Editing Infantry (section)

== Equipment ==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2017}}

[[File:Feldküche im Hof der Sekundarschule Spitalacker - CH-BAR - 3241487.tif|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Swiss Army]] infantry kits arrayed in front of a [[field kitchen]] in Spitalacker, [[Bern]] during a workers' strike, {{circa|1918}}]]

Beyond main arms and armour, an infantryman's "military kit" generally includes [[combat boot]]s, [[battledress]] or combat [[Military uniform|uniform]], [[camping gear]], heavy weather gear, [[Survival kit#Military kits|survival gear]], secondary weapons and [[ammunition]], weapon service and repair kits, health and hygiene items, [[Mess kit#Military|mess kit]], [[Field ration|rations]], filled [[Canteen (bottle)|water canteen]], and all other consumables each infantryman needs for the expected duration of time operating away from their unit's base, plus any special mission-specific equipment. One of the most valuable pieces of gear is the [[entrenching tool]]—basically a folding [[spade]]—which can be employed not only to dig important defences, but also in a variety of other daily tasks, and even sometimes as a weapon.<ref>{{cite web|title=Military kit through the ages: from the Battle of Hastings to Helmand|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/11011316/Military-kit-through-the-ages-from-the-Battle-of-Hastings-to-Helmand.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804182848/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/11011316/Military-kit-through-the-ages-from-the-Battle-of-Hastings-to-Helmand.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 August 2014|website=The Telegraph|access-date=26 October 2017}}</ref> Infantry typically have shared equipment on top of this, like tents or heavy weapons, where the carrying burden is spread across several infantrymen. In all, this can reach {{convert|25-45|kg|lb|-1|abbr=on}} for each soldier on the march.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Murphy|first1=Patricia|title=Weight Of War: Soldiers' Heavy Gear Packs On Pain|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/04/10/134421473/weight-of-war-soldiers-heavy-gear-packs-on-pain|newspaper=NPR|access-date=26 October 2017}}</ref> Such heavy infantry burdens have changed little over centuries of warfare; in the late Roman Republic, legionaries were nicknamed "[[Marius' mules]]" as their main activity seemed to be carrying the weight of their legion around on their backs, a practice that predates the eponymous [[Gaius Marius]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Michael J |date=2019 |title=Tactical reform in the late Roman republic: the view from Italy |url=https://biblioscout.net/article/10.25162/historia-2019-0004 |journal=Historia |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=76–94 |doi=10.25162/historia-2019-0004 |s2cid=165437350 |issn=0018-2311|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

[[File:2013 09 26 SL Foot Patrol E.jpg (9977498896).jpg|thumb|[[Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces]] infantry "packing light" during a [[patrol]] in 2013]]

When combat is expected, infantry typically switch to "packing light", meaning reducing their equipment to weapons, ammunition, and other basic essentials, and leaving other items deemed unnecessary with their transport or [[baggage train]], at camp or rally point, in temporary hidden caches, or even (in emergencies) simply discarding the items.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Handy | first1=Aaron Jr. |title=That Powerless Feeling |publisher=Trafford Publishing |date=2010 |isbn=978-1-4251-3155-5 |section=Part Two, chapter 3 }}</ref> Additional specialised equipment may be required, depending on the mission or to the particular terrain or environment, including [[satchel charge]]s, [[demolition]] tools, [[Land mine|mines]], or [[barbed wire]], carried by the infantry or attached specialists.

Historically, infantry have suffered high casualty rates from [[disease]], exposure, exhaustion and privation—often in excess of the casualties suffered from enemy attacks.<ref>{{cite book |last=McPherson |first=James M. |title=Battle cry of freedom : the Civil War era |date=1989 |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=0345359429 |page=[https://archive.org/details/battlecryoffreed00jame/page/485 485] |edition=1st Ballantine books |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/battlecryoffreed00jame/page/485 }}</ref> Better infantry equipment to support their health, energy, and protect from environmental factors greatly reduces these rates of loss, and increase their level of effective action. Health, energy, and morale are greatly influenced by how the soldier is fed, so militaries issue standardised [[field ration]]s that provide palatable meals and enough calories to keep a soldier well-fed and combat-ready.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Communications gear has become a necessity, as it allows effective command of infantry units over greater distances, and communication with artillery and other support units. Modern infantry can have [[GPS]], encrypted individual communications equipment, surveillance and night vision equipment, advanced intelligence and other high-tech mission-unique aids.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Armies have sought to improve and standardise infantry gear to reduce fatigue for extended carrying, increase freedom of movement, accessibility, and compatibility with other carried gear, such as the American [[all-purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment]] (ALICE).{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

=== Weapons ===
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2017}}

[[File:Рисунки к статье «Древне-русское вооружение». Вклейка № 1. Военная энциклопедия Сытина (Санкт-Петербург, 1911-1915).jpg|thumb|Russian weapons from the 13th to 17th centuries]]

