Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here
World War 1 (WW1) similarity to Warfare
World War 1 (WW1) is fundamentally similar to warfare as it is practiced today
The year 1914 witnessed the class of large armies that were armed with deadly new weaponry and military hardware which had been developed all through the 2nd industrial revolution of the late nineteenth century. Chief among these new weapons was the quick-firing artillery that was able to deluge enemy fighters with hails of lethal lead balls that cascaded from shrapnel shells. In the meantime, the bullets that were fired by machine guns and rifles had actually gained in accurateness and range and were able to cause terrible wounds. World War 1 (WW1) similarity to Warfare.
By the ending of the 1914, over 1 million European combatants had been killed. The armies were compelled to seek the relative safety of dugouts and trenches: a novel form of combat was born.[1] This argumentative essay supports the argument that the First World War is fundamentally similar to how warfare is currently being practiced.
The First World War introduced a number of advancements in science and technology into modern warfare as it is currently being practiced nowadays. These advancements transformed the nature of warfare including combat tactics and strategies. It is notable that on both sides, inventors and scientists worked all through the war to improve their technology so as to give their side an advantage during the battle.[2]
World War 1 (WW1) similarity to Warfare
Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here
The initial years of WW1 could be described as a class of twentieth-century technology with nineteenth-century warfare in the form of ineffective combats that resulted in many casualties on both sides. In essence, it was really not until 1918, WW1’s concluding year, that the main armed forces started to make effective steps in transforming matters of tactics, control and command to adapt to the modern combat zone, and began harnessing the many new technologies to effectual military purposes.
Tactical organizations for instance changing the focus of command from one-hundred-man company to the ten-man squad went hand-in-hand with the first submachine guns, armoured vehicles, as well as automatic rifles which could be carried and utilized by a single soldier.[3] Likewise, in warfare as practiced today, major armies particularly the Allied forces including Americans, the French, Australians and the Brits have effectively harnessed a number of novel technologies to effective military purposes for instance the utilization of unmanned drones to spy on their enemies and even for dropping bombs on enemy targets.
World War 1 (WW1) similarity to Warfare
Tanks: tanks, which were highly armoured vehicles, were initially introduced during the First World War and were utilized in crossing No Man’s Land between trenches. Tanks had mounted cannon and machine guns.[4] Even though the first tanks were difficult to steer and were not dependable, they in fact became more effectual and efficient by the conclusion of WW1, and are highly advanced as used in warfare today.
War in the air: WW1 was actually the very first warfare in the history of wars in which airplanes were employed. At first, airplanes were utilized in observing the troops of the enemy. Nonetheless, by the ending of the warfare, airplanes were utilized in dropping bombs in enemy cities and on the enemy troops. In addition, airplanes were mounted with machine guns which were utilized in shooting down other airplanes.[5]
Changes in naval warfare: during the First World War, the most dangerous ships were referred to as dreadnoughts – they were basically big metal armoured warships. The dreadnoughts had long-range guns which were powerful that allowed these ships to attack other battleships as well as targets on land from a long distance. During this war, the main naval fighting was the essentially the Battle of Jutland.
Other than this fighting, naval battleships of the allied forces were utilized in blockading Germany to stop food and other supplies from reaching the nation. Moreover, at sea, submarines were used in attacking ships.[6] Battleships became more powerful and quicker than ever before and utilized newly invented radios in communicating effectively.
Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here
Trench warfare: it is worth mentioning that much of the battle along the western front was fought with the use of trench warfare in which both sides of the combat dug extensive lines of trenches which helped in protecting the soldiers from artillery and gunfire. No Man’s Land was the term used in referring to the region between enemy trenches. For a number of years, trench warfare resulted in a stalemate between both sides. Both sides lost millions of fighters but neither side gained ground.[7] The popular image of WW1 is combatants in muddy dugouts and trenches living despondently until the subsequent assault.
New weapons: some of the new weapons included machine guns, artilleries, chemical weapons and flamethrowers. During WW1, the machine gun was improved considerably. The machine gun was made easier to move around and much lighter. Big guns commonly referred to as artilleries were improved throughout this battle including anti-airplane guns which were aimed at shooting down airplanes of the enemy. Most of the casualties during this battle were inflicted with the use of artillery and some big artillery guns were actually used in launching shells roughly eighty miles[8].
