Infantry

Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare and typically suffer the greatest number of casualties during a military campaign. Historically, as the oldest branch of the combat arms, the infantry are the tip of the spear of a modern army, and continually undergo training that is typically more physically demanding and psychologically stressful than that of any other branch of the combat arms.

Infantry can enter and manoeuvre in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. The transport and delivery techniques of modern infantrymen to engage in battle include marching, mechanised transport, aerial drop by parachute or by air assault from helicopter and amphibious landing from the sea.

References / notes

The above term is listed in our Compendium of the Great War.

This compendium forms the central hub of words, phrases, people, and places relative to the Great War period of 1914–1918. These also include battles, political events, ships, trench slang, British and American service terms and expressions in everyday use, nicknames, sobriquets, the titles of British and Commonwealth Regiments and their origins, and also warfare in general. These words and phrases are contemporary with the war, which is reflected in the language used, some of which may seem derogatory by today's standards. Feel free to expand upon and improve this content.

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