Find out about weapons of war used throughout the 20th Century to this day. Weapons of war have evolved over thousands of years. From sticks and Clubs to the firearms of today. Most important is the Machine Gun followed by the Rifle and Grenade. These weapons are carried by the most potent weapon of all: The Infantry Soldier. Air planes carrying bombs and rockets,helicopters with electricaly operated Machine Guns, Tanks and Personnel Carriers are other weapons available to assist the Infantry Soldier. Even the Navy chips in with its Guns, Landing Craft and Aircraft Carriers.

The most important weapon on any battlefield is the Infantryman with his personal weapons: rifle, submachine gun or machine gun,Bayonet and grenade. The Role of the Infantry Man: "is to close with and kill or capture the enemy and to take and hold ground in all types of terrain or weather". This applies to the Infantry Man, his Division,Brigade,Battalion, Company,Platoon and the smallest group, a Section or Squad. After a target has been Bombed, Shelled or Mortared the Infantry Man is required to go in clear out any remaining enemy and secure the area. Whilst in that place he will carry out other tasks such as caring for injured civilians, burial parties and creating defences. As can be seen in the above picture these men carry quite large packs. These packs are loaded with food,ammunition, items of clothing and anything else required for the job at hand can weigh up to 45kg(100lbs) and at times more.

During WWI the Lewis Gun was light enough to be carried by one man and was the Infantry Mans Section Weapon. In WWII and the Korean War the Lewis gun was replaced by the Bren Gun and by the time of the Vietnam War the Bren Gun Gave way to the Belt Fed M60. Where ever the section went, so did one of these guns.

Infantry Battalions even have their own Artillery. They are known as Mortars. On the left is a 3 inch mortar in action during the Korean War. They generally fired High Explosive, Smoke and Illumination Bombs. Some form of Mortar has been used in all wars during the 20th Century and are in use in Iraq and Afghanistan as those wars grind on.

The Navy was quite capable of providing support to the Infantry Man, the Aircraft Carrier to deploy Fighters and Bombers to assist in attack and defence, ships with landing craft able to land Infantry Men on beaches, and other ships able to provide a high volume of gun fire on to enemy positions from the sea. The picture on the left shows a Broadside from a Battleship in support of American Infantry Men in the Pacific against the Japanese.