MILITARY TECHNOLOGY & THE NATURE OF WARFARE

1815 - 1945

With both the World Wars in the twentieth century, conflicts arose that had become somewhat inevitable, yet the nature of which were undoubtedly total wars that had not been anticipated. However, with military technology extending the boundaries of warfare, such conflicts fought on such an unprecedented and devastating scale had been threatening throughout the latter part of the 19th Century. This period was littered with strife, characterized by the American Civil War, The Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War whereby the major powers had demonstrated their threatening capabilities. These bloody conflicts were all typical of 19th century warfare. They were classified in a transitional period between the Napoleonic conflicts of the 18th Century and the total warfare of the 20th Century, in which armies across the globe witnessed an evolution in the nature of warfare. For many, this evolution had been founded upon the transformations in military technology. Furthermore, between 1815-1945, mass industrialization supplemented an ever-changing school of thought surrounding warfare and the deferrals of such conflicts to settle a fraught European Balance of Power created a developing uneasiness between the misunderstandings of modern warfare and capabilities in reality. The consequence was bitter periods of conflict where ad-libbing attempted to allow for advancements in technology, thus developing new mentalities and aspects for warfare. However, was it in fact the military technology, which was the most momentous, or was other factors of a greater significance? Furthermore, was it the inter-relationships between these characteristics that defined the greatest change?

Perhaps the most obvious change throughout this age was the weaponry.