The Changing Nature of Warfare, Overviews

This is a revision slide show designed to help you take key notes from the history of warfare, using the questions in the slides.

Technology

Identify and describe the weapons technology illustrated here. What were its chief drawbacks? Rifled barrels: what difference did they make on the battlefield? What type of weapon is illustrated on the right? Describe the principal changes these weapons made to fighting by 1900 The photograph shows a group of British machine gunners in 1917: Explain the changing relationship between tactics and weapons technology in the First and Second World Wars.

Artillery: What was the task of artillery on the battlefield? By 1918, what changes had taken place in artillery design?

The development of railways had a huge impact on the direction of war – use examples from across the period to explain this impact. The production line is a symbol of mass production: what impact did this have on warfare?

Leadership

Classically, leaders have had a profound influence on historical events, although the extent to which they have been the primary factor of change has been challenged by historians in recent decades. Can it be said that Napoleon was the most influential leader of the period ? Assess Napoleon’s importance here The American Civil war produced some excellent leaders and others that were poor. What was it that made a few so outstanding? What criteria would you apply?

Von Moltke the Elder is pictured to the left – what were his innovations and how significant were they? To the left is General Falkenhayn, and to the right General Horne (a British general) addressing his men in Were the generals of the First World War any better or any worse than leaders of previous eras? Explain. How did the leadership of the Second World War change?

The Quality of Troops The quality of soldiers is dependent on several factors such as motivation, levels of training, discipline and morale. High quality troops might also be defined by their ability to sustain heavy casualties and yet to continue to fight and endure.

To the left is an illustration of the Confederates in Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg in Although the Americans in the Civil War were not highly trained at first, what assessment can be made of the quality of the men? How can we assess the armies of Napoleon which, after all, were eventually defeated?

Europeans put great store on the personal qualities of soldiers. They believed that these would overcome even changes in technology. What ideas reinforced these views in the late nineteenth century? The First World War revealed the limits of human endurance. Give examples of how the quality of troops could affect the outcomes of the First World War. How had their quality and training altered by the time of the Second World War?

Strategy

Explain Napoleon’s formula for success and label the diagram to the right. The diagram below shows how, in 1862, Robert E. Lee was faced by overwhelming odds. He had to defend the capital Richmond. Against the conventions of war, which stated that forces should not be divided in the face of the enemy, Lee despatched General ‘Stonewall’ Jackson to the north-west to draw away a large portion of Union troops. This demonstrates Lee’s boldness which so often brought him victory. Shenandoah Valley Richmond

Describe the strategy to the right Label the diagram. The diagram to the left illustrates attrition. Why did some generals turn to this destructive strategy? Give examples.