A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon. From the 17th century to World War I, it was considered a primary weapon for infantry attacks. Today it is considered an ancillary weapon or a weapon of last resort.
The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and disorganized in comparison to its status during the American Civil War roughly thirty years prior. Following the sinking of USS Maine, President William McKinley needed to muster a strong ground force swiftly, which he did by calling for 125,000 volunteers to assist in the war. The U.S. had gone to war in opposition to Spanish colonial policies in Cuba, which was then torn by a rebellion. The regiment was also nicknamed "Wood's Weary Walkers" for its first commander, Colonel Leonard Wood. This reflected their dissatisfaction that despite being cavalry, they ended up fighting in Cuba as infantry, since their horses were not sent there with them.
In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Imperial Guard is the army of the Imperium in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop miniature wargame.
Jäger is a German military term referring to specific light infantry units.
The Battle of Changping (長平之戰) was a military campaign during the Warring States period of ancient China, which took place from 262 BC to 260 BC at Changping, between the two strongest military powers, the State of Qin and the State of Zhao. After a bitter two-year stalemate, the battle ended in a decisive victory for Qin forces and the ruthless execution of most of the Zhao captives, resulting in an unrecoverable loss of manpower and strategic reserve for the Zhao state.
The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army.
A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for Jim Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight.
A stiletto is a knife or dagger with a long slender blade and needle-like point, primarily intended as a stabbing weapon.
A trench knife is a combat knife designed to kill or incapacitate an enemy at close quarters, such as in a trench or other confined area. It was developed as a close combat weapon for soldiers attacking enemy trenches during the First World War. An example of a World War I trench knife is the German Army's Nahkampfmesser.
Shock troops or assault troops are formations created to lead an attack. They are often better trained and equipped than other infantry, and expected to take heavy casualties even in successful operations.
Dennis Hart Mahan (Mă-hăn) [məˈhæn] was a noted American military theorist, civil engineer and professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1824–1871. He was the father of American naval historian and theorist Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan.
The Battle of Apache Pass was fought in 1862 at Apache Pass, Arizona, in the United States, between Apache warriors and the Union volunteers of the California Column as it marched from California to capture Confederate Arizona and to reinforce New Mexico's Union army. It was one of the largest battles between the Americans and the Chiricahua during the Apache Wars.
The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812.
A combat knife is a fighting knife designed solely for military use and primarily intended for hand-to-hand or close combat fighting.
Sapping is a term used in siege operations to describe the digging of a covered trench to approach a besieged place without danger from the enemy's fire. The purpose of the sap is usually to advance a besieging army's position towards an attacked fortification. It is excavated by specialised military units, whose members are often called sappers.
A rearguard is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as communication lines, behind an army. Even more generally, a rearguard action may refer idiomatically to an attempt at preventing something though it is likely too late to be prevented; this idiomatic meaning may apply in either a military- or in a non-military, perhaps-figurative context.
Johann von Ewald was a German military officer from Hesse-Kassel. After first serving in the Seven Years' War, he was the commander of the Jäger corps of the Hessian Leib Infantry Regiment attached to British forces in the American Revolutionary War. He arrived with his troops, first serving in the Battle of White Plains in October 1776. He saw regular action until his capture at Yorktown in 1781. In 1788, he joined the Danish Army, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant general; he also served as governor general of Holstein during the Napoleonic Wars. Following his American war experiences, he wrote an Essay on Partisan Warfare, a widely read treatise on guerrilla warfare. He also kept a journal during most of his time in North America that has since become a valuable resource for historians of the war.
A fighting knife has a blade designed to most effectively inflict injury in close-quarters physical confrontations. The combat knife and the trench knife are examples of military fighting knives.
