Important Weapons For Modern War
It seems that throughout history, modern and ancient, the greatest efforts expended by man have been directed towards the development of war weapons. 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.
Others may argue, however, that to respond to aggression of people with greater capabilities, those with less capacities must reduce if not eliminate the numerical advantage of the other via superior weapons. 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 War 1 and World War 2, the tank was the decisive weapon in many battles in various fronts: Africa, Europe, Russia and Poland. 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.
Thus Germany used the tank as main offensive weapon –along with air attacks— in their blitzkrieg strategies in World War 2. 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. Hitler and his generals believed Guderian was exaggerating his successes, and ordered him to stop in his tracks. Thus, the miracle of Dunkirk came to pass.
In the American Civil War, among the most prominent civil war weapons will be the bayonet. Hand-to-hand- fighting was performed there in significant scale and the bayonet was a decisive weapon for either side. The bayonet eclipsed the sword which was a primarily cavalry weapon, and the repeating rifle which have not come yet in great numbers to play a pivotal role in the conflict. 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. Wearing it, a knight can smite a hundred unprotected foot soldiers without suffering a scratch, fight a similarly-clad knight for a day without anyone winning if of equal expertise, and rest for the night as if nothing has happened, to fight 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.
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