The “Military Revolution”

The “Military Revolution”

• Infantry replaces cavalry as the dominant force on the battlefield.

• Firearms become the dominant weapon.• Armies become larger and more complex.• “Combined arms” operations.• Fortifications change dramatically.• War becomes a monopoly of the state.

The Spanish Square (Tercio), c. 1490 - 1643

Increase in the Size of Armies

• 1415, Battle of Agincourt – 9,000 English vs. 30,000 French

• 1643, Battle of Rocroi– 23,000 French vs. 27,000 Imperial troops

• 1806, Battle of Jena–Auerstedt– 67,000 French vs. 120,500 Prussians

Organization

• Army• Corps• Division• Brigade• Regiment

• Thirty Year’s War 1618-1648 Austria, German Catholic States, Spain vs. Protestant German States, Denmark, Sweden, France

• English Civil War 1642-1648 Charles I vs. Parliament

10

• Grenadier Guards, 1656• Coldstream Guards, 1650• Scots Guards, 1661

• Horse Guards, 1650

GrenadierCompany

LightCompany

The Regiment

Napoleonic Corps Organization

Change in Fortifications

Mons Megs1449

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Marquis de Vauban, 1633 – 1707

Original trading post

building. 1726

US additions during the War of 1812