...Warfare Technology in WWII: The Atomic Bomb The most significant way that technology changed in WWII, was with the invention of the atomic bomb. A scientific advancement in the 1930’s made the atomic bomb production possible. The discovery of nuclear fission; the process in which an atom is split, and the realization that the power from this could be controlled to produce mass amounts of energy were elements of what fueled this development. Once the bombs were made and tested the decision on whether or not they should be used was given to the US president at the time, Harry Truman. Two Japan cities ended up being the main targets for the bombings and suffered great fatalities as a result. The affects of the decision to drop the bombs are still being seen today and it is still debated whether or not Truman made the right decision. Whether it was a justified decision or not, this breakthrough in technology was, and remains to be, a significant turning point in warfare. Looking closer at the decision Truman was faced with we can get a better look at why he decided to drop the bombs. The Allies were still at war with Japan, so the main idea was to drop the bombs on Japan, and weaken them enough so that they would surrender. This was seen as a better solution than the other way that the situation would have been handled – troops forcefully taking over Tokyo – because it wouldn’t be at the cost of countless numbers of soldier’s lives. Also, the bombs could inflict much...
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...How World War II Changed Warfare How World War II Changed Warfare A man wearing olive drab pants and jacket slowly props the muzzle of his Thompson .45 Caliber Sub Machine Gun on a window seal of a half decimated apartment building. He lines up his sights and waits for the signal. He wears the “Screaming Eagle” patch of the United States Army’s 101st Airborne Division. Inserted into Bastogne, France via aerial assault from a C-47 Sky Train, in December 1944. Barrels pointed downward onto the rubble covered road. Passing over the road is a German Panzer Tank followed by a platoon of German soldiers carrying MP-40 Machine Pistols. As, the 101st nervously prepares to engage a Panzer Tank, which has them outmanned and outgunned, they hear a whistling sound in the distance believed to be an aircraft. Before they know a P-51 Mustang fighter plane, also known as a “Tank Killer” swoops in and knocks the Panzer out. Unexpectedly, the airborne troops open fire. A few long seconds later, the Panzer Tank sits smoldering in flames and a platoon of Nazis lays dead all around. Never before has the world, scene such a vast arsenal of weapons and tactics used. This will be reflected on the amount of lives, military and civilian, lost in the short span of 1939-1945. The devastation that took place would not just be repaired and forgotten. There is still evidence all over the Europe, North America, and Asia, of World War II and the lives that were lost. Not only was this the...
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...Blitzkrieg, a German term meaning “lighting war”, is a military tactic used during warfare to create confusion and amongst the enemy by using the tactics of surprise and speed. First used by the Germans during WWII, this ambush tactic was achieved by the deployment of light tank units paired with supporting infantry and aircraft. These forces would urge a break in the enemy’s defences allowing tank units to swiftly infiltrate the area causing major panic. The air forces would prevent the enemy from effectively redistributing or resupplying forces ending in eventual surrender. The tactic was formed from Alfred von Schlieffen’s, ‘Schlieffen Plan’ created during WWI predominantly focusing on fast military victory. The tactic was further developed...
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...Liberty University INNOVATIONS DURING WORLD WAR II Arlene A. Tabron Modern American Military History HIUS 380 Professor Ritchie 21 September 2015 INNOVATIONS DURING WORLD WAR II Demise, devastation and agony. These are the words regularly connected with the idea of war. What the vast majority don’t understand is that war additionally achieves the absolute most life adjusting innovations. During World War II, various creations changed the war’s course and the future of the world. The most critical s and feelings of were RADAR/SONAR, computerized hardware, elastic, and the nuclear bomb. The primary driver of World War II were nationalistic strains, uncertain issue and feelings of hatred coming about because of World War I. The events that prompted the war’s episode are for the most part comprehended to be the 1939 attack of Poland by Germany and Soviet Russia and the 1937 intrusion of the Republic of China by the Empire of Japan. These Military Hostilities were the after effect of choices made by dictator administering Nazi elite in Germany and by the administration of the Kwantung Army in Japan World War II began after these forceful activities were met with authority presentation of war as well as equipped resistance. (1) The reason the United States entered the Second World War was a direct result of the surprise attack on their Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Oahu at 7:55 am on December 7, 1941. The Empire of Japan submitted a shock assault upon the United...
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...believed that this war was going to be the end of the world and humanity. But the world and the people survived, although the cost was great. This time was named the age of wars. He begins the chapter by describing the horrors of trench warfare and the causalities lost on both sides, The Central Powers and The Allies. Also the lasting effects that war that it can bring to the survivors. There were no peace times after the year 1914. The men and women of the time only knew peace before 1914, due to the scale of the horrors in this war. There where wars before WWI, but none to the scale, like the Crimean War 1854-56, between Russia fighting on one side and Britain and France fighting on the other side. The Crimean War only involved a few major European powers of the world. This was one of the wars which contained the most major powers until WWI when all major powers and states where involved. The twentieth century, was a century that was initiated and also defined by wars and the deaths of millions of soldiers and citizens all over the world. Hobsbawn discusses the turning point in the war such as the Allies victory over Germany, who had advanced past the western front but still managed to win against the odds. He also the advances in technology that both sides had discovered which turned the tides of...