Moreover, WW1 introduced chemical weapons to the war. Chlorine gas was initially used by Germany for the purpose of poisoning unsuspecting troops of the Allied forces. Afterwards, mustard gas, which was more deadly, was developed and utilized by both the Allied forces and the German troops. By the ending of this warfare, troops on both sides of the conflict were equipped with gas masks and the chemical weapon actually became less effective.[9]
The war came to an end on 11/11/1918, and modern war technology had altered the course of civilization. Millions of civilians and enemy soldiers had been starved, maimed, gassed or killed. Disease and famine continued raging through the central parts of Europe particularly in Germany and it took very many lives. Thanks to rapid advancements in technology in virtually every area, the nature of warfare had forever changed, affecting sailors, airmen, combatants and civilians similarly.
World War 1 (WW1) similarity to Warfare
Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here
WW1 is essentially the same as warfare as practiced at the moment considering that just like during the First World War, warfare today is characterized by the use of tanks, machine guns, artilleries, battleships, and even airplanes – technologies that were invented and first used during the First World War. For instance, in the modern warfare going on in North Africa and the Middle East in which the United States and its Allies are fighting against terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, the use of machine guns, artilleries, cannons, and tanks are used extensively by both sides.
However, mechanized warfare, war airplane and tank technology initially developed in WW1 have become more and more sophisticated and fearsome military hardware in today’s warfare and have in fact made the trench outdated.
In addition, just as warfare is being practiced at the moment, WW1was actually determined largely by fighting skills, tactics, industrial capacity and logistics. Also, major warfare today involves a number of different countries in different regions of the globe, and surveillance and communication are an essential aspect of warfare today.
Similarly, WW1 was the first main warfare which involved several countries in various parts of the globe and surveillance and communications were gradually more becoming a significant aspect of the fighting.[10] Equally important, the First World War was a combat of firsts – a multinational combat from traditional hand-to-hand fighting to high-tech, sophisticated military hardware – that is still the characteristic of armed combats today.
World War 1 (WW1) similarity to Warfare
Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here
Furthermore, the consequences of warfare as practiced today are more or less the same as the consequences of war during WW1. In today’s warfare just as in WW1 warfare, most of the enemy soldiers and civilians in the countries where the war is being waged end up getting starved, killed or maimed. Modern warfare waged in Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria and other places today have similarly caused significant famine.
Malnutrition and starvation continued taking the lives of children and adults in Germany for several years following the end of the First World War in 1918.[11] Likewise today, malnutrition and starvation have taken the lives of many children and adults in Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Iraq thanks to the warfare going on in these countries. Years after these fighting end, malnutrition and starvation are also likely to continue taking the lives of people in these places.
Conclusion
To sum up, the First World War is fundamentally the same as how warfare is currently being practiced. Just like during WW1, in warfare today, major armies have properly harnessed a several new technologies to effective military purposes for example the usage of unmanned drones for dropping bombs on enemy targets and spying on enemies. Just like WW1, warfare as practiced these days involves several countries. Equally important, surveillance and communication are extensively utilized in today’s warfare just as how it was used during WW1.
World War 1 (WW1) similarity to Warfare
Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here
References
Clausewitz, Carl von. On War. Edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976.
Knox, MacGregor, and Williamson Murray, eds. The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Paret, Peter, ed. Makers of Modern Strategy: from Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986.
Parker, Geoffrey, ed. The Cambridge History of Warfare. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Parker, Geoffrey, ed. The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
[1] MacGregor Knox and Williamson Murray, eds. The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), p. 43.
[2] Geoffrey Parker, ed. The Cambridge History of Warfare. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 17.
[4] Geoffrey Parker, ed. The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 22.
[7] Peter Paret, ed. Makers of Modern Strategy: from Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986), p. 21.
[10] Carl von Clausewitz. On War. Edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976), p. 11.
World War 1 (WW1) similarity to Warfare
Want help to write your Essay or Assignments? Click here