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World War I, World War II Essay Technological innovation has played a significant role in most modern twentieth century armed conflicts In both the great wars- World War I, World War II and in the consequent Cold War era ,technology was used to enhance and develop weapons to garner military advantage and turn the conflict in favour of a particular country or respective front. In fact technology has helped to revolutionize the manner in which both the great wars were fought and eventually won. The cold war was actually more of a foreign policy exercise than an actual war. After the Second World War the new world order stipulated the polarization of most of the world into two blocs- the Capitalist Bloc headed by the United States and the Communist Bloc headed by the USSR. Though the cold war was never fought as a military battle the accumulation of weapons of destruction was a major feature of the foreign policy tactics of both the USSR and the US. Known aptly as the arms race this tactic was a key factor that helped determine regional power play in the thirty to forty odd years of the cold war. Some of the weapons introduced by various countries to secure military advantage in the first and Second World War as well as the cold war have been developed and widely adopted to form the military arsenal of most countries world wide Today when we look at armed conflict it is difficult to imagine a battlefield without machine guns, grenade and tanks. But prior to world war one most battles were fought with bayonets, swords, rifles and muskets. The use of technology to develop new weapons to be used in conflict revolutionized combat in World War One. Combat underwent a metamorphosis from a battle fought by infantrymen on a battle ground to a new model: trench warfare. This new style of warfare is attributable to technological development that was taking place in the factories of an industrial Europe. The innovative weapons that helped changed the course of the First World War can be essentially categorized as follows: Machine guns: Though machine guns were first developed and employed in the American Civil War to achieve a devastating effect it was in World War One that the effectiveness of these weapons reached a new height. These weapons achieved the capability to fire up to 600 bullets a minute- the equivalent of 250 men firing bullets with rifles and were classified as a weapon of mass destruction. This was highly beneficial to the armies deploying the weapons because it increased both effectiveness and reduced the number of infantry men employed in combat. These additional infantry could be trained and deployed in Ariel and naval combat Artillery: The First World War set a new standard in the number of cannons used. Never before were so many cannons used in one war. German scientists were responsible for developing Big Bertha the deadliest artillery of the time. This cannon was so powerful it had the potency to fire into the heart of Paris from a distance as far away 120 kilometres away. The scientists of the time did not only work on improving the cannons they also developed high-explosive shells. Instead of using the conventional materials these shells used thin casings filled with tiny lead pellets. These shells were highly effective and artillery power killed hundreds and thousands of men during the course of the war. The artillery was also used to blow up the ground and render trench warfare ineffective as it mad hiding underground in trenches more difficult. Gas Warfare: the First World War introduced humanity to the horrors of gas warfare. Invented by the Germans gas grenades were extremely toxic and highly effective in wiping out battalions of enemy soldiers. There were 3 main types of gas warfare which was used in the First World War. The first type of warfare employed a tearing agent which was responsible for causing temporary blindness and resulted in greatly inflaming the nose and throat of the victim. The second type of Warfare employed poisonous gases, including chlorine, phosgene and diphosgene which were highly toxic and resulted in almost certain death. Though gas masks were used during the war to protect against these gases they did not prove to be very effective. The third type of warfare employed the most dreaded of all chemical weapons in World War I mustard gas. Mustard gas burnt the lungs and skin of the inhaler leaving them to die a slow agonizing and extremely painful death. Thousands of troops were forced to die a painful death as a result of the gas warfare employed in the First World War. Tanks: Manufactured and deployed during the First World War to aid trench warfare the early tanks were no more than giant blocks of metal that could carry 1-2 people and travelled at 5 kilometres per hour. The benefits of these early tanks were that they served as moving armour car that could stand machine gun fire and could move over bared wire and destroy the machine gun nests of the enemy. Though they still required considerable developments the early version of the tank did meet with some success and created a permanent place for itself in the contemporary battle field. Planes: In the First World War planes were not armed and air combat did not play an active role in the war. Warplanes were developed in 1914 and were used primarily to observe enemy troop movements provide support to ground troops and provide information about artillery deployment. The Germans in particular deployed a number of aircrafts to help their war efforts including mini scout planes to huge floating blimps called Zeppelins that were used to carry bombs and throw them at the unsuspecting enemy. Naval Units: Naval combat played a very important and significant role in the First