The history of technological advancements has been, among other things, fuelled by armed conflicts and warfare between and within nations. The equipment and tools used in the course of war have progressed from the crude types, such as sharpened sticks, to predator missiles and automatic weaponry. Each emerging piece of military technology has had the impact on changing the way in which humans engage in warfare and the tactics adopted during the conflicts (Herbst 56). In order to fully understand the changes in approaches to war over time, it is critical to follow the enhancements in military weaponry and equipment. The 20th century (1900-2000) is regarded as the most active and innovative century in terms of evolution of weaponry and subsequent approaches to warfare. In essence, it is the century that featured such infamous armed conflicts as World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, among other, smaller conflicts between belligerent parties. Each war scenario presented a case of advanced weaponry, which, in turn, was matched with changes in approaches to the war (Herbst 56). It is apparent that each new century brings its own technological advancements and breakthrough inventions for the development of the war process and military progress. Thus, to a great extent, the evolution of weaponry from the years 1900 to 2000 changed war in exceptional ways. This essay will highlight the most notable moments that articulate the major weaponry changes, elaborating on some of the particular weapons used during armed conflicts of the 20th century.
Prior to the beginning of the 20th century, there were other wars that set the pace for the rapid evolution of weaponry that was witnessed during this remarkable century. The American Revolutionary War, for instance, featured privateering, with the American fleets being armed with rifles, muskets, bayonets, and other common artillery weapons of the day. During the Civil War, the weapons featured included small arms, such as rifles, and field artillery; changes in the naval techniques (e.g., Ironclads and submarines) were introduced in the war (Warren 769). It is critical to explore this background because the development of weaponry from 1900 henceforth was a mere continuation of the evolution of weaponry and warfare in the world. In the past, the introduction of new weapons meant that the approaches to the battleground had to be revised. For instance, the Revolutionary War, which manifested the use of crude weapons, such as rifles and muskets, involved close contact during battles, but the Civil War meant that more distance had to be kept, and more logical approaches had to be employed in the battlefield. These developments set the precedence for the rapid developments of weaponry during the 20th century (Warren 770).
One of the key moments in the history of the development of weaponry during the 20th century was the start of World War I. In essence, before this war, the world was reasonably calm in terms of conflict; still, the background developments in weaponry were being conducted, and this was proven during the eruption of WWI (Wheelis 98). This war highlighted considerable technological changes in weaponry. Advances included the introduction of tanks, gas, aeroplanes, and a myriad of other latest equipment. Some of the weaponry was cited as the reason for some of the most brutal warfare and the most widespread world destruction ever witnessed since warfare was invented. The combat and battlefield styles were mainly centred on the trench warfare approach. The tactics applied earlier, where soldiers would stand in lines across fields facing the enemy, were now in the past because the weapons were too advanced for this kind of tactics (Wheelis 123). During WWI, the Western Front, which covered areas of Northern France and Belgium, witnessed the most abrasive trench warfare, whereby combat between the German forces and Allied forces was centred. The inclusion of trench warfare was a result of the new technologies in the weaponry front, as the trenches were designed to protect fighters from aircrafts, machine gun fire, and attacks with the use of chemical weapons. The trenches were constructed in response to the fatalities witnessed during the Civil War due to poor tactics. The advancements were so fatal that during the first day of the Battle of Somme, there were almost 70,000 British casualties. In total, this battle claimed the lives of approximately 9 million soldiers, while, for instance, the Civil War witnessed 620,000 soldiers die. The adjustments during WWI were in response to these fatalities as a result of technological advancements not being met with changes in tactics (Wheelis 145).
The machine gun was first used during the Civil War, but it was heavy and crude, which meant that its effectiveness on the war front was limited (Coupland and Meddings 407). However, Hiram Maxim, who was the pioneer of the Gatling gun made adjustments, which allowed the gun to fire between 500 and 700 rounds of bullets at the warfront. Flame throwers, later widely used by Germans, as well as the Allied Forces, were designed by Richard Fielder. However, this weapon, which had been revealed to the interested parties in 1901, was not featured in wars until WWI broke out. The trench warfare meant that the flame thrower was dangerous because soldiers could acquire structural damage without the trenches being destroyed. The flame thrower was first used in the battle at Verdun by the German forces, which prompted the Allies to evacuate their soldiers and erect deeper and more protective trenches (Coupland and Meddings 408).
