Sunday, April 15, 2012

Essay on Weapons

Essay on Weapons

With the evolution of mankind human desire to conquer others lands and to enslave other peoples grew, which led to the search for more sophisticated and improved weapons of war. Scientific and technological revolution contributed much to the development of new weapons of all kinds. Undoubtedly rapid progress in military technology had a great impact on the course of hostilities. We can observe the progress in military technology by the example of a series of wars, which America waged. If we analyze the course of Civil War, World War I, World War II and the Cold war we will see that from 1862 to 1991 the world has made an enormous progress in military equipment, which certainly influenced tactics and strategy of all these wars.

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The main tendency in the development of military weapon was the endeavor to make weapon as powerful as possible in order to annihilate more enemies. The more solid the weapon was, the more people it could destroy, the faster the aim of war was achieved by one or another party. The American Civil War started in 1861 and lasted for four years. At that time the most powerful and effective weapon was a cannon. The Civil War was marked by extensive use of heavy rifled cannons, which were made out of high quality cast iron.

In comparison with the Civil War, World War I was characterized by far more powerful military equipment, which certainly resulted in the number of people killed. It lasted from 1914 until 1918 and had grave consequences that influenced greatly the history of the twentieth century. During the period from the Civil War till WWI scientists paved the way for a massive destruction of people and buildings. In 1867 Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, which decided the outcome of numerous battles and the destiny of many cities. In sea warfare submarines began to be largely used in order to carry out sneak attacks.

However, in spite of signing peace treaties, World War I provoked further aggression. The Germans’ desire to take revenge, to restore and to enlarge the empire and to prove the world their might led to World War II. The preparation to the war resulted in the introduction of rocket artillery, anti-tank rockets and flying bombs. In 1943 air-launched anti-ship missiles were used for the first time. Undoubtedly, the breakthrough in the technology of warfare was the development of an atomic bomb which became the most destructive and appalling weapon ever known in the history.

The decision to use atomic bomb against Japan caused heated disputes, which do not calm down till now. Harry Truman, who wanted America to be the unconditional winner in WWII, gave an order to drop the bomb as soon as possible without any warning. From a perspective of humanism this decision cannot be justified as the aftermath of this unconventional attack became catastrophic. Personally, I believe it is impossible to put political image of the country over lives of millions of people. Even a war should have its rules and measures.

Historians name several factors that induced Truman to make such a decision. One of the most significant of them is the policy of America directed at the status of absolute leader in the world, especially in the context of its confrontation with the USSR. This confrontation lasted long after the end of the Second World War and became famous as the Cold War. It lasted from 1947 until 1991 and consisted in military buildup and political rivalry for the supremacy in the world. Though there was no military engagement between two world powers, the struggle was tense and exhausting. The main purpose of both countries was to consolidate their armies. In this time reconnaissance satellites and sensors were developed by the Americans while Soviet people tested a hydrogen bomb.

To make a conclusion we see that during two centuries America participated in four wars and from one war to another its military equipment developed and improved, which allowed the country to gain many victories and to sustain fewer losses than other countries. However, in chase of victories America sometimes forgot about humanistic principles and displayed savagery to other countries. Thus, Truman’s decision to use an atomic bomb against Japan cannot be justified anyway.
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