Early Modern Warfare
How did gunpowder and professional soldiers change war? Meet the musket and pike, the rise of the standing army, and the disciplined New Model Army of the English Civil War.
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War changes shape 🛡️
Between about 1500 and 1700, gunpowder weapons and professional soldiers changed how war was fought. This module looks at the musket and the pike, the rise of the permanent standing army, and the disciplined New Model Army of the English Civil War.
Words to know 🔑
Four terms run through this topic. Learn them first.
How armies changed ⚔️
The early modern army looked very different from the medieval one.
A structural change 💡
The New Model Army mattered as a STRUCTURAL change, not just because it won battles. It was full time, well paid, centrally organised and promoted officers on ability. Explain it as the model for a professional standing army, rather than only naming the battles it won.
Match the term 🔗
- Musket
- Pikemen
- Standing army
- New Model Army
- A gunpowder firearm that replaced the longbow
- Soldiers with long pikes who guarded the musketeers
- A permanent, paid force kept in peacetime
- A professional army formed in 1645
What replaced the longbow? 🎯
Which weapon replaced the longbow as the main missile weapon in early modern armies?
- The musket
- The pike
- The schiltron
- The cannon
Match the role 🐎
- Dragoon
- Requisitioning
- Pike and shot
- Cavalry
- A soldier who rode to battle but fought on foot
- Taking food and supplies from civilians
- Musketeers protected by pikemen together
- Soldiers who fought on horseback
Towards a professional army ✅
Which TWO of these show the move to a professional army? Choose all that apply.
- Keeping a permanent standing army
- Training a disciplined New Model Army
- Relying on a temporary feudal levy
- Arming knights with longbows
Put the change in order 🪜
An interactive activity.
Complete the sentences 🧩
In early modern armies the _____ replaced the longbow as the main missile weapon. Musketeers were protected by _____ carrying long pikes. Rulers began to keep a permanent _____ army rather than a temporary levy. In 1645 the professional New Model _____ was formed. Armies supplied themselves partly by _____ food and goods from civilians.
Count the years 🔢
An interactive activity.
Spot the New Model Army 🖍️
An interactive activity.
Sort the feature 🧭
An interactive activity.
Explain the change ✍️
An interactive activity.