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Why is the Infantry the "Queen of Battle?"?

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Update : I'm an Infantryman and I always wondered this.
Update 2: Ain't it something to do with chess?
Best Answer
the queen is the most versatile piece on a chess board, and the infantry is the most versatile forces on the battle field. infantry does everything and anything and is also the most dangerous force out there. yes you can drop a bomb on a city and kill everyone, but war is about selective, controlled violence; applied precisely where its needed.

i have no clue whats with devildawg...the army used close air support in WWI and WWII before the marines did...he's probably some USMC poolie who would insist that not only did the marines win the revolutionary war, but they captured the beaches of normandy as well.
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  • Father_internet answered 3 months ago
    What is the origin of Infantry being called the Queen of Battle?

    The earliest attributed quote credits Sir William Napier (1785-1860) with saying “Infantry is the Queen of Battles.” In a text by a Mr. G. Maspero, published in 1892, the army of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (7th century, B.C.) is described as follows: "There is, on an average one hundred foot soldiers to every ten cavalry and every single chariot; the infantry is really Queen of the Assyrian battles.” The expression hailing infantry as the queen of battle was widely in use at the time of Napoleon I (1769-1821).

    The ascendancy of the infantryman has been dated as far back as the English victory at Crecy in 1346, and to the later Battle of Agincourt, scene of another English victory over the French, in 1415. The decisive weapon in both battles was the English longbow; at Crecy the French crossbowmen could not match the rate of fire of the bowmen, while at Agincourt the massed French cavalry fell before the waves of arrows fired against them by an outnumbered English army led by the young king, Henry V. Both battles were stunning affirmations of the power of capably led and properly armed infantrymen.

    References to the queen of battle (or battles) continue to appear in doctrinal literature from the time of the First World War until today, and one of the most popular theories on the selection of the queen as symbol of our branch lies in the queen’s dominance of a chessboard, where she enjoys much more freedom of movement and mobility than any other piece. Her position as the most powerful piece on the board is indeed analogous to the role of the Infantry on the battlefield, and – like our branch – it is she who may well determine the final outcome. The king, on the other hand, is a vulnerable figure, and must rely upon others to protect him.
    AND yes I'm 11B
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  • Ben M answered 6 years ago
    In reference to Devil Dawg, the King of Battle is under the blanket term artillery. So under King of Battle is Field Artillery, Ballistic missiles, and Bomber support.

    In the middle ages the king was the guy who would make rash decisions about his kingdom, and the queen would emphasize finesse and efficiency. This also parallels the chess game, the queen really has the upper hand on the board, and can use the other pieces to her advantage to dominate the enemy (opposing chess pieces) Just like the infantry, air support is useless unless there is someone directing it towards a location, granted the pilot can find any random cave and blow it up.

    Source(s):

    I have been to Afghanistan, I have worked with Marines (very closely, I used to call artillery and CAS for their base all the time), and I am in the Army.
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  • gregory_dittman answered 6 years ago
    I've heard the tank was defined as the queen of battle. The reason given was everything was geared to destroy the enemy tanks and back up the friendly tanks. Since everything revolved around the tank it was called the queen of battle.

    Imagine two armies with 1000 ground troops each. Each side has 25 tanks. The primary orders from both sides would be to take out the tanks first while protecting the friendly tanks. No modern officer would go after the other's infantry first.

    Look how many weapons and weapon delivery systems the U.S. has specifically to take out tanks and the number is much more than specifically to take out infantry. There is no vehicle in the U.S. military to specifically take out infantry, but all of them are or can be fitted to kill tanks.
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  • King Of Battle answered 6 years ago
    Because artillery is the King

    During World War I and World War II, field artillery was the single highest casualty-producing weapons system on any battlefield
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  • cav57 answered 6 years ago
    Chess, the queen is the most powerful piece on the board.
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  • wichitaor1 answered 6 years ago
    I do not know how that can to be, Private, but Napoleon had originally called artillery the "Queen of Battle". Then again, he was an artillery officer.
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  • Marine5 answered 6 years ago
    It isn't...
    Artillery is the "Queen Of Battle"...
    She brings Order to the Battlefield
    that would otherwise be just a "Brawl"...

    Source(s):

    Retired Marine...Told to me by Two Different Army Officers...RVN
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  • Laney1229 answered 6 years ago
    because FA is the King of Battle!
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  • Rufus answered 6 years ago
    Because the King is close air support.

    Any infantryman will tell you how sweet the sound of rotor blades or a jet coming in for a bombing run is to them. That is their lifeline. It has been since the Marines developed and refined the close air support mission in WWII.

    Marines fight as a unit. The Army doesn't recognize this as much as Marines. A Marine pilot's job is to protect the marine on the ground. The new UH-1Z, the Zulu Cobra was developed to protect the marine on the ground. It even has air to air capability which the Apache doesn't have. They can shoot down enemy aircraft which dare to attack ground forces. As a Huey door gunner my job was to get marines on the ground, protect them while they were on the ground and get them back home safely. That's what we did and close air support is among the foremost of marine tactics.
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  • Why is the Infantry the "Queen of Battle?"?
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  • Morpheus answered 6 years ago
    Queen? I bet that idea came from a LONG time ago before a Queen was an aging homosexual.
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