Infantry - History

History

Although the use of the term infantry in English dates from the 15th century (from French Infanterie, itself from the Italian Infanteria), the foot troops of the previous eras in history who fought with a variety of weapons before the introduction of the firearms are also referred to as infantry. During the Ancient and Middle Ages Infantry were categorized by the types of weapons and armor they used, such as heavy, medium, and light infantry. Since the introduction of firearms classifications have changed initially to reflect their formations on the battlefield as line infantry, and later to reflect modes of transport and type of tactics used by specific units as Mechanized infantry or airborne infantry.