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Important Weapons For Modern War

Few will deny that the best technological endeavors of man have been directed towards developing weapons of war. It may be a response to man’s aggressiveness that wants domination of others as means 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 is the essence of Hitler’s vergeltungswaffen, the V1 and V2 rockets, and the Messerchmitt262, the first jetfighter ever to fly. Adolf Hitler sought to counter the Allied Powers’ superiority in weapons quantity and men through ‘miracle weapons’ or, more exactly, ‘vengeance weapons’.

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. With tanks, much territory was captured or great damage inflicted on the enemy that for him retreat was the only option. When the tank was first introduced, for example, in the Battle of the Somme during World War 1, the Germans were caught greatly unaware by the formidable weapon they were forced to give ground.  The new weapon gave the Allied Powers better advantage on the field.

So the tank became the building block of aggressive blitzkrieg warfare by Germany –along with air offensives— in the panzer divisions of the next war. Heinz Guderian’s panzer-led spearheads were so successful in France in the first days of World War 2 that even Hitler thought Guderian was lying when Guderian said they were nearing the English Channel. 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. The bayonet ran a close second to the musket as the greatest cause of casualties on either side.

Among the medieval weapons, perhaps the most significant weapon –if it may be called so since it is for a defensive purpose— 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 that is another weapon for further discussion.

Guns N’ Roses – Civil War (Music Video)