History, War Studies
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Greatest Impact on Both World Wars
Hi,
1. I would just like to have an expert opinion from someone.I would like to know what technological advancement had the greatest impact in shaping or deciding the outcome of WWI, The Interwar Period, and World II: the Tanks, Strategic Bombers, or Amphibious Warfare (naval, submarines, U-boats, etc.). I know each played a vital role; however, I'm looking for which of the three probably had the biggest role in deciding the overall outcome during these periods.
I am wondering if this part of an essay assignment, which is asking for your opinion, because then there is no right or wrong answer, as it is more about you choosing a position and being able to provide a sound rationale for your decision based on the facts. This is often not an easy chore, because the final outcome of each period is a product of all technologies, as you mentioned, so it is often very difficult to narrow it down to only one of the three technologies that had the greatest impact, execpt to look toward the ending of the war to see what turned the tide (e.g., amphibious warefare). Also, different authors have different views.
However, let’s take a closer look to see which one seems to be the most vital of the three in each of three periods and why:
World War I: Amphibious Warefare
E.g. Initially during that war both sides made use of tethered balloons and airplanes for observation purposes, both for information gathering and directing of artillery fire. A desire to prevent enemy observation led to airplane pilots attacking other airplanes and balloons, initially with small arms carried in the cockpit, and later with machine guns mounted on the aircraft. Dogfights occurred when planes fought each other at close quarters, leading to the development of maneuvering tactics. Both sides also made use of aircraft for bombing, strafing and dropping of propaganda. The German military made use of Zeppelins to drop bombs on Britain. By the end of the war airplanes had become specialized into bombers, fighters and observation aircraft. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_warfareTanks were introduced in World War I by the British and created mechanized warfare that dominated the rest of the 20th century. The first tank was nicknamed Mother. The first use of tanks was during the Battle of the Somme on 15 September 1916. This was not as successful as intended, but as a start the tanks proved their value against the machine gun. Trenches, the machine gun, air reconnaissance, barbed wire, and modern artillery with fragmentation shells helped stalemate the battle lines of World War I by making massed infantry attacks deadly for the attacker. The infantry was armed mostly with a bolt action magazine rifle, but the machine gun with the ability to fire hundreds of rounds per minute stalemated infantry attacks as a defensive weapon; therefore, the British sought a solution and created the tank. Their first use proved tanks needed infantry support and massed formations, but within a year the British were fielding tanks by the hundreds and showed their potential during the Battle of Cambrai, in November 1917, breaking the Hindenburg Line while capturing 8000 enemy and 100 artillery guns. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wwi#Technology).
However, the U-boats were also very influential at ending the war (see http://uboat.net/history/wwi/part6.htm).
Example: All technologies impacted final outcome – but submarines seemed to have a large overall impact towards the end of the war. (Excerpt)
World War I was one of the defining events of the 20th century. From 1914 to 1918 conflict raged in much of the world and involved most of Europe, the United States, and much of the Middle East. In terms of technological history, World War I is significant because it marked the debut of many new types of weapons and was the first major war to “benefit” from technological advances in radio, electrical power, and other technologies.
World War I grew out of a variety of factors that had been building up throughout Europe in the preceding decades. During the later 1800s many European countries experienced a rise in nationalism. Nationalism, combined with growing industrial capabilities, led to military buildups and an increasingly tense political situation throughout the continent. Nations were increasingly nervous about what their neighbors might be planning. In response to this tension, England, France, and Russia (Italy would join in 1915 after the war was underway) formed the “Triple Entente” and aligned against Germany and Austria-Hungary. This was one of numerous alliances that divided Europe and made world war virtually impossible to avoid if one nation took action against another.
The flashpoint of the war is generally regarded as the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, during a state visit to Sarajevo. Austria-Hungry turned its anger towards Serbia, who, they believed, encouraged and abetted the assassination. In retaliation, Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia. On 29 July, in defense of Serbia, Tsar Nicholas II mobilized Russia’s armed forces to pressure Austria-Hungary. Three days later, on 1 August, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany honored its alliance with Austria-Hungary, and declared war on Russia. That same day, France, following its alliance with Russia, mobilized. Two days later, on 3 August, Germany declared war on France. Great Britain, as an ally of France, declared war on Germany on 4 August. Less then a month and a half after the assassination of the Archduke and within a week of the first military mobilizations the peoples of Europe were engulfed in war. From the onset, those involved in the war were aware that technology would make a critical impact on the outcome. In 1915 British Admiral Jacky Fisher wrote, “The war is going to be won by inventions.” New weapons, such as tanks, the zeppelin, poison gas, the airplane, the submarine, and the machine gun, increased casualties, and brought the war to civilian populations. The Germans shelled Paris with long-range (60 miles or 100 kilometers) guns; London was bombed from the air for the first time by zeppelins.
