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.

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 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. Technology won the day for the Allies at the time.

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. Tank formations enabled Heinz Guderian's forces to penetrate very deeply into French territory in the first days of the conflict that they would have reached the English Channel had Hitler not stopped him. The German Army Command and Hitler believed Guderian was lying in his combat progress reports and commanded him to stop for verification. So the British Army was saved at Dunkirk.

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. 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. 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. 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 is much protected in his suit of armor that he can confident of surviving every battle, until the English long bow gave him his match.

But that is another weapon for further discussion.