Editing Battle (section)

=== Naval ===
[[File:De slag bij Terheide - The Battle of Schevening - August 10 1653 (Willem van de Velde I, 1657).jpg|thumb|The ''[[Battle of Scheveningen]]'' of 1653: episode from the [[First Anglo-Dutch War]].]]
One significant difference of modern naval battles, as opposed to earlier forms of combat is the use of [[marine (military)|marines]], which introduced amphibious warfare. Today, a marine is actually an infantry regiment that sometimes fights solely on land and is no longer tied to the navy. A good example of an ancient naval battle is the [[Battle of Salamis]]. Most ancient naval battles were fought by fast ships using the [[battering ram]] to sink opposing fleets or steer close enough for boarding in hand-to-hand combat. Troops were often used to storm enemy ships as used by [[ancient Rome|Romans]] and [[piracy|pirates]]. This tactic was usually used by civilizations that could not beat the enemy with ranged weaponry. Another invention in the late [[Middle Ages]] was the use of [[Greek fire]] by the Byzantines, which was used to set enemy fleets on fire. Empty demolition ships utilized the tactic to crash into opposing ships and set it afire with an explosion. After the invention of cannons, naval warfare became useful as support units for land warfare. During the 19th century, the development of mines led to a new type of naval warfare. The [[ironclad]], first used in the [[American Civil War]], resistant to cannons, soon made the wooden ship obsolete. The invention of military [[submarine]]s, during [[World War I]], brought naval warfare to both above and below the surface. With the development of military aircraft during [[World War II]], battles were fought in the sky as well as below the ocean. [[Aircraft carriers]] have since become the central unit in naval warfare, acting as a mobile base for lethal aircraft.