World War. The majority of the conflicts were fought at sea with the Allied powers aiming to negotiate a blockade of the Central Powers by sea and the Central powers attempting to break this blockade. Technoloy was used to create and deploy battleships that could carry weapons and engage in naval warfare. While the British excelled at producing and deploying Battleships the Germans developed the initial version of a submarine which would attack these battleships with stealth and speed and benefit from the element of surprise by submerging itself in the water. Technological warfare played a crucial role in determining the outcome of World War II. By the time the Second World War broke out in 1939 Scientists and researchers had already developed most of the weapons that were initially deployed in the First World War including tanks, and submarines and also developed new technology to accommodate a new brand of warfare known as aerial combat. The war greatly escalated technological development in most nations throughout the world and when the war ended many nations found them in possession of invaluable technological knowledge. This research and technological knowledge initially carried out during the war to develop new weapons of technological warfare later lead to several new sciences and developments after the war ended like cybernetics and the production of nuclear energy to name a few some innovative weapons that defined and characterized the course and outcome of the Second World War include Air Bombs Torpedoes and Missiles. Air combat was one of the biggest strategies used during the Second World War to bomb and eliminate enemy targets. Considerable research was put into developing aerial â€Å"smart bombs† which could be manoeuvred to destroy enemy targets. The German Military lead the development and deployment of these aerial weapons. Some of the weapons developed for air combat by Germany include the Glide bombs which were the world’s first smart bombs and the Fritz X anti-shipping missile, which was operated using radio remote control. The German Military also developed and deployed the world’s first jet fighter known as Messerschmitt 262 as well as the first jet bomber called Arado 234 as well as first operational military helicopters known as Flettner Fl 282 and the worlds first rocket-powered fighter (Messerschmitt 163) The war also witnessed the development of the worlds first cruise missile known as the Pulse jet powered V-1 flying bomb as well as the creation of self guiding weapons such as Torpedoes. Considerable research and development was also done on aiming devices for bombs, torpedoes, artillery and machine guns. Radar The development of digital electronics was given a massive boost by war-related research one such important invention which was used to garner significant military advantage during the Second World War was an instrument known as the radar. The UK and the US achieved prominent breakthroughs in the development and deployment of these devices which were used to track and destroy enemy aircraft, ships, submarines and carriers these devices proved to be very useful and extremely strategic in helping the Allies win the various battles. After the war these radars were deployed in various capacities for policing, monitoring and supervisory purposes in the civilian context. Submarines and Air craft Carriers Though submarines were initially deployed during the First World War they developed increased capability during the Second World War and helped change the face of naval combat. Another major development which changed the manner in which naval battles were fought was the production of the world’s first aircraft carrier. These ships made it easy for fighter planes to launch aerial attacks on enemy battleships and destroy them. Atomic Bomb: The extensive research and the quest to develop new and dangerous weapons to advance the cause of the war lead to the institution of what came to be known as the Manhattan Project which was dedicated to the endeavour of developing an atomic bomb. Today the atomic bomb remains the most profound military development of the Second World War and the ultimate weapon which helped the allies win the war irrevocably. Though there is evidence that Germany was endeavouring to develop the bomb before America the German atomic Bomb project did not come to fruition. The world’s first atomic bomb was developed and deployed by the American military against Japan in 1945. The use of the nuclear bomb against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the turning point and also the virtual end of the Second World War. The devastating effects of the bomb in these two cities made the bomb a horrendous weapon of mass destruction which grew to be feared by most nations. The atomic bomb thus became a symbol of the ultimate power the possession of which gave a country significant leverage over others. After the Second World War ended the new world order was dominated by a conflict between two ideologies: communism and Capitalism. After the defeat of Nazism and fascism the Allied forces of the Western World found a new enemy: the USSR and its doctrine of Communism. Though the USSR had been among the allied nations during the Second World War it soon became apparent that the ideological differences between the country and its neighbours could mot let them exist together peacefully? The ensuing cold war between the Western Bloc led by the United States and the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union was essentially a clash of the two rivalling ideologies of Communism and Capitalism. The cold war never played out an actual war between the two super powers. It was manifested in the arenas of espionage diplomacy and to some extent in the early 80’s in the field