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...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...
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...MODERN AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY JULY 27, 2015 There have been many innovations developed as a result of World War Two (WWII). Many of those innovations and technologies were pushed forward in to high gear because of the need created by warfare. All types of items such as a proximity fuse (used to detonate bombs & Anti-Aircraft shells), significant advances in tanks, amphibious mobile troop carriers (DUKW), new designed aircraft carriers took over the old World War One battleships, were a direct product from the conflict. The development of the RADAR (RAdio Detection And Ranging) played a crucial role during the Battle of Britain in World War Two for the British air forces. At a time where the British only had available to them a total of 800 aircraft to try to hold back the German in which had an air force with over 3,000 planes at their ready. The use of Radar gave the British the upper hand by allow them to be able to detect the German aircraft while they were still fifty to sixty miles away. This enabled the British to only permit a limited amount of forces to fight the Germans as the approached knowing the direction, altitude, and speed of the planes as they came. In the great depths of the sea, the German U-boat had become quiet the force that was wreaking havoc on the Allied Naval ships. The U.S. Navy not only had the use of SONAR (SOund Navigating And Ranging) but the development of Bearing Deviation Indicator (BDI) was a useful tool in adding the sonar equipment...
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...“Technology has altered the face of war” (Globalization 101)—the world’s oldest exhibition, and running in perpetuity. Every facet of contemporary warfare has been technologically advanced with the cataclysmal intention of moderating soldier-to-soldier confrontation. The onset of World War One—hitherto an unparalleled conflict—prompted the world powers involved to “update” their wartime methodology. The result of these updates would ultimately birth the United States’ opportunity at world dominion. Manipulating initially how combat was seen and prepared for were Observation Balloons: piloted hydrogen-filled blimps first popularized in the French Revolutionary War that were adopted primarily to enhance reconnaissance (Globalization 101). Eliminating altogether the level of soldier endangerment in surveillance operations came the advent of Radar just before the commencement of World War Two (the title being an amalgamation of “Radio Detection and Ranging”) (Globalization 101). Radar was the first invention to come of the twentieth century that largely impersonalized...
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...Military Technology Technology in the military has greatly increased strength and eased the ranking among world powers and effected the development of new military weapons. The term "Survival of the fittest" means that the strong will succeed but the meek will not, this is the case with military technology. The U.S. has the best technology in the world, therefore we are the highest military power. Technology is a very important part of warfare. Technology is driven by the military. The army's race during the cold war, spawned some of the greatest technical achievements in human history. Space travel for example is a result of the X-plane project. The Internet was produced by the military as well. If we stop investing in military technology, we risk our safety. If other nations had more advance technology than we do, they would have more power than we do. If that was to happen, we face the threat of that nation taking over us. Military technology may be divided into five categories. Offensive arms harm the enemy, while defensive weapons ward off offensive attacks. Transportation technology moves soldiers and weaponry; communications coordinate the movements of armed forces; and sensors detect forces and guide weaponry. There are many types of technological developments in the military happening at all times. They range from new aircraft to sophisticated guidance systems. Teams of specialists work for years to develop some of our simplest equipment. These people's...
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...2 Delivery systems * 3 Biological weapons * 4 Chemical weapons * 5 Nuclear weapons * 5.1 Non-proliferation * 5.1.1 By region * 5.2 Weapons limitation * 5.3 Cooperation (4) Nuclear (or) Atomic (4.1) Nuclear warfare * 1 Types of nuclear warfare * 2 History a. 2.1 1940s i. 2.1.1 Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ii. 2.1.2 Immediately after the Japan bombings b. 2.2 1950s c. 2.3 1960s d. 2.4 1970s e. 2.5 1980s f. 2.6 Post–Cold War g. 2.7 Sub-strategic use * 3 Nuclear terrorism * 4 Survival (4.2) Nuclear Weapons * 1 Types * 1.1 Fission weapons * 1.2 Fusion weapons * 1.3 Other types * 2 Weapons delivery * 3 Nuclear strategy * 4 Governance, control, and law * 4.1 Disarmament * 4.2 United Nations * 5 Controversy * 5.1 Ethics * 5.2 Notable nuclear weapons accidents * 5.3 Nuclear testing and fallout * 5.4 Public opposition * 6 Costs and technology spin-offs * 7 Non-weapons uses * 7.1 Civil engineering and energy production * 7.2 Physics * 7.3 Propulsion use * 7.4 Asteroid impact avoidance (5) Chemical (5.1) Chemical warfare * 1 Definition * 2 History * 2.1 Ancient times * 2.2 Early modern era * 2.3 Industrial era * 2.3.1 World War I * 2.3.2 Interwar years...
