How Weapons Have Changed Warfare

The soldiers would enter the battle in chariots, launching javelins into the enemy formations, then dismount for hand-to-hand combat with more javelin throwing, rock throwing, and hand to hand sword and shield fighting. In the Iliad Homer also mentions the use of the phalanx formation being used by the Greeks. The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, or similar weapons . Scholars suggest that the Greeks would have used this tactic because the alignment of shields minimises the chances of projectiles hitting the men, and the men can move as one, strong unit.

According to Merriam-Webster, a weapon is: something (such as a gun, knife, club, or bomb) that is used for fighting or attacking someone or for defending yourself when someone is attacking you. Weapons have been used for thousands of years, since the creation of man. However, its use was limited to only hunting and defending against large predatory animals. As time passed, man 's knowledge of weaponry expanded beyond a simple club and transformed into guns. Prior to the 1850s, Americans owned guns though none were used to inflict violence upon another person. “As a result, guns contributed little to the homicide rate, which was low everywhere, even in the South and on the frontier, where historians once assumed guns and murder went

     Weapons have been around from the Neanderthals of the post-ice age, to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Rocks became knives, sticks became spears, and bayonets became AK-47’s. The technology from the French and Indian War was revolutionized and manufactured by the newly opened weaponry companies. Colt

Humans have used weapons in warfare, hunting, law enforcement, and criminal activity for thousands of years. Weapons also serve many other purposes in society including use in sports, collections for display, and historical displays and demonstrations. As technology has developed throughout history, weapons have changed with it.

The result of World War II was affected by many different factors. One major factor which affected the war was the weapons and artillery used during the war. Since the beginnings of time, weapons have always been around. From swords and knives to nuclear weapons and missiles, weapons have evolved greatly throughout the years. The weapons and artillery used in World War II basically were evolved types of weaponry that were used during World War I (Military History 1).

Swords are were the most common weapons found back then. There are many different kinds of swords such as arming swords, Broadswords, falchions, and Claymore sword. They all have their ups and downs.

Gunpowder has affected warfare in several different ways since it was discovered in the 11th century. In the several centuries that we’ve known of it, gunpowder has been used in many different ways; explosives, firearms, and sidearms. Even though it was a major breakthrough in science at the time of its discovery, gunpowder had a few drawbacks, which eventually led to the evolution of explosives and propellants for guns. Gunpowder had an incredible effect on warfare since its discovery in the 11th century. During the 11th century, gunpowder changed the way wars were fought, as until that time the weapons used in battle were melee weapons.

In addition to good leadership the greeks developed and employed successful battle tactics, which they were able to adapt to the topography, thus allowing them to sustain afight despite being grossly outnumbered (C). The most important tactic was the Hoplite Phalax, which was a wall of Greek infantry men with shields and long spears. This was effective for the Greeks because the advancing Persians had to travel through a very narrow path along the Malian Gulf to

Hoplites fight in an organized line called a phalanx. They would overlap their shields, thus producing an impenetrable wall. This phalanx would be able to spread out into a line and place itself into valleys or between mountains, causing their enemy to have to go through them rather than around. This phalanx would work very well within Greece due to the geography of Greece itself. Greece has many mountains and valleys that work well for this type of warfare. Throughout this paper you will learn why hoplite warfare is the single most effective type of warfare in Greek history.

The discovery of gunpowder changed war from being fought with medieval weaponry and battle tactics to more modern day weapons and tactics because the gunpowder powered weapons are more deadly. Weapons that use gunpowder to launch projectiles have a greater range than melee weapons and are more powerful than bow and arrows. Also, cannons are more powerful and have a greater range and accuracy than catapults and they also can be reloaded faster than catapults. Gunpowder weapons changed war because they are stronger, more accurate, have a greater range and are able to be reloaded faster than medieval weaponry.

Since the swords were less effective it was more common to use polearms such as spears,sparths, and poleaxes. The poleaxe was favorable by many because it is long and top heavy for powerful chops. The poleaxe also have a back spike perfect for penetrating plate armor.(Mediealwarfare.info) Ranged Weapons

One of the most commonly used weapons by the Russian states was the long thin curved saber sword, or shashka. Several units, including cavalry and heavy infantry, used this unique weapon in battle, which was effective for slashing and thrusting. The blade is hollowed and includes a large, curved pommel to prevent the blade from slipping from the hand (Celdran, 2016). This weapon was very useful in battle when inflicting excessive damage to light body armor. Other weapons of choice by the Russian warriors were thrusting weapons, or kolushchyeye oruzhiye. These armaments were comprised of spears and pikes, along with other weapons capable of piercing through armor (Celdran, 2016). They were a very significant part of the ancient Russian weaponry and even determined whether they would succeed in battle. During the Battle of the Vozha River in 1378, the Russians defeated the Golden Horde with a counterattack, by spear thrusting their army from three sides and causing them to retreat (Xenophon, n.d.). Thrusting weapons were made narrow, massive, and very long in order to impale the enemy. Different tips were also made for protection against opponents not wearing any armor, including diamond, leaf, or wedge shaped tips. Pikes usually were made with a blade that was 5-6.5 centimeters wide and a length of up to 60 centimeters (Xenophon, n.d.). This

The strategy was very simple. The shields protected the soldier from opposing weapons. The spears were approximately seven to ten feet long (“Greek Warriors”). This allowed the front line of the Phalanx to attack or defend while suffering few casualties. Like most warfare tactics, geography played a large role in the strategy.

Handheld weapons represented a large portion of the weapons used during 16th Century warfare (Iannuzzo). Most commonly used was the sword. Throughout the middles ages, metals were developed to withstand more abuse and thus became more effective (Iannuzzo). The metals now had to strong enough to pierce through the newly developed armor of the time (Revell, "Armour"). The use of carbonized iron, which was heated, beaten, and cut the process repeated many times over to form a solid and durable and lighter than previous swords. The double edge sword was far superior in strength and sharpness of the other swords of the time (Grolier). The 16th century also brought forth the use of flamberge sword that had an undulating cutting edge, that was believed to be able to easily pierce the armor, but was too awkward for battle and was eventually abandoned. By this time the Great sword, sometimes over six feet in length, were being deployed. This sword was deadly only because of the pure size of it. The great swords required enormous strength just to hold and even more to be effective. Eventually the great sword became too awkward to use in battle just as the flamberge. These two inferior swords took a back seat to the smaller and more agile estoc sword. The estoc had a

Humans have engaged in war for thousands of years. The earliest recorded instance is circa 2700 BCE. Of course, the fighting extends much further back as this was near the advent of writing. Even