Few will deny that the best technological endeavors of man have been directed towards developing weapons of war. Socialists will say it is actually because of the aggressive nature of man, who endeavored most of all to dominate his fellows as a matter of survival. He who can command others has the least chance of expiring through extraordinary methods because he has more means at his disposal, including human lives.
Humanists will say, on the other hand, that it is in reaction to the aggression of people with greater means, the lesser ones trying to blunt, if not neutralize, the superiority of the enemy in say, number of weapons, via a superior weapon. This was probably the line of reasoning why Hitler developed the Vergeltungswaffen, the V1 and V2 flying bombs, and the Me262, the first jetfighters to engage in air combat. Hitler may have sought to equalize the Allies' superiority in quantity of arms by creating better weapons which he called 'weapons of vengeance'.
But the landmark world war weapons are not the rockets, but the tanks. In both world wars, tanks, either by greater number or better tactics, forced the outcome of decisive battles in all areas of conflict. In such battles, tank formations either captured territory or inflicted such grave losses on the enemy that caused him to withdraw. The introduction of the first tanks in the Battle of the Somme caused so much consternation on the Germans they were forced to give up so much ground. Technology won the day for the Allies at the time.
Thus Germany used the tank as main offensive weapon -along with air attacks--- in their blitzkrieg strategies in World War 2. Tank formations enabled Heinz Guderian's forces to penetrate very deeply into French territory in the first days of the conflict that they would have reached the English Channel had Hitler not stopped him. The German Army Command and Hitler believed Guderian was lying in his combat progress reports and commanded him to stop for verification. Thus, the miracle of Dunkirk came to pass.
In the American Civil War, among the most prominent civil war weapons will be the bayonet. Although it has been used before in many conflicts, it came to effective use during the American Civil War, when both sides fought hand-to-hand combat in substantive numbers with it. Since repeating rifles were at its initial development at the time, the primary close quarters infantry weapon was the bayonet, not the sword, a cavalry weapon. After the musket, the bayonet was the second most effective killing instrument at the time.
For the Middle Ages, the most notable of medieval weapons, though not for offense but for defense, is the knight's armor. A knight in his armor can kill many largely unprotected yeomanry and duel with a similar knight within a day without himself getting physically damaged ---only tired probably---, and still retire for the night to fight again the next day. He was smug in his protective armor until, of course, he met the English long bow.
But the long bow is a totally different topic for discussion next.
Humanists will say, on the other hand, that it is in reaction to the aggression of people with greater means, the lesser ones trying to blunt, if not neutralize, the superiority of the enemy in say, number of weapons, via a superior weapon. This was probably the line of reasoning why Hitler developed the Vergeltungswaffen, the V1 and V2 flying bombs, and the Me262, the first jetfighters to engage in air combat. Hitler may have sought to equalize the Allies' superiority in quantity of arms by creating better weapons which he called 'weapons of vengeance'.
But the landmark world war weapons are not the rockets, but the tanks. In both world wars, tanks, either by greater number or better tactics, forced the outcome of decisive battles in all areas of conflict. In such battles, tank formations either captured territory or inflicted such grave losses on the enemy that caused him to withdraw. The introduction of the first tanks in the Battle of the Somme caused so much consternation on the Germans they were forced to give up so much ground. Technology won the day for the Allies at the time.
Thus Germany used the tank as main offensive weapon -along with air attacks--- in their blitzkrieg strategies in World War 2. Tank formations enabled Heinz Guderian's forces to penetrate very deeply into French territory in the first days of the conflict that they would have reached the English Channel had Hitler not stopped him. The German Army Command and Hitler believed Guderian was lying in his combat progress reports and commanded him to stop for verification. Thus, the miracle of Dunkirk came to pass.
In the American Civil War, among the most prominent civil war weapons will be the bayonet. Although it has been used before in many conflicts, it came to effective use during the American Civil War, when both sides fought hand-to-hand combat in substantive numbers with it. Since repeating rifles were at its initial development at the time, the primary close quarters infantry weapon was the bayonet, not the sword, a cavalry weapon. After the musket, the bayonet was the second most effective killing instrument at the time.
For the Middle Ages, the most notable of medieval weapons, though not for offense but for defense, is the knight's armor. A knight in his armor can kill many largely unprotected yeomanry and duel with a similar knight within a day without himself getting physically damaged ---only tired probably---, and still retire for the night to fight again the next day. He was smug in his protective armor until, of course, he met the English long bow.
But the long bow is a totally different topic for discussion next.
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