Infantrymen are defined by their primary arms – the [[personal weapons]] and [[body armour]] for their own individual use. The available technology, resources, history, and society can produce quite different weapons for each military and era, but common infantry weapons can be distinguished in a few basic categories.<ref name="Germany at War">{{cite book |last1=Zabecki |first1=David T. |title=Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=28 October 2014 |isbn=978-1598849806 |page=640 }}</ref><ref name="List of weapons">{{cite web |last1=Blumberg |first1=Naomi |title=List of weapons |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-weapons-2058724 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |publisher=The Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |access-date=13 November 2017}}</ref>

* <u>Ranged combat weapons</u>: [[javelin]]s, slings, [[blowgun]]s, bows, [[crossbow]]s, hand cannons, [[arquebuses]], [[muskets]], [[grenades]], [[flamethrower]]s.<ref name="List of weapons" />
* <u>Melee combat weapons</u>: bludgeoning weapons like [[Club (weapon)|clubs]], [[flail (weapon)|flails]] and [[mace (bludgeon)|maces]]; [[bladed weapons]] like swords, [[dagger]]s, and [[axe]]s; [[polearm]]s like spears, halberds, [[naginata]], and pikes.<ref name="List of weapons" />
* <u>Both ranged and close weapons</u>: the bayonet fixed to a firearm allows infantrymen to use the same weapon for both ranged combat and close combat. This started with [[musket]]s and its use still continues with modern [[assault rifle]]s.<ref name="List of weapons" /> Use of the bayonet has declined with the introduction of [[automatic firearm]]s, but are still generally kept as a weapon of last resort.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kontis |first1=George |title=Are We Forever Stuck with the Bayonet? |url=http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=531 |website=Small Arms Defense Journal |access-date=13 November 2017}}</ref>

Infantrymen often carry secondary or back-up weapons, sometimes called a [[Sidearm (weapon)|sidearm]] or ancillary weapons. Infantry with ranged or polearms often carried a sword or dagger for possible hand-to-hand combat.<ref name="Germany at War" /> The ''[[pilum]]'' was a javelin the Roman legionaries threw just before drawing their primary weapon, the ''[[gladius]]'' (short sword), and closing with the enemy line.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zhmodikov |first1=Alexander |title=Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte |chapter=Roman Republican Heavy Infantrymen in Battle (IV-II Centuries B.C.) |volume= 49 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2000 |issue=1 |isbn=978-1598849806 |page=640 }}</ref>

Modern infantrymen now treat the bayonet as a backup weapon, but may also have [[handgun]]s as [[Sidearm (weapon)|sidearms]]. They may also deploy anti-personnel mines, booby traps, incendiary, or explosive devices defensively before combat.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

=== Protection ===
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2017}}

[[Image:Roman turtle formation on trajan column.jpg|thumb|The [[Roman legion|Roman]] ''[[testudo formation|testudo]]'' performed during a [[siege]], as shown on [[Trajan's Column]]]]

Infantry have employed many different methods of protection from enemy attacks, including various kinds of armour and other gear, and tactical procedures.

The most basic is [[personal armour]]. This includes [[shield]]s, [[military helmet|helmets]] and many types of armour – [[Gambeson|padded linen]], leather, [[Lamellar armour|lamellar]], [[mail (armor)|mail]], [[plate armor|plate]], and [[kevlar]]. Initially, armour was used to defend both from ranged and close combat; even a fairly light shield could help defend against most slings and javelins, though high-strength bows and crossbows might penetrate common armour at very close range. Infantry armour had to compromise between protection and coverage, as a full suit of attack-proof armour would be too heavy to wear in combat.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}
[[File:960411-A-1972C-002 - LTC Bill Kazdobe and SFC Ira Cherrie.jpg|thumb|Two U.S. Army soldiers presenting the [[Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops]] body armor, then regularly issued to American infantry, in 1996]]
As firearms improved, armour for ranged defence had to be made thicker and heavier, which hindered mobility. With the introduction of the heavy arquebus designed to pierce standard steel armour, it was proven easier to make heavier firearms than heavier armour; armour transitioned to be only for close combat purposes. Pikemen armour tended to be just steel helmets and breastplates, and gunners had very little or no armour at all. By the time of the musket, the dominance of firepower shifted militaries away from any close combat, and use of armour decreased, until infantry typically went without wearing any armour.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Helmets were added back during World War I as artillery began to dominate the battlefield, to protect against their [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|fragmentation]] and other blast effects beyond a direct hit. Modern developments in bullet-proof composite materials like kevlar have started a return to body armour for infantry, though the extra weight is a notable burden.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In modern times, infantrymen must also often carry protective measures against [[chemical warfare|chemical]] and [[biological warfare|biological]] attack, including [[military gas mask]]s, counter-agents, and protective suits. All of these protective measures add to the weight an infantryman must carry, and may decrease combat efficiency.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

=== Infantry-served weapons ===
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2017}}

Early crew-served weapons were [[siege weapon]]s, like the [[ballista]], [[trebuchet]], and [[battering ram]]. Modern versions include [[machine guns]], [[anti-tank missiles]], and infantry [[mortar (weapon)|mortars]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}