Since its declaration of independence from Great Britain, the United States has experienced wars of many different sorts. Each war introduced a new kind of warfare. The Revolutionary War introduced for the first time in American history, the idea of naval warfare. Ships were armed with dozens guns and carried several dozens of men. The musket, armed with its bayonet as well as the cannon proved to be worthy weaponry advancements in the infantry together with various pistols.
However, the machine gun was developed into a smaller and portable weapon in the late 1800’s. It was not until 1914 when the machine gun rose into prominence and gradually became one of the most effective weapons of WWI. The 1914 machine gun has transformed the nature of warfare by immensely increasing infantry firepower. This weapon had the firepower of a hundred guns. Firing approximately 400 – 600 small-calibre bullets in one minute, depending on which machine gun was used, the weapon allowed for rapid, continuous fire, thereby eliminating frequent reloading.
Another Great invention was the rifling of musket barrels which increased both range, and accuracy in muskets to about 750-900 feet. The new technology ranged from weapons, cameras, telegraphs, to tin cans. New weapons allowed soldiers to be more effective, but this new technology also meant that more soldiers were killed. Although the biggest invention was the Gatling Gun, which was the modern day machine gun during the Civil War. The Gatling gun saw only limited use in the Civil War, but was a huge step to modern day technology.
Human nature will always advance in technology and our way of life. From year to year technology has been a huge factor in war. First people used sticks and stones to fight their wars, and then came the use of steel and armor, then the introduction of gun powder and bombs, use of vehicles and planes and now atomic bombs. Technology has changed the way we fight in the battlefield; it became less personal and face to face. Two technological advances that had a major impact on World War I were the tanks and the airplanes.
November 1, 2012 The Use of Technology in World War I World War 1 was a war unlike any other, combat wasn’t just simple machinery and swords it anymore it evolved therefore the fatalities skyrocketed. Combat had gone through an evolution that changed the game plan of war immensely. With this evolution came trench warfare, machine guns, new artillery, and even coming up with using poisonous gasses as a weapon. “This new style of warfare was brought about principally by new technology that arose from the furnaces and factories of industrial Europe” (Maps of the World). As technology become more sophisticated so did the weapons therefore technology became a big part of this world war.
This transportation could have easily included people, but more importantly: weapons. Rounded, the North had about 22,000 miles of railroad compared to the 9,000 miles the South had spread their land over. Lastly, another great benefit to the North was loaded with factories that help supplied the weapons needed for fighting men. In fact, the Union contained about 90% of the nation’s industry, so they were obviously in the lead of weapon production. Some advantages for the South included their strong navy and army fleet.
Do you agree with the view that the Great War resulted in a revolution in the art of warfare for the British army? Throughout the First World War, there were numerous technological and tactical advances, many of which had not been seen or used by military forces before. Between the start of the war in 1914 and the end of the war in 1918, the changes in tactics and technology was huge, thus creating a new never before seen type of warfare. From looking at the sources, we can see both sources 7 and 8 agree with the view that the Great war resulted in a revolution in the art of warfare, whereas source 9 disagrees. As we see in source 7, Captain D. Kelly states ‘The attack gave a striking proof of the also make mentions of the advancements of the British army’.
Christopher Moran Mr. Buonaspina PC World History 22nd February 2011 Military Industrial Complex History has can teach us that conflict has been part of human nature for as long as anyone can remember. Quarrels have been settled by a barbaric manner that has grown more and more advanced overtime. This has been assisted with new innovations in weapons and war strategies. Take the Romans for a perfect example. They were the mightiest nation Europe has every known during 500 BC.
It had also strengthened the U.S. military. Before the U.S. went into the war, the military only consisted of about 200,000 soldiers. Through the Selective Service Act, men were required to go to war if selected for military service. The U.S. army built up a force of over five million troops to help the Allies achieve victory. As a result of WWI, "the U.S military evolved into the powerful fighting force that it remains
Repeating rifles, machine guns, and high powered artillery was expected to shorten war time. The new weapons did the opposite; they prolonged war time and allowed huge loses of lives. Machine guns could mow enemy soldiers down form a distance. This act is seen clearly in the battle scenes of All Quite on the Western Front. Shelling also became very popular during this war.