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Armies in Ancient Age Module - I

Military History
of Ancient India

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Note

ARMIES IN ANCIENT AGE

In the previous lesson you have learnt that ancient Indians had evolved a modern
society and had advanced thoughts about the need for army and the weapons of war.
The Janapada concept was expanded to Mahajanapada, which essentially meant that
the King conquered neighbouring land to enlarge his Kingdom. With it came the idea
of Bharatavarsh. Regular armies were created and rules of war including warrior
codes were written. The warrior was respected and given a high place in society.

In this lesson we will learn how armies were organized to fight. Large armies required
controlling organization and rank structure to maintain efficiency of the fighting force.

Objectives

After studying this lesson you will be able to:

 describe the organization of armies into various groups such as Chariots, Elephants,
Cavalry, Infantry and etc;
 differentiate between a 'Regular Army' and a 'Mercenary force';

 differentiate between the words Strategy and Tactics and

 describe in brief the aspects of Naval Warfare, as our ancients knew it.

2.1 Organisation of the Army

 Our ancestors used two terms - "Regular Army" and "Proper Army". What is
the difference between these two words? The word Regular means a permanent
army composed of soldiers who are dedicated and devoted to the task of
protecting the nation and its people. A Proper army means an efficient fighting
machine. An army, which is well trained and always ready for battle, can be
called a Proper army.

 All armies of the world are required to fight in all types of terrain and are
accordingly equipped. India has vast and diverse terrain features ranging from
mountains, deserts, plains and forests. The army had to be mobile to cover great
distances and therefore chariots and cavalry formed the core strength along with

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MILITARY HISTORY 7