World War I was also the first major war that was able to draw upon electrical technologies that had been in development at the turn of the century. Radio, for example, became essential for communications. The most important advance in radio was the transmission of voice rather than code, something the electron tube, as oscillator and amplifier, made possible. Electricity also made a huge impact on the war. Battleships, for example, might have electric signaling lamps, an electric helm indicator, electric fire alarms, remote control—from the bridge—of bulkhead doors, electrically controlled whistles, and remote reading of water level in the boilers. Electric power turned guns and turrets and raised ammunition from the magazines up to the guns. Searchlights—both incandescent and carbon-arc—became vital for nighttime navigation, for long-range daytime signaling, and for illuminating enemy ships in night engagements.
Submarines also became potent weapons. Although they had been around for years, it was during WWI that they began fulfilling their potential as a major threat. Unrestricted submarine warfare, in which German submarines torpedoed ships without warning—even civilian ships belonging to non-combatant nations such as the United States—resulted in the sinking of the Lusitania on 7 May 1915, killing 1,195 people. Outrage over the Lusitania and other sinkings, coupled with other factors, brought the United States out of its isolationism to declare war on Germany in 6 April 1917. Finding ways to outfit ships to detect submarines became a major goal for the allies. Researchers determined that allied ships and submarines could be outfitted with sensitive microphones that could detect engine noise from enemy submarines. These underwater microphones played an important part in combatting the submarine threat. The Allies also developed sonar, but it came too close to the end of the war to offer much help.
The war, especially the brutality of trench warfare, brought death and disease on a scale people had never before experienced. During the 10-month-long Battle of Verdun in 1916, for example, as many as 1,000,000 people were killed. As the war dragged on, casualties increased, and the war became unpopular with ordinary people. Revolution in 1917 led to the end of Russian participation in the war and precipitated the Bolshevik regime. Just over a year later, a worker’s revolution in Germany forced the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II on 9 November 1918. With the militaristic Kaiser out of the way, Germany requested an armistice. Two days later, it took effect on the “Eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.” On 28 June 1919 German delegates signed the Treaty of Versailles and the war was officially over.
Although the war was over, its ramifications were far reaching. Technologically, great strides had been made in just about every area that might come into play during war. But the costs had been dear, and the end only temporary. Deaths from “The Great War” have been estimated at 10,000,000, and the end of the war itself, the Treaty of Versailles and its humiliating terms for Germany, laid the groundwork for World War II. The war was called “the war to end all wars,” and at the time that seemed possible. Unfortunately, it would prove untrue in less then a generation.
The Interwar Period: Strategic Bombers
Between 1918 and 1939 aircraft technology developed very rapidly. In 1918 most aircraft were biplanes with wooden frames, canvas skins, wire rigging and air-cooled engines. Biplanes continued to be the mainstay of air forces around the world and were used extensively in conflicts such as the Spanish Civil War. Most industrial countries also created air forces separate from the army and navy. However, by 1939 military biplanes were in the process of being replaced with metal framed monoplanes, often with stressed skins and liquid cooled engines. Top speeds had tripled; altitudes doubled (and oxygen masks become commonplace); ranges and payloads of bombers increased enormously. Some theorists, especially in Britain, considered that aircraft would become the dominant military arm in the future. They imagined that a future war would be won entirely by the destruction of the enemy's military and industrial capability from the air. Others, such as General Billy Mitchell in the United States, saw the potential of air power to neutralize the striking power of naval surface fleets. German and British pilots had experimented with aerial bombing of ships and air-dropped torpedoes during World War I with mixed results. But the vulnerability of capital ships to aircraft was finally demonstrated on 21 July 1921 when a squadron of bombers commanded by General Mitchell sank the ex-German battleship SMS Ostfriesland with aerial bombs. Germany was banned from possessing a significant air force by the terms of the WWI armistice. The German military continued to train its soldiers as pilots clandestinely until Hitler was ready to openly defy the ban. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_warfare
World War II: Amphibious Warfare
All three impacted the final outcome, but Amphibious Warfare (e.g., Naval) might have had the greatest impact on the final outcome.
Let’s take a CLOSER look at each:
Example: (excerpt)Military aviation came into its own during the Second World War. The increased performance, range, and payload of contemporary aircraft meant that air power could move beyond the novelty applications of World War I, becoming a central striking force for all the combatant nations. Over the course of the war, several distinct roles emerged for the application of air power.