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[[Image:British_Infantry1.jpg|right|thumb|300px|British Army [[infantry]] on maneouvres]]

[[Image:British_Infantry1.jpg|right|thumb|300px|British Army [[infantry]] on maneouvres]]

An '''army''' is a group of ground soldiers under the command of a general.  Armies were the main method of combat between [[kingdom|kingdoms]] in the pre-modern era.

An '''army''' is a group of ground soldiers under the command of a general.  Armies were the main method of combat between [[kingdom]]s in the pre-modern era.

Much of military strategy in the immediately pre-modern era centered around the question of whether or not it is preferable to maintain a "standing army" - that is, a group of soldiers ready to be "mobilized" at a moment's notice to fight for the country, functioning additionally as deterrence.  Standing armies are exorbitantly expensive to maintain.  Now, most countries maintain a small standing army, but nuclear powers rely on nuclear warheads to maintain deterrence in large part.

Much of military strategy in the immediately pre-modern era centered around the question of whether or not it is preferable to maintain a "standing army" - that is, a group of soldiers ready to be "mobilized" at a moment's notice to fight for the country, functioning additionally as deterrence.  Standing armies are exorbitantly expensive to maintain.  Now, most countries maintain a small standing army, but nuclear powers rely on nuclear warheads to maintain deterrence in large part.