Military Technology in the Ancient World

Many technological changes were inspired toward martial purposes

Metals used to make weapons

First weapons à stones, clubs; then bow and arrow

Horse and Chariot à effective, but not entirely

Horses had to be fed à often hard to do because of limited food

Foot Soldier à carried sword and protected by shield

Catapults were another weapon

Military Technology and the Feudal Order

Military technology made few advances in the centuries following the fall of Rome

Sixth Century à new technology à the stirrup—not a weapon but made existing weapons more effective

Fixed warrior firmly to his horse thus giving him more fighting capacity

Feudal system in, by nature, decentralized – the fighting was decentralized as well. Knights fought for individual honor and not necessarily for a formal regime

Horse mounted knight was a symbol of nobility à from this, a culture of chivalry emerged.

Chivalry à chaval (french – horse)

New Weapons and The Decline of Feudalism

Knightly combat began to disintegrate when new technology emerged

14^th century à the pike (19 feet long, used by Swiss) used to break up knight assaults

Swiss Pikemen became the most feared soldiers in Europe

Longbow (used by Welsh) used to attack knights from afar. Could drive an arrow through several inches of oak

Crossbow also used to challenge knight (crank and ratchet assembly to draw arrow) cumbersome to reload

Knight had to use heavier armor to withstand attack à this led to decrease mobility

Castles à was a fortress of security

Trebuchet à weapon. A long arm unequally balanced on a fulcrum. One end held projectile, the other was weighted down. When catch was released, projectile flew.

The Gunpowder Revolution

The use of gunpowder sealed the fate of feudal weaponry

Fire was also used as a weapon. Perhaps it was the most terrifying of weapons

The invention of gunpowder transformed the nature of warfare

Gunpowder à originated in the east, China. Used medicinally

Introduced in Europe, 14^th century

Initially, gunpowder used to fire canons à very ineffective. Trebuchet worked better

Artillery appeared in 1453 (Moslem attackers successfully used cannon to knock down

Constantinople

Iron and bronze gun barrels were developed. Technology improved considerably

First guns had many shortcomings, but by the 16^th century became an indispensable component to warfare

Also, the way soldiers fought underwent a transformation

Soldier began to battle in rows à fire weapon then retreat to back row

Also, soldiers had to know how to use the weapons in order for them to be effective

Many soldiers buckled under the pressure of battle

Generals had to institute rigid battle procedures

War and the Centralized State

Artillery and firearms expanded the scope of warfare

New forms of warfare greatly increased the cost of military operations

Soldiers had to be trained to use equipment

This required standardization

As standardization in government became more evident so did the standardization of weaponry

Standardization of weaponry was not an easy process. In fact, little change occurred in 18^th and 19^th centuries

Changing weapons involves a change in a host of other structures

A new cannon will require new cannonballs, auxiliary devices, and retraining

Soldiers often resistant to change, especially regarding something as dangerous as warfare

New developments often have glitches and that is last thing you want when someone

Is pointing a cannon at your castle!!!!

Changes were made however

Development of breechloading weapons made loading quicker

New gunpowders were developed that were smokeless à so a soldier did not

Give away his position when he fired

Technological Change and the Naval Battleship

Steam powered ships soon became equipped with cannons à this revolutionized naval battle

Previous method of naval battle à ram opposing ship, board vessel, overtake crew through traditional combat

New method à disable or sink ship through use of cannon fire

Also, ships can transport weapons à profit

The mechanization of navy ships indelibly changed the culture of the navy

Navy had tradition that was reduced to rote procedures when technology was introduced

Weapons and The Modern World

Conduct of war began to change dramatically

Technological superiority of Western Europe clearly evidenced in the Opium Wars (1839-1842)

Cannons of British gunboats battered down Chinese fortresses

By second half of 19^th century, military gap between Europe and rest of world grew larger

The most effective weapon of Euro. Imperial advance was the machine gun

Came into being during the colonial wars of late 19^th and 20^th centuries

Euros. Arrogantly thought gun could be used only against "lesser breeds" of man

Euros realized (esp. during WWI) that the machine gun transformed warfare

Often with horrific repercussions (England lost 60,000 men during the

First day of the Battle of the Somme)

Submarine transformed navies the way machine gun transformed armies

Firing torpedos under water broke all traditional rules of naval battle

Tradition à let prisoners board ship before sinking enemy. Not so w/ subs

Airplane à wreaked havoc on civilian population

Even before A-Bomb à bombers killed several hundred thousand during WWII

A single air raid on Berlin killed more than 25,000

Despite bombings in WWII à civilian morale never broke down, and analysis shows that bombings did not play a decisive role in winning the war

"Bombing…produced much smaller military results than had been expected"

Nuclear War has proportions of which all other wars combined pale in comparison

One-megaton bomb can dig a 1,000 ft. wide crater to a depth of 200 ft.

"The terrifying power of modern weaponry has eliminated completely the distinction between soldier and civilian that already began to break down early in the 20^th century." (224)

Advanced military technology has opened the psychological distance between the warrior and his victims

Battle is much more impersonal

"You press a button and death flies down…How can there be writhing, mangled bodies? How can this air around you be filled with unseen projectiles? It is like listening to a radio account of a battle on the other side of the earth. It is too far away, too separated to hold reality…. In modern war one kills at distance, and in so doing he does not realize that he is killing." (225)