In the second year of WWI, 1915, the Germans launched around 150 tons of chlorine gas against French soldiers. This is considered one of the most brutal attacks of the war, and it pushed other nations involved in the war to launch their own gas attacks. This motivated the distance warfare where troops would ensure that they understood the location of the enemy troops and try to keep distance to avoid proximity to such attacks. Aircrafts were widely used in WWII, but in the course of WWI fighters had begun learning how to mount bombs and guns on aeroplanes. During the war, countries involved continued to improve the design of tanks. During the war, a tank as large as 14 tons could manoeuvre through the battlefield at a speed of 2 miles per hour but could not cross the trenches. As a response, enemy soldiers sought to dig even deeper trenches to combat the effects of the tanks (Coupland and Meddings 409).
With the conclusion of WWI, it was time for further preparations, as countries invested even more into advancement of weaponry in preparation of a similar scenario. WWI was a wakeup time for the world because it was the largest war in history at the time, and it introduced technological advances that meant the world could be destroyed (Liivoja 1159). Even though a vast array of modern weapons were featured in WWI, World War II introduced even more impactful changes. Instead of waging war within trenches, troops started a new tactic where they would take cover in foxholes and shell craters, as opposed to hunkering down in set soldier lines. Additionally, advancement in warfare witnessed the advancement of more ways for troops to access the battlefield, with railways, motorised vehicles, and airplanes being an addition to the speed of weaponry in the war, resulting in a progressive evolution of warfare approaches, strategies, and tactics (Liivoja 1160). The top military developments and the evolution of war weapons, which was witnessed during WWII, formed the basis for understanding the developments showcased during the war.
One of the most notable developments during WWII was the M1 Garand Rifle. The US military set up a large number of troops equipped with this gun, utilising it as their standard-issue weapon for majority of their infantry units. This was a new form of weapon because it allowed auto-loading, which gave troops the merit and additional advantages at most military engagements. Ultimately, the gun witnessed such success in the battlefield that the US experienced a spike in demand from the Allied Forces. Consequently, approximately 5 million of the riffles had been produced ad used in war before it came to an end (Liivoja 1168).
One of the most documented advancements in weaponry during WWII was the use of military airplanes because it completely changed war tactics in the battlefield. At the time when the war began, airplanes had included small adjustments since the WWI (OâConnell 45). Since military bombers had the capacity to destroy towns, strategically hit selected locations, and cause unrest, superiority in the air became a major factor in battleground plans for both conflicting sides. There were three leading military airplanes, which had the most impact on the war. The first was B-17. This airplane, dubbed the Flying Fortress, was a large plane made for the US Air Force and fitted with 9 machine guns; it had a capacity to hold bombs of up to 5,000 pounds to be dropped on enemies. It could fly at a high speed of 296 kilometres per hour and proved useful against the Nazi forces (OâConnell 66). The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a Japanese aeroplane and one of the most deadly military advancements of the war. It is credited with the Pearl Harbor attack and was used in long-range situations because it was built as a versatile weapon. It was equipped with cannons, machine guns, and two bombs of more than 130 pounds. It was also used largely for suicide missions by Kamikaze pilots. The third aeroplane, the Supermarine Spitfire, was the jet fighter responsible for singlehandedly saving Britain from the dangerous and highly advanced Luftwaffe. These planes had diverse weaponry combinations, containing cannons and machine guns of different sizes and numbers. Planes and their incorporation into warfare revolutionised warfare tactics making the approaches from airspace more common than the battleground approaches (OâConnell 95).
The atomic bomb, one of the most deadly weapons to ever be featured in war, was introduced during WWII. In essence, nuclear technology can be regarded as likely the most dangerous military technology introduced during this war. This is one of the most widely documented cases of the impact that technology had on war. The atomic bomb had the capacity to turn an entire city to ashes (OâConnell 95). This weapon gave the countries with nuclear weapons a substantial competitive advantage and leverage in winning or preventing a military conflict. The US is famously credited with developing the atomic bomb and consequently dropping it onto Hiroshima, leading to fatalities of more than 80,000 people, and leaving the city in ruins. After the Japanese insisted on pursing the war, the US forces dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki, causing 70,000 fatalities as an immediate impact (OâConnell 103). These fatality numbers were followed up by more deaths in subsequent days, and the attacks were responsible bringing the war to an end. As such, nuclear technology can be regarded as the most destructive technology first utilised in the Second World War, and the impact it had on the battlefield changed the realm of warfare completely. Besides the stated advancements, World War II also witnessed the advancement in tank weaponry, whereby powerful tanks hit the battlefields, causing havoc and damage. During this war, the tanks were much improved. Additionally, there naval carriers and warships, which played a crucial roles in waging war in the pacific and successfully allowing troops to access Europeâs mainland (Frischknecht 48).
