The Years 1918-1939, Which Separate World War I From World

For millennia mankind has exhausted endless amounts of energy contemplating the eternally complicated system of war. From Gangas Khan to America’s involvement in the Middle East, all successful generals, military leaders, and conquerors have found commonality in their zealous emphasis on, and desire for, possessing the most technologically advanced forms of weaponry. Such a desire was not ignored in America nor England during the Industrial Revolution, but, rather, was seen by many as an opportune investment during a time of extraordinarily progressive innovation. With this in mind the Industrial Revolution became heavily involved with the advancement of weaponry, forever changing the face of war unlike any era before it.

In the introduction to his book, World War II: New Technologies: Technologies That Affected WWII Warfare, Ryan Jenkins said, “Weapons are not the only technology of war, however. Wars are not won by guns, bullets and bombs alone. Communications and intelligence technology, production techniques (both industrial and agricultural), weapons components, and much else are a part of warfare, and the nations that succeed in those areas are just as likely to succeed as those whose success comes solely in the form of weapons.”

World War II was a war that ended in much tragedy. There were over 60 million

This book discusses the weapons and vehicles of all the countries that fought in World War II. It offers an excellent overview of the diverse weaponry used by both the Axis Powers and the Allies and which weapons were most effective. I will use this information to provide insight on how these weapons had an effect on the outcome of the war. “Assault Rifles - these forced a complete redesign of the modern infantry tactics, as well as the logistics to support them”. (Ludeke 2010 : 78)

While World War II presents itself in part as a validation of various theories on air power and the role of armor; it more importantly reaffirmed the concept of the nationalizing an entire nation’s industrial output for conducting war. The World War II was one of industrial throughput (raw materials, labor, design, infrastructure and delivery to the battlefield) of two industrial powers; the Allies and Germany. Unfortunately, each of these topics could constitute a Master’s thesis in itself. I will limit my discourse in select events that I found to impact Germany

The American theories of war and warfare trace their roots to 19th century European military thought, but are constantly evolving due to the influence of political, technological and social dynamics specific to the American experience. Because of this constant change, the definition of operational art does not infer a specific theory of war or warfare. Rather it provides a cognitive approach for translating ever-changing theories into practice in a complex and dynamic operational environment. By understanding the evolution of the American theories of war and warfare, the value of the current flexible approach to operational art becomes apparent.

The nature of warfare refers to; the duration of a war, the intensity, the experience of those involved and the arrangement and structure of both the forces and war itself. Over the period of 1845-1991 the nature of warfare undoubtedly evolved due to many aspects and factors. One of the notable developments during this period was the transformation of technology and the role it played in war. However, one must question whether it was the role of technology alone that changed warfare or if other factors were equally influential, these include; economic power, strategies and tactics, leadership, organisation and public attitudes.

Structuring on World War I research, European forces in the interim searched innovative ways of by means of tanks to link weapons and mobility to reinstate decisiveness of unpleasant ground operations.

Humanity was forever changed after the wars of the 20th century. World War I and World War II are known for the millions of military and civilian lives they took away. Horrific words such as concentration camps, slave labor and genocide are linked to the wars. They are also credited to causing nations to rapidly come up and develop brilliant new inventions, warfare tactics and revolutionary ideas that are still playing intricate roles in modern day societies. Both of these wars were accredited to the implementation of new technology and weapons. Many treaties and agreements were drafted, written and implemented in the aftermath of the war and reconstruction plans were carefully put together. The world famous war

World War I, also known as the Great War, was a Worldwide war which took place in

American army officer Omar Bradley once said,“If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.” The meaning of this quote lies in the destruction and devastation of humanity and geography during war. If we do not stop advancing in ways of killing and causing suffering, we will soon face the consequences of these technologies. Throughout World War I and World War II, there was a ginormous technological boom in which countries were competing to invent new weapons or vehicles used in warfare. Specifically, World War I could be blamed for the start of the creating of new technologies used in warfare even today. These technologies were often invented or created during World War I,

For more than a century, mankind has occupied all three domains of this earth; subsequently, the realm of warfare has expanded into the three dimensions progressively with the conquering of land, sea, and ultimately the air. With the advent of functional airplanes at the beginning of the last century, powered, sustained, and controlled flight was achieved during the inaugural flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1903, fulfilling a dream that had occupied the minds of man for more than millennia. As with all technological advancements, mankind is quick to integrate it into the art of war; accordingly, the inception of the airplane would serve both civilian and military applications. While the implications of the airplane on warfare

As a combined unit, the tactics that the German armor divisions used shocked and incited fear within the Allies. This is evident in the examination of the advanced strategies used by the German crews to overcome the Allied forces. Although the Allied forces designed and produced new tanks to specifically counter these tanks, these new tanks were still not enough to counter the efficiency of the German crews and their Panzers. Many of these new World War II designs were based off of the German Panzers as well as many as other tanks even after the war. The construction of these new tanks only proved the desperation of the Allied powers to topple the German control of the battlefield as well as highlight the quality of engineering that the Germans used to design their tanks. The comparison of the effectiveness of these German tanks and the Allied tanks is significant in revealing the reason why Nazi Germany was able to take over much of Europe and withstand the attacks of the other world powers for such a long period of time. The analysis and evaluations given will support that Nazi Germany’s tank designs and implementation of their Panzer IV, Tiger I, and Tiger II tanks was superior to that

The Second World War was unparalleled in the horrifying acts and outcomes of war as well as in the incredible scientific and technological advances that continue to influence current military operations and people’s everyday lives. Although the Second World War is often remembered for some of the most terrible acts of violence in human history, it was also a time of incredible scientific advances. Numerous scientific and technological improvements significantly influenced military operations during the Second World War including: significant improvements in military communications, reconnaissance and cryptography; and unprecedented developments in army, air force and naval machinery, weaponry and military technology.

Possibly one of the most asked questions in military history is how was the German Army able to decisively defeat a numerically equivalent Allied Army in France during May and June 1940? One of the primary reasons for Germany’s success was their innovation in armored warfare, particularly at the tactical and operational levels during the interwar period. The study of the German Army during a period of prolonged peace and constrained resources reveals that one of the most important qualities that a military should possess to innovate effectively is the ability to learn as an organization. A learning organization creates knowledge internally, externally acquires knowledge, and diffuses knowledge throughout the organization .