Watch Rushed Into the Fight

During World War II the battle doctrine for the U.S. Navy was to dominate all the world seas at once while striking into the enemy heartland. This remained the main doctrine during 49 years of Cold War should it became a hot war with the Soviet Union. With the end of the Cold War, the doctrine needed to change as the position and type of enemy changed,. Now the Navy would fight mostly in the littoral regions near coasts (where 80% of the world's population lives); rather than over vast areas in

As World War II approached science, especially regarding electronics, aerospace research and nuclear physics became very important. Equally important was keeping new developments in these areas secret. The first new scientific breakthrough was the British development on a radio detection system that helped defeat the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. The U.S. took the basic British research amd developed highly effective radar systems which were instrumental in defeating the German U-Boat thre

While the modern tank dominates land warfare, the idea of armor goes back to ancient times as the Greeks, Assyrians and Romans all had hardened material for their soldiers. By the 5th century chain mail become used for a 1,000 years until mobility became more important than heavy armor in the 16th century. In World War I armored fighting vehicles appeared on the battlefield to counteract the dominance of the machine gun. Eventually the tank became the dominate piece. The first U.S. tanks were us

The ominous sound of cannons began to play a main role on battlefields in Europe in the mid 15th century. Over time, the use of trunnions for elevation made cannon more accurate and deadly. During the 17th and 18th centuries cannons became a major weapon of war. During World War II the creation by the Germans of self propelled artillery guns helped shape the battle field as these mobile gun platforms could keep pace with tank formations. The U.S. Army followed suit and by the 1960's had the M109

While the idea of vertical flight - the helicopter - was envisioned as early as the 15th century by Leonardo da Vinci, the first actual helicopter flight was in 1924 and the first practical helicopter was the FW 61 in Germany in 1936 with a small number used during World War II. The U.S. used the Sikorsky VS 300 in World War II. Marine General Roy Geiger after watching an A bomb test in 1946 determined the need for helicopters for troop landings in the future in a battlefield with nuclear arms.

The first rockets were used by the Chinese over 1,000 years ago. Until artillery became accurate, the rocket was the most used weapon of range on the battlefield. Rickets also were the inspiration for Francis Scott Key to pen the Star Spangled Banner that became the U.S. National Anthem. In the 1930's in Germany 'rocket scientists' were looking at developing system for space travel. They were co-opted for military use in World War II with the result the V1 and V2 rockets that Germany used again

Firing rates has always been a key element in warfare. The Battle of Cressy in 1346 during the Hundred Years War between England and France is a prime example with the English longbow men able to produce a fire rate five times faster, and with a longer range, than the French. This victory, along with the victories at Poitiers and Agincourt made England a major military power. Black powder, introduced in the 13th century, also became a major factor in weapons development with the advent of the ri

Firing rates has always been a key element in warfare. The Battle of Cressy in 1346 during the Hundred Years War between England and France is a prime example with the English longbow men able to produce a fire rate five times faster, and with a longer range, than the French. This victory, along with the victories at Poitiers and Agincourt made England a major military power. Black powder, introduced in the 13th century, also became a major factor in weapons development with the advent of the ri

Both the Union and Confederate Navy used a variety of Army field pieces on their ships during the Civil War as neither had a quantities of standardized naval guns. The North had the much larger Navy. The Confederacy had virtually nine except for a few gunboats at the start of the war. The North's plan was to blockade the South's ports and control the Mississippi River choking off supplies from overseas and down river to the South. While the blockade was fairly effective the South's blockade runn

Weapons technology in the U.S. changed radically in the 1850's with the adoption of the 'American system' which was an assembly line technique to manufacture weapons of war. The other major change was rifling rather than smooth bore rifles and the Minie ball ammunition. The U.S. eventually had almost 1.5 million Springfield rifles and over 400,000 British Enfield rifles by war's end. For cavalry, the Sharps breech loader became the weapon of choice. Rifled artillery was also introduced and its g

Railroads became an important factor during the Civil War especially to get troops to Washington D.C. once the war started as the Capitol was surrounded by Confederate states. The North had 21,000 miles of track and the South 9,000 at the start of the war giving the North an advantage and it was all the same gauge. Tactical use of railroads by the North was a force multiplier and the efforts by Bedford Forest and Mosby's Raiders did little to slow down the rail movement of troops and supplies.