Following the end of the WWII, any other war that came after was not as extensively studies as this one because none of them could naturally measure up to the level of impact that WWII had. Nonetheless, one of the wars that manifested further advancements in weaponry and war tactics is the Korean War. The start of the war was June 25, 1950 after South Korea was invaded by North Korea. The war took more than three years before it could be concluded, with North Korea getting support from China and the Soviet Union, while South Korea garnered support from the UN, mostly the US (Frischknecht 49). The most commonly used weapon during the war was the jet aircraft. The conflict involved an infamous jet-to-jet combat at the battlefield. At the time, to offer support to South Korea, the US met the Soviet jets at the battlefield. As a result of the clear superiority posed by jet engines, the Korean War was notably the very last time that aircrafts using piston engines would be used at the battlefield against aircrafts using jet engines. Some of the most notable jet-fighters from the war were the F-86 Sabre, which was used in fast missions, and the MiG-15 from the Soviet Union. The USAF used bombers, such as Douglas B-26, as well as the super fortress titled Boeing B-29, which were mostly used for attacking such strategic locations as the railroads and airfields (Frischknecht 51).
During the Korean War, the North Korean army was armed with tanks from the Soviets; South Korea, backed by the US, was investing in rocket launchers, which could offer sustainable resistance. The Bazooka, measuring 2.37 inches, that was used in WWII could not successfully destroy 5-inches of armour. Thus, to develop equipment that was appropriate in the battle to fight highly effective, tough, and strategic Soviet forces using the T34 jet tank, the US launched the 3.5 inch M20, which used HEAT rockets to counter the impact of the tank. The Korean War was a somewhat extension of WWII, and it witnessed an immense advance in the use of large amounts of body armour (Guillemin 46). Even though this technology was still to be fully developed, the body armour used by the US, for instance the M-1951, was able to protect the battlefield troops from airborne projectiles. By insulating their vests with aluminium and plastic plates, the technology could not stop the bullets from the close range, but it was still an effective approach to shield them against shrapnel. It was during the Korean War that such battlefield tactics as ground-directed bombing was effectively implemented. This is generally a practice of aviation or ground support equipment personnel whose main purpose is directing airstrikes made from the ground. One of the examples of its application was the use of radar-monitored bombing technologies, such as the MPQ-14, which was used by Marine air support technical teams to assist in directing war aircraft. The Vietnam War witnessed a similar evolution of weaponry, with such firearms as M16, AK47, and M60 making a debut. Additionally, helicopters to the tune of 8,000 of them and Cluster bombs, Napalm, and booby traps were all launched during the Vietnam War. Booby traps were especially effective, as they led to the death of 45,000 US soldiers (Guillemin 48).
Following the end of the World War II, the world was in a state of shock regarding the kind of damage that a war would cause with the current technological advancements. The world entered a phase of the Cold War, which was a major non-combatant psychological warfare between superpowers. Every powerful nation was investing heavily in military and atomic weaponry in preparation for another possible war outbreak. In essence, the occurrences of the previous war altered the war tactics. The GPS, internet, and reliable internet chips and transmitters were some of the alarming weaponry developments attached to the Cold War era (Karaganov 89). The technology during the Cold War made it possible for countries to engage in defence development across the internet landscape. The arms and space race was able to spawn a myriad of technologies that created a vast array of business opportunities for the countries that were heavily invested in the conflict. The Cold War manifested the development of primitive computers that could change the process of the war. At the end, the superpowers came to an agreement that another war would be the last one for humankind, and the world would, most likely, not recover from another episode. Some of the most lethal weaponry advancements made during this period include the USS George Washington, which involved the development of nuclear weapons at an alarming phase, the AK-47, which was one of the most impactful weapons ever made, the F-4 Phantom, and the FN-FAL Battle Rifle (Karaganov 93).
To a large extent, the evolution of weaponry from 1900 to 2000 changed the ways of engaging in war apparently and alarmingly at the same time. The 20th century is by far the most evolutionary century in terms of weaponry and war approaches. These developments, picked up from the previous century, especially the Civil War, were extended through the two World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. Smaller conflicts of the era utilised the advancements made during these wars. Since the Vietnam War and the Cold War, the evolution of war weapons has made it possible for humans to fight remotely. Even though forces on the ground still play a crucial role during the process of a war, the majority of the pieces of military technology provide an enhanced opportunity for war to be waged from a considerable physical distance because the causalities of a close-range war are often unfathomable. Up until the end of the century, such technological innovations as drones, tomahawk missiles, and space weapons had been discovered, and it is fortunate that the world has not been able to witness a full-fledged war during this period because the implications would be fatal for the entire humankind. Evolution, innovation, and the desire to rule the world are what has driven the development of weaponry throughout the human history, with even more inventions being made currently for the proliferation of control and defence.