The Pattern of Army Growth, 1445–1945

While one brief essay cannot detail all the effects of military expansion, it can sketch the pattern of growth. In addition, this chapter reflects upon the roles played by the instruments and ideas of warfare in delineating the most fundamental institutional development of the half-millenium, 1445-1945. The curve drawn here outlines a rationale, beyond those based on industrial technology, for centering the discussion in Tools of War from the mid-fifteenth to the late nineteenth century. During that era, a particular quality and magnitude of growth provided a background, and at times a motif, for apparently diverse aspects of military history.