 EARLY BUTTON HEART MOTHER OF PEARL HANDMADE CIVIL WAR ERA RARE HARD TO FIND US $34.99 
|
 CIVIL WAR DR CHILTONS MEDICAL FEVER AND AGUE CURE CONTAINER AND PILLS US $39.95
|
| Powered by phpBay Pro |
Why is the Civil War the beginning of modern warfare?
I've been reading a lot of material about the technology during the Civil War for a paper(specifically how they influenced the war) and I've seen it referred to as the beginning of modern warfare. Why? How?
1. Technology has always improved and been integrated into war. But this was the first war where several technologies radically shaped tactics. Stuff that Alexander the Great or the Romans or the Crusaders or Napoleon had used tactically suddenly because foolish. Examples:
--rifled muskets. This allowed killing at a longer distance with far more accuracy. Suddenly, massed frontal assaults became down-right foolhardy.
--use of the railroad. The ability to move troops quickly (especially cannon or infantry--forces not usually associated with quick movement) great distances quickly. So the technology since then has changed by the basic principles (airlifts, helocopters) brought in a whole new set of tactics.
--communication. Before, you relied on riders or runners or what you could see. But instead you had spotter balloons, signal towers and telegraph wires now. The technology has evolved but the idea of communication not dependent on direct human sight or human movement (runners, riders) is now a part of modern warfare.
2. You saw the first widespread use of trenches as part of a mobile battlefield. Sure, there were sieges in the past going back to pre-Crusades. There you dug trenches to sneak in closer to undermine the works or launch mortars over the walls. But here two sides would race to a crossroads and the first one there would throw down fence rails and dig rifle pits. And then a day or two later they'd move and the first side to get to the critical ground would dig in.
3. The first wide-spread use of military medicine of fulltime professionals with large hospitals, traveling surgeons. Before, wives would care for the wounded or only generals had surgeons (personal ones at that).
4. Then there were other innovations that did revolutionize elements of warfare but I'd argue didn't have the same impact that rifled muskets or medicine or the railroad or telegraph had. Those were:
--ironclad ships
--the submarine (which actually was first used in the Revolutionary War but it's a misnomer to really call a 1-person vessel with a screw as it's weapon a sub).
Edit: No-it wasn't the first war to see guerilla fighting (there was a lot in the French and Indian war, the Revolutionary war, in Spain against Napoleon). And it's not accurate to say that the revolutions happened with Napoleon and we just saw upgrades in the Civil War. For centuries, the direct frontal assault (make with some kind of pointed device--be it a pike or a lance or a bayonet) had been the way that your broke the other side. Maybe you used mounted soldiers (cavalry) to flank him or exploit a breach in the line. But what the Civil War did was to radically shape tactics because of the innovations. Every war has seen technology advances. But with the Civil War, you saw tactics that had been used for centuries and as recently as Napoleon and the Mexican-American War suddenly become obsolete or foolhardy except in extreme circumstances. You saw successful use of impromptu or quick trenches and fortifications (separate from sieges or forts). You saw communication and trains that were more than just upgrading the cavalry or improving the runner system. Warfare changed dramatically in the Civil War. That is why it was so damned bloody--generals kept trying to use tactics from just 10-20 years earlier that had been wildly successful in Mexico or with Napoleon and instead they were costly and often failed. And the mistakes of WW-1....the technology of the Civil War continued to upgrade up for the most part, sides failed to learn the lessons of the Civil War (and were still fighting with Napoleonic tactics).
Items Recently Purchased From This Site:
| Powered by phpBay Pro |
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.