Famous soldier unit types of military history.

[AUSTERLITZ]

I decided to make this thread to delve extensively into the famous military units of history.To discuss them one by one.

We select a unit type and mention all its significant variations used by different nations,then strengths and weaknesses ,battle record and military history,maybe a few illustrations or drawings to illustrate battle tactics.Everyone is open to discuss their own favourites.Its doesn't have to be greatly successful but significant and unique in history.

For example...

The hellenistic hoplite.
History and evolution with special seperate sections for theban sacred band,the macedonian spear hypaspist and the spartan hoplite the most famous exponents.Joe can start this he knows a lot about this era.

Bring on all of them...The phalangite,The roman legionary[marian,polybian][i hope to do this myself],The cataphracts,The horse archers[from scythians and sarmatians to parthians and manchu],numidian cavalry,goth heavy cavalry,islamic arab cavalry,iberian scuttari,gallic swordsmen,zulu spearmen,Napoleonic imperial guard,knights templar,jannisary,ottoman sipahi,swiss pikemen,german panzer crews,fallschirmjager,Us marines,akbar's armoured war elephants,maratha cavalry,spanish rodelero,british redcoat,polish hussar,hungarian hussars,prussian fusilier,wehrmacht infantryman,dacian falxmen,greek peltast,balearic slingers,cretan archers,syrian archers,luftwaffe fighter pilot,Raf pilot,chinese halberdier,japanese smaurai,japanese ashigaru,genoese crossbowmen,persian immortals,english lonbowmen.mongol cavalry,french cuirassiers,germanic uhlans,polish lancers,napoleonic french artillery,egyptian chariots and khopesh infantry,roman artillery corps,thracian hippies to the ak-47 weilding viet cong foot soldier.
Feel free to add more urselves...there are so many out there.

 

[Joe Shearer]

I decided to make this thread to delve extensively into the famous military units of history.To discuss them one by one.

We select a unit type and mention all its significant variations used by different nations,then strengths and weaknesses ,battle record and military history,maybe a few illustrations or drawings to illustrate battle tactics.Everyone is open to discuss their own favourites.Its doesn't have to be greatly successful but significant and unique in history.

For example...

The hellenistic hoplite.
History and evolution with special seperate sections for theban sacred band,the macedonian spear hypaspist and the spartan hoplite the most famous exponents.Joe can start this he knows a lot about this era.

Bring on all of them...The phalangite,The roman legionary[marian,polybian][i hope to do this myself],The cataphracts,The horse archers[from scythians and sarmatians to parthians and manchu],numidian cavalry,goth heavy cavalry,islamic arab cavalry,iberian scuttari,gallic swordsmen,zulu spearmen,Napoleonic imperial guard,knights templar,jannisary,ottoman sipahi,swiss pikemen,german panzer crews,fallschirmjager,Us marines,akbar's armoured war elephants,maratha cavalry,spanish rodelero,british redcoat,polish hussar,hungarian hussars,prussian fusilier,wehrmacht infantryman,dacian falxmen,greek peltast,balearic slingers,cretan archers,syrian archers,luftwaffe fighter pilot,Raf pilot,chinese halberdier,japanese smaurai,japanese ashigaru,genoese crossbowmen,persian immortals,english lonbowmen.mongol cavalry,french cuirassiers,germanic uhlans,polish lancers,napoleonic french artillery,egyptian chariots and khopesh infantry,roman artillery corps,thracian hippies to the ak-47 weilding viet cong foot soldier.
Feel free to add more urselves...there are so many out there.

A fascinating thread. However, I would like to suggest, in the interests of integrity and orderliness in presentation, that you, as the originator of the thread, should introduce each type, more or less in chronological sequence, and allow the rest of us to chip in with side comments. It just takes a little planning, and would keep things neat and clean.

What say? And be sure to get Alternative involved somehow; we will need him when the infighting begins.

 

[Water Car Engineer]

Polish winged hussars

Armored elephants

Mughal

Rajput armored elephant

 

[KS]

Jaguar warrior of the Aztec Army, the Ninjas, the Khalsa Army.

 

[Urbanized Greyhound]

Would the The Gurkha rifles of the British army in the last century ( Simoor rifles etc) count among them ? What about the French foreign legion ?

 

[blackops]

The vikings they were good to and zulu warriors of africa

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

Alright 4 eras.

Ancient age -

From start to fall of western roman empire 476 ad.

Medieval age - till fall of constantinople 1453.

Gunpowder age - ends with franco prussian war 1871.

Modern age - from 20th century onwards.

 

[A1Kaid]

Yeniceri. Ghazis of Islam, Conquerors of Asia, Europe, and Africa.

The Yeniceri, he stood in Istanbul, he stood in the Balkans, he stood in Kosovo, and he stood at the gates of Vienna. He stood for six hundred years.

 

[A1Kaid]

6th Army, Army Group South, Wehrmacht.

Waffen SS.

---------- Post added at 04:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:07 PM ----------

US Marine Corps

Navy Seals

Green Berets

 

[A1Kaid]

Teutonic Knights

Templar Knights

 

[A1Kaid]

Mamluk Calvary, victory against the 'unstoppable' Mongol Calvary.

 

[GodlessBastard]

The Theban Sacred Band, perhaps the most underrated hoplite unit in history.

The Spartans, perhaps the most overrated hoplite unit in history.

Phillip's Macedonian Pezhetairoi, perhaps the most misunderstood pike unit in history.

 

[brahmastra]

Urumi

 

[ehsanm1]

6th Army, Army Group South, Wehrmacht.

Waffen SS.

---------- Post added at 04:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:07 PM ----------

US Marine Corps

Navy Seals

Green Berets

Wasn't German 6th Army like whooped real hard at Battle of Stalingrad? Their retreat was the turning point in WWII in Eastern front, but nonetheless I think they were one hell of a unit that fought back millions of Soviets.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

The german 6th army was among the best german formations achieving incredible successes early in operation barbrossa.It downfall was due to the collapse of its rear guarded by rumanian forces,and when that happened it it sought to retreat, hitler ordered it to stand fast and was thus trapped. it held fast but was eventually forced to surrender in stalingrad.

The best german divisions of world war 2 were arguably the
'Grosdeutschland'division,the ss totenkopf from 1941 onwards[once the initial camp guard recruits were killed in action and the new cadre joined],the ss das reich and the ss LSSAH.And finally the panzer lehr and the fallsachirmjager divisions.[not luftwaffe ground troops]