Modern War

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Which war is the first modern war? Was it the Napolianic wars, the Crimean War or the American Civil War? If you Google it, it would be between the Crimean War and the American Civil War. However each of these wars can be considered the first modern war based on different merits. These wars can share similarities between each other which can create confusion over the question what was the first modern war. Following the French Revolution the idea of the state was changed the boundaries and leaders soon began the rallying cry for people to fight for the nation. “The war of 1792 to 1814/15 thus became - first unilaterally by France and then by the belated and usually hesitant response of France’s victims - the first modern war, the first war between nations.” War at this time changed from limited aims to “potentially unlimited in both aims and methods for nations.” The Crimean War can also be considered the first modern war and it shares some similarities with the Civil War specifically looking at technology used during the war. This is understandable as they occurred relatively close together. The Crimean War ended in 1856 and the Civil War started in 1861. The Crimean War is considered the first modern war due to technology, transportation and media. What is one of the main reasons why the Crimean War is considered the first modern war because it could be argued it provided the “origins of the ‘moral interventionism’ practiced by our own liberal governments in the Balkans and the Middle East.” This war is also considered the first modern war due to the use of mass media. Due to the telegraph citizens in London were able to follow the war being fought in the Crimean and this helped shape the British “national consciousness”. The A... ... middle of paper ... ...ovember 11, 2013. http://www.newseum.org/warstories/technology/flash.htm Christopher Howse, “First and Greatest War Correspondent,” The Telegraph, February 9, 2007, accessed October 5, 2013, http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/christopherhowse/3647251/First_and_greatest_war_correspondent/ Gabel, Christopher. Railroad Generalship: Foundations of Civil War Strategy. Excerpt reprinted in US Army Command and General Staff College, H100 Book of Readings. Fort Lee, VA: ILE, September 2013. Gabel, Christopher. Rails to Oblivion: The Decline of Confederate Railroads in the Civil War. Excerpt reprinted in US Army Command and General Staff College, H100 Book of Readings. Fort Lee, VA: ILE, September 2013. “Mediander connects military strategy to total war,” mediander.com, Accessed November 11, 2013. http://www.mediander.com/connects/91515/military-strategy/#!/29974/total-war

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