Modern warfare in the context of "Military radio"

Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissance—in the Age of Reason of 17th-century thought and the 18th-century Enlightenment. Commentators variously consider the era of modernity to have ended by 1930, with World War II in 1945, or as late as the period falling between the 1980s and 1990s; the following era is often referred to as "postmodernity". The term "contemporary history" is also used to refer to the post-1945 timeframe, without assigning it to either the modern or postmodern era. (Thus "modern" may be used as a name of a particular era in the past, as opposed to meaning "the current era".)

Depending on the field, modernity may refer to different time periods or qualities. In historiography, the 16th to 18th centuries are usually described as early modern, while the long 19th century corresponds to modern history proper. While it includes a wide range of interrelated historical processes and cultural phenomena (from fashion to modern warfare), it can also refer to the subjective or existential experience of the conditions they produce, and their ongoing impact on human culture, institutions, and politics.

Armoured warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war. The premise of armoured warfare rests on the ability of troops to penetrate conventional defensive lines through use of manoeuvre by armoured units.

Much of the application of armoured warfare depends on the use of tanks and related vehicles used by other supporting arms such as infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and other combat vehicles, as well as mounted combat engineers and other support units. The doctrine of armoured warfare was developed to break the static nature of World War I trench warfare on the Western Front, and return to the 19th century school of thought that advocated manoeuvre and decisive battle outcomes in military strategy.

Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. It involves the whole range of potential weapons. The concept is generally taught as one of the three key principles of modern warfare wherein the enemy forces are destroyed or have their will to fight negated by sufficient and preferably overwhelming use of force as a result of combat operations.

Through the ages firepower has come to mean offensive power applied from a distance, thus involving ranged weapons as opposed to one-on-one close quarters combat. Firepower is thus something employed to keep enemy forces at a range where they can be defeated in detail or sapped of the will to continue. In the field of naval artillery, the weight of a broadside was long used as a figure of merit of a warship's firepower.

Historical reenactment (or reenactment) is an educational or recreational activity in which history enthusiasts and amateur hobbyists dress in period-accurate clothing and recreate aspects of past events or eras. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as a reenactment of Pickett's Charge presented during the 1913 Gettysburg reunion, or as broad as an entire period, such as Regency reenactment.

While historical reenactors are generally amateurs, some participants are military personnel or historians. The participants, called reenactors, often research the equipment, uniform, and other gear they will carry or use. Reenactors buy the apparel or items they need from specialty stores or make items themselves. Historical reenactments cover a wide span of history, from as far back as ancient warfare, the medieval warfare era, and the early modern warfare, to as recent as the World Wars, the Cold War era, and even the early 21st-century modern warfare in modern reenactment.

Escalade is the act of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders. Escalade was a prominent feature of sieges in ancient and medieval warfare. Although no longer common in modern warfare, escalade technologies are still developed and used in certain tactical applications.

A combat helmet, also called a ballistic helmet, battle helmet, or helmet system (for some modular accessory-centric designs) is a type of helmet designed to serve as a piece of body armor intended to protect the wearer's head during combat.

Helmets designed for warfare are among the earliest types of headgear to be developed and worn by humans, with examples found in several societies worldwide, the earliest of which date as far back as the Bronze Age. Most early combat helmets were designed to protect against close-range strikes, thrown objects, and low-velocity projectiles. By the Middle Ages, helmets that protected the entire head were common elements of plate armor sets. The development of firearms, cannons, and explosive weaponry rendered armor intended to protect against enemy attack largely obsolete, but lightweight helmets remained for identification and basic protection purposes into the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when developments in modern warfare saw a renaissance of combat helmets designed to protect against shrapnel, debris, and some small-caliber firearm munitions. Since the late 20th and early 21st centuries, helmets have evolved to protect against explosion shock waves and provide a mounting point for devices and accessories such as night-vision goggles and communications equipment.

During the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), management and treatment of prisoners of war (POWs) were very different from the standards of modern warfare. Modern standards, as outlined in the Geneva Conventions of later centuries, assume that captives will be held and cared for by their captors. One primary difference in the 18th century was that care and supplies for captives were expected to be provided by their own combatants or private resources.

Sherman's March to the Sea (also known as the Savannah campaign or simply Sherman's March) was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864, by William Tecumseh Sherman, major general of the Union Army. The campaign began on November 15 with Sherman's troops leaving Atlanta, recently taken by Union forces under Sherman, and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21. Emulating the chevauchée of medieval European warfare, his forces followed a "scorched earth" policy, destroying military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property, disrupting the Confederacy's economy and transportation networks.

The operation debilitated the Confederacy and helped lead to its eventual demise. Sherman's decision to operate deep within enemy territory without supply lines was unusual for its time, and his campaign of "hard war" is regarded by some historians as an early example of total war in modern warfare.