Army, military, for thousands of years there
was little if any difference between the two words, but with the rise of naval powers and
then the adoption of flight into warfighting, a clear distinction was established between
the two words. But when you get down to brass tacks, just
what's the difference between the two really? Hello and welcome to another episode of The
Infographics Show- today we're taking a look at army vs military- what's the difference? As mentioned, for thousands of years there
wasn't much difference between the two words, and if english had existed back then, you
could've probably used the two words interchangeably. That's because for most of human history a
nation's military force consisted mostly of what we'd today call light infantry, or combatants
on foot equipped with hand to hand weapons. Then as human technology progressed, we began
to add new tools to our militaries, at first we added light weight spears and slings as
we recognized the value of being able to harm your opponent before they could harm you. Then the bow came along and made it not just
feasible to reach out and hurt someone, but an absolute necessity to do so. Yet bowmen were only truly effective in large
numbers, and so while the infantry protected the front, bowmen at the rear would rain arrows
down on the enemy. After the bow, mankind began to tinker with
different mechanical devices, eventually adding siege units such as arbalests, catapults,
and other heavy weapons of war to their forces. These new inventions could often deliver massive
damage to an enemy formation, or outright demolish fortifications. They trumped the power of bowmen, but weren't
as flexible, so a modern military needed a mix of all three tools in order to be successful-
infantry up front to protect, bowmen to deliver fire support at the front, and siege weapons
to smash long-range enemy formations or destroy their fortifications. As the idea of different soldiers doing different
jobs grew and militaries became more diverse, a need to differentiate between the different
jobs became apparent. A local ruler and his generals couldn't simply
round up random people, give them a sword, and send them off to war. Rather exact quotas and numbers of different,
specialized types of soldiers were needed if that ruler didn't want his forces utterly
defeated. An ancient army may for instance have required
ten thousand infantry, four thousand bowmen, and a thousand siege engineers- and while
they all made up the overall army, it was clear that the individual specializations
needed language to separate one job from the other. The first major change in the way we use language
to describe fighting forces came with the adoption of naval forces to battle. For a long time transport ships were simply
attached to an army on the move, but as naval technology improved and we began to weaponize
those ships, it became clear that we needed to start differentiating between naval and
ground forces. Thus most militaries split up their armies
into ground forces- which would still be colloquially called 'the army'- and seaborne forces or
a navy. If you traveled back to ancient greece and
congratulated the Athenians on their vast navy by telling them they had a powerful army,
you would certainly have gotten some very funny looks. No different than if today you call a Marine
a soldier- although in that case you'll get a funny look and a half hour lecture about
how Marines aren't soldiers. It wasn't until mechanized warfare though
that further distinctions began to be necessary between fighting forces of a nation's military. Mechanization brought all kinds of technological
revolutions to the way we fight wars, and suddenly you didn't only have infantry and
artillery, but you had mechanized infantry, mechanized cavalry, airborne cavalry, aerial
fighters and aerial bombers. We needed to start separating out the different
responsibilities of each group of war fighters from the rest so as to better prioritize resources
and manpower, and thus it became more important than ever to establish clear language that
grouped together similar warfighting capabilities. With the invention of flight, many militaries
immediately created independent air forces within their militaries, while others, such
as America, instead established air corps within their army command. Even before the airplane though, separations
between warfighting jobs were already establishing entirely new military commands, such as when
American established the Marine Corps shortly after the Revolutionary War. While on their face the difference between
the Army and the Marine Corps is minimal, they are after all both primarily infantry
forces with other combat commands that directly support the infantry, the fact is that the
specific job of the US Army and Marine Corps is quite different. The Marine Corps is specifically trained and
equipped to be America's amphibious force, responsible for attacking and establishing
beachheads on hostile territory. The US Army however is the force responsible
for exploiting that beachhead and bringing the fight directly into the heart of the enemy's
forces. Basically the Marines kick the door in, and
the Army blitzes through the open door. The Navy is responsible for getting the Marines
and the Army to their destination, and the Air Force meanwhile kicks their feet up in
air conditioned trailers fighting the war via remote control. Just kidding, the Air Force aggressively attacks
the enemy's electronic assets, jamming radar, corrupting computer networks, and feeding
misinformation digitally to the enemy, while its airplanes bring the pain from the skies
above the battlefield. Yet while all the branches have dedicated
electronic warfare specialists and even air assets, it's the Air Force who is king of
the information war- and blowing stuff up. Yet again why we need specific language to
separate the Air Force's job from the other commands, and vice-versa. Army however doesn't only refer to what nations
typically name their ground combat command, but often also refers to a specifically sized
unit deployed to a battlefield. That's right, if you are still confused by
the word army vs military, then hold on to your butt because in today's world you can
be in an army that is itself part of the US Army. Let us explain. Most competent militaries around the world
split up their personnel into more manageable sizes that can be easily referred to and give
a distinct impression of just how strong in manpower that unit is. The units of measure begin at a Squad, which
consists of 6-10 soldiers and in the US is commanded by a Sergeant. Then there is a Platoon, made up of three
to four squads and can be from 18 to 50 soldiers and is commanded by an uppity know-it-all
college student- sorry, we mean second lieutenant. Next is a Company, or Battery, or Troop which
is made up of three to four platoons and can be between 60 and 200 soldiers and is commanded
by a Captain, First Lieutenant, or a Major. Next is a Battalion made up of three to five
companies and can be between 100 and 1000 soldiers, commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. A brigade comes next, made up of three to
five battalions and is between 2000-3000 soldiers and is commanded by a Brigadier General or
a Colonel. Then you have a Division, made up of three
brigades and can be between 10 or 15 thousand soldiers and is commanded by a Major General. Then there's a Corps, made up of two or more
divisions and makes up about 20 to 45 thousand soldiers and is commanded by a Lieutenant
General. Lastly we have a Field Army, made up of fifty
thousand or more soldiers, and is commanded by a General. So not only can you be in an Army while you're
serving in the Army, but you can actually be in the Corps but not be a Marine because
you're serving in the Army. Confusing enough yet? Good, we did our job then. Should we just lump all our forces together
into one service for convenience? What's the longest a Marine has ever taken
to explain to you the reasons why you don't call a marine a soldier? Let us know in the comments! Also, be sure to check out our other video
Wartime Paranormal Sightings that Shocked Soldiers. Thanks for watching, and as always, don’t
forget to like, share and subscribe. See you next time.