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...Technology in the 20th Century HUM/300 Technology in the 20th Century Technology is rapidly evolving and has been for many years. Scientists and inventors are always on the lookout to invent something to make the average person’s daily life easier. The 20th century brought many technological advances in the world from the television to the air conditioner. Many of the technologies so fundamental to everyday life came from advancement during this time. The author of the paper will discuss three technological developments in the 20th century including: the airplane, the automobile, and the computer. The Airplane For centuries humans wanted to invent a device that would allow them to fly like birds. Kites, gliders, and air balloons were many of man’s creations to attempt to derive the privilege of flying. Two men, Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright, were the first to find some success in inventing a device that enabled flying. On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers flew there invention for the first time. However, this was only a small start because their aircraft did not fly very high and it only stayed in the air for about a minute. Although this was a small triumph in the goal of flight it marked the beginning of the technological advances that produced the modern airplane. When the Wright brothers invented their aircraft they received immediate recognition and other inventors and aviators worked hard at inventing a better aircraft. In 1909, Louis Bleriot, a French...
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...providing protection for the crew of the weapon and operational mobility, which allows them to position on the battlefield in advantageous locations. These features enable the tank to have enormous capability to perform well in a tactical situation: the combination of strong weapons fire from their tank gun and their ability to resist enemy fire means the tank can take hold of and control an area of the battle and prevent other enemy vehicles from advancing, for example. In both offensive and defensive roles, they are powerful units able to perform all primary tasks[which?] required of armoured troops on the battlefield.[1] The modern tank was the result of a century of development from primitive armoured vehicles, due to improvements in technology such as the internal combustion engine, which allowed the rapid movement of heavy equipment required to construct armoured vehicles. As a result of these advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability during the World Wars of the 20th century....
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...War is fundamentally a cultural phenomenon. It is profoundly entangled with shared meanings and understandings, stories both old and new, and the evolution of the same. These stories and meanings concern how war is defined, what it means to be at war, how enemies are to be identified and treated, how war itself is waged, and how one can know when war is finished – if it ever is. The shared meanings and narratives through which the culture of war is constructed are diverse: oral stories told and retold, myths and legends, historical accounts, and modern journalistic reports – and it’s important to note how the nature of those last has changed as our understanding of what qualifies as “journalism” has changed as well. Video games are worth considering in this context, not only because of their pervasiveness but because of their narrative power. They share much in common with film: interaction with them is mediated by a monitor, and they almost always feature a narrative of some kind that drives the action on the screen. However, video games are also different from other forms of media in that they are simulations – they go beyond audio-visual narrative and into at least an attempt to approximate a particular kind of experience. Further, unlike movies and TV, a feature of the experience they offer is active participation. This isn’t to say that movies and TV are passive; they’ve been too often dismissed as such, when viewing those forms of media in fact often involves complex...
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...consequences that resulted from this war. The focus is on the outcome of the war and the impact that it had on the United States. UNIT 2 IP Introduction World War II was a global armed conflict that was underway by 1939 and ended in 1945. It was the most under spread war in history. The war consisted of more than 100 million serving in military units. In the war there was the mass death of civilians, including the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare. It resulted in 50 million to 70 million fatalities. These deaths make the war the deadliest conflict in human history Davidson 2010). World War II had a great impact on the United States. The Cold War emerged due to World War II. The timeframe of the Cold War was in 1945-1948. The Cold War was the most important and diplomatic issue of the latter half of the 20th century. The emerge of nuclear weapons also came from World War II. The first bombing occurred on August 6, 1945, and then three days later the second occurred on August 9, 1945(WWII). The outcome of the war could be stated to have a positive affect n the United States. The United States economy was greatly stimulated by the war. The depression was brought decisively to an end, and new industrial employees were built all over the United States. The U.S. had also become the leading military power after four years of military buildup. The creation of Israel for Jews, the redrawing of the European borders, and the creation of world policies such as...
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...Much about the Second World War is a mystery to most Americans. Technology was at a crucial point in history, weapon systems like Tanks, aircraft, and destroyers had evolved from World War I but little was known about the Artillery weapons systems. At the end of World War I the United States military suffered from one of the largest downsizes and budget cuts in American history. From these setbacks came extensive training and modernization for the Artillery. From the experiences suffered during World War I the U.S Army realized that it would have to improve its mass fires. This meant Field Artillery would have to adapt to the battlefield and restructure was needed for this to be accomplished. Prior to World War II fire direction centers...
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