The Evolution of War Through Technology

Wars have extended over the course of human civilization. From the earliest prehistoric wars to the current wars in the Middle East, improvements in technology vastly impacted the evolution of war. The industrial revolution inspired new forms of technology and enabled the mass development of arms. Additionally, new methods of communication and medicine influenced a transformation to modern warfare. This, in turn, ultimately transformed the strategy of war.

The industrial revolution, which took place in the late 19th century, brought many changes to warfare and the societies that waged them. It also increased the mobility of industrial weapons.

Industry's vast increase in the scale of death forever altered the way wars were fought. Increased firepower led to scattered troops looking for cover. This dispersion and its effect on command control, was countered by the invention of the telegraph. A new officer also appeared, one that was versed equally in theoretical methods as practical ones. It would be the Staff Officers who would pull the strings of their industrial-inspired mass armies. As intelligent as war planners became, industry was always one step ahead with more devastating weapons.

The Crimean War, which took place in the mid-19th century, displayed the first uses of "modern" technology, such as utilizing railways and telegraphs. This increased the amount of support each side had. There are many factors that contributed to the Crimean War, starting with French emperor Napolean III's ambition and backing of Christians in the Ottoman Empire. The conflict of powers in the Middle East further intensified with Russian demands to exercise "protection" over the Orthodox subjects in the Ottoman Empire. In other words, France...

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...than any other weapon at the time. This sort of technology granted them huge advantages, and the ability to use less troops on the frontline (less casualties).

However, the fact that these new weapons changed the amount of casualties is misguided.

"Lethality in war is always, however, the sum total of a number of factors that go quite beyond the inherent death-dealing capabilities of a military technology." It is the change in strategy and method of fighting that maximizes a weapon's potential. In the Crimean War, soldiers were equipped with minimal rifles that took longer to manufacture and disperse. However, in World War II, these technologies increased, and so did the potential of the weapons. The strategy of war evolved to fit the potential. Overall, it is mainly the new prototypes of the industrial age that almost single-handedly changed the evolution of war.