of sports. It was also manifested in lands ravaged by internal strife and struggling to find a new political system to function under. Over the course of the cold war there were several conflicts and wars which were connected and influenced by this ideological conflict. These wars include The Korean War of 1952, the Cuban Missiles Crises 1962, the Vietnam War of 1969 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980 to name a few. The majority of the weapons used in these wars were developed and manufactured by the US and the USSR The Cold War witnessed the development of may new weapons ranging from improved fire arms to new technology deployed in tanks , jets submarines ships helicopters , explosives and missile guidance systems. In the Korean War the American military supplied technologically advanced weapons to the UN forces as well as the South Korean forces. Since the battles in South Korea and Vietnam involved jungle warfare the weaponry involved in both battles followed a similar pattern. However the weapons used in Vietnam were more technologically advanced than those used in Korea. Some of these weapons include: M1 Garand the world’s first successful semiautomatic rifle which had the capability to dominate the battle field. A more advanced variation of these rifles was used in military hand combat in Vietnam. The Sioux and Huey Helicopters these were used predominantly by Allied troops in Korea to ferry troops to battle fields. Advanced versions of these helicopters were also used in Vietnam by the American troops T-34 Tanks These technologically advanced tanks were designed in Russia and used by the Communist forces in North Korea. A highly technological advanced version of this tank was also used in Russia Fighter Jets F-86 Sabres and the MIG-15 Fagot The Korean War is known for some of the intense jet fights which took place between USAF pilots flying their F-86 Sabres and North Korean and Russian pilots flying the MiG-15 â€Å"Fagot†. Both of these planes incorporated the latest technology and set the standard for future jet planes designed and deployed by both the countries Napalm Gas: Used as a biological weapon of mass destruction by American troops in the Vietnam War, the Napalm gas was developed for use in the Second World War but was never deployed. It gained notoriety in Vietnam for destroying both the agricultural lands of Vietnam and poisoning the Vietnamese people. The Cold war also led to the development of technology to aid espionage activity. The U2 spy plane was one such weapon which was developed in the United States to record and photograph military activity in the USSR and other communist States. These planes used especial technology that was not easily distinguishable on the radar and could easily take pictures and document confidential activity without detection. The pictures from one of these spy planes had led to the escalation of Cuban Missiles Crises of 1962 when the US discovered that Cuba was building a missiles program with USSR’s backing The so-called stealth bomber should be able to penetrate the Russian air defence system better than existing American bombers. The Cuban Missiles Crises was perhaps the closest the world ever came to a nuclear confrontation. The Cold war and the policy of brinkmanship often cantered on the crucial deployment of both the super powers ability to use nuclear bomb. In 1949 the US lost its monopoly over the atomic or hydrogen bomb as it was called at the time when the tested their first nuclear weapon The importance of the hydrogen bomb, and its even more powerful successors lead to a competition between the two superpowers to develop the most deadliest weapon first . This mad rush to build nuclear weapons lead to an arms race with each nation spending billions of dollars to build a military arsenal designed to effectively eliminate enemy weapons. One of the weapons that were given considerable importance from both sides was the ballistic missile. This is essentially a rocket which shoots its warheads into space and then guides them towards the desired targets. The ballistic missiles were developed by both sides at a cost of billions of dollars to ensure that neither party retains the upper hand in the arms race. The development and search for elusive technology to create weapons deployed in the First World War second war and the cold war has left an enduring legacy. Though these weapons help determine the fate of the war they also left humanity with a source to wreck endless destruction and havoc. The negative effects of the race to build nuclear weapons were witnessed in the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. With the end of the cold war the endless arsenal of weapons of mass destruction that both the USSR and the US spend billions of dollars to build was rendered useless. However as evidenced in history as one conflict ends another begins and the US has found other battles and causes to fund more development of new weapons to fight new enemies. Many of the weapons used in all three of the conflicts are the predecessors of the modern weapons deployed in modern military combat throughout the world and therefore present considerable historical significance Works Cited History on the Net dot com. World: War One Weapons Retrieved May 27 2010 from the website, http://www.historyonthenet. com/WW1/weapons. htm First World War dot com: Weapons of War Retrieved. May 27 2010 from the website, http://www. firstworldwar. com/weaponry/machineguns. htm World War Two dot net :Weapons . Retrieved May 27 2010 from the website http://www. worldwar-two. net/armamento/ Military Discovery dot com: Korean War Weapons and Vehicles. Retrieved May 27 2010 from the website http://military. discovery. com/history/korean-war/weapons/weapons. html