed to report directly
November 1916 - 5 journalists in ww1
2003 iraq - 700 reporters embeded, lived amongst doldiers, many more reported independently

Reason for change - new technology

1900 - reporters relied on couriers, telegraph - not easy to get information back home

Since 1900 - radio, tv, satellite, internet, reporters can report events as they occur
Other reason for increase - societal attitudes:

Censorship - some self censor

Ww1 - 10,000 employed to read/censor soldier’s letters

Critical newspapers eg. call and tribunal closed several times


New technology means government have to accept more information

1991 - reporters in iraq told viewers about coalition bombing before the official announcement of the war

however information still not completely uncensored:

Embedded reporters in iraq escorted everywhere, had to show reports to military personnel

Journalists favour own side - more likely to support enthusiasm than criticism from iraq, casualties from iraqi civilians only belatedtly reported

Propaganda:

Ww1 - battle of somme film, shown in 2000 cinemas in 1916

WW2 - the forces programme, radio reported optimistic slant on news, dunkirk portrayed as heroic escape

Attitudes in society change wrfare:

Early 1900s, jingoism strong - septemeber 1914, 30,000 men per day enlisted

Since 1945 - in 2003, 1 million marched in london to oppose iraq war

Reasons:

war reporting - more information available, visual information

Financial cost greater - spitfires costed £6000 each, trident missiles cost £2.4 billion per year

Human cost greater - casualties in thousands before 1900, by 1945 they were in millions+ more civilians killed

Changed warfare:

Bombing of dresden and hiroshima intened to cause maximum casualties
Modern times - drones and smart bombs attempt to minimise casualties

What was the nature of trench warfare and the war of attrition on the western front?

Rival trenches from 800 to only 50 metres from each other
Front line trenches —→ Support trenches for off duty soldiers/supplies —→ reserve trenches for resting troops

Trenches were zigzagged so the enemy could not fire along the whole length

Going over the top was the only tactic, 70% of all trench casualties cauesd by artilliery fire

Life in the trenches:

Daily routines of sentry duty/cleaning weapons tedious
Mud, cold, lack of sleep, disease, trench foot, trench fever(25% of troops), shell shock
Treatment of wounds improved - tetanus injections, blood transfusions
25% of wounded died

What were the reasons for the outcome of the somme?(non individual)

Dominance of defensive rifle, machine guns and artillery led to high casualties
600,000 allied casualties, 500,000 german
at the end of the first day, 20,000 british were killed and 40,000 missing

German trenches were strong, soil was chalky and soft - 12 lines of parallel trenches and dugouts, 9 metres underground as protection

Barbed ire remained intact, men easy targets
No element of disguise
British infantry were raw volunteers, inexperienced
Artillery barrage was weak, 30% of shells failed to exploud, only 7% of guns were explosive
tanks scattered over wide area and had no real impact

What were the reasons for the outcome of the somme?(General haig)

Failure to learn from failure of earlier massed infantry attacks
Used new weapons badly with little effect
Ignored the advice of younger generals eg. rawlinson


However, generals from every army believed massed attacks would eventually work
Haig was under too much pressure to defend, he needed to regain land
Allies needed to tie down troops at the somme, to prevent them being sent to fight the french at verdun
This worked - 2nd july, germans forced to stop their offensive at verdun

Germany was smaller than the allies so their deaths would be disastrous

New weapons were not effective by 1916 so old tactics had to be used

What was the use of high technology in the iraq war?

Shock and awe:2 days of preparing, then 21st march was aerial bombardment and ground attack

Preparing:
Two f-117 fighter aircraft dropped four EGBU-27s(900kg bombs) on iraqi leaders
40 tomahawk missiles were fired at iraqi army bases and intelligence headquarters
Special forces went into iraq on reconnaisance - destroyed posts and seized airport

Air attack:
Flew bombing raids from captured airports, nearby naval ships and allied countries
B-2 stealth bombers could fly in from america on 34 hour round trips

In total, 30,000 bombsand missiles including 1000 cruise missiles used, 70% were smart weapons

Ground attack:

lasted 21 days, baghdad reached by 9 april
UK gazelle helicopters and scimitar armoured vehicles used for reconnaisance, then lnyx helicoptres flew to attack, supported by tanks and harrier jets - took over basra on 6 april
Coalition drones detected tanks

Iraq outnumbered the US and UK by 1.35 million troops










F-117 aircraft - stealth fighter bombers, virtuallly undetectable
Britain - RAF Tornado, 80% were smart, 44 used in iraq

Paveway bombs - smart bombs, guided by GPS data or laser beams, 60% of these missed the target

Storm shadows - cruise missles used by british, 30 in iraq - smart GPS guided, or by video footage or heat sensors

Challengers are the UK’s main tank - up to 35mph, night periscopes, laser asisted guns, 8 shells per minute

Drones - unmanned planes, controlled by pilots on the ground using camreas
Predator drowns for reconnaisance and bombing
2007 - british reapear drones

Satellites - 50 in space for iraq

Satnet 4 used by UK, intercepted iraqi communications, gave british troops pictures of events, guided spart weapons

C4ISR - command control communications computers intelligents surveillance reconnaisance

Reasons for the outcome of the iraq war?

Coalition had better weapons even though iraq outnumbered the US and UK by 1.35 million troops
Iraqi tank - t-55 from 1958, too weak to fight against challenger

Iraqi fighter planes stayed on the ground, 1660 missiles fired and failed to hit a single coalition aircraft

Coalition had more money to spend - storm shadow missiles were £800,000 each, challenger tanks cost £4 million each

USA spent about $50 billion on iraq war in 2003
UK spent £1 billion for every year of the iraq war

Guerilla warfare - local unofficial milita groups destroyed the water supplies and attacked british troops with sniper fire and mortar attacks

2007 - british withdrawal from basra
Weapons used to capture it could not control it