Infantry


Infantry or footmen are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, bicycles, or other means. The word comes from the same Latin root as 'infant', either via Italian, where it referred to young men who accompanied knights on foot. or via Spanish, where the infantes (royal princes who were not heirs to the throne) commanded the footmen, hence known as infanteria.