Technology
Introduction
Analysis of technology has revealed that most countries have been revolutionized by technology, making them more digitalized. Indeed, technology use in our daily lives has made work or things easier for us, unlike in traditional times where there was no technology. It has further been embraced in warfare for advancing weapons as well as fighting tactics. The use of technology in warfare comes along with added advantages during war when advanced weapons are used. However, for an army to conquer their enemies during war technologically, other factors such as planning in advance and the tactics used, skills of the combatants and prior knowledge of counterparts is essential. My argument in this paper is that technology is not a silver bullet when it comes to warfare. My paper entails warfare definition, advantages of technology in warfare, disadvantages of technology in warfare and additional factors that attribute to the result in warfare.
Warfare
Warfare refers to when societies engage in activities that eventually lead to war between or among them. War usually involves conflict between armies or a group of people. The effects of war are usually not good. This is because at times civilians are usually caught up in these events leading to their death, most infrastructures end up being destroyed due to the use of advanced weapons and at times, animals, as well as civilians, may starve to death in situations where land gets destroyed during the war. The main reason as to why people or nations engage in war is due to arguments or conflicts. It is worth noting that war is not just a killing spree. Actually combatants aim is to cripple their opponents so that they cannot engage in war, as a way of teaching them a lesson. It is usually good for nations to maintain peace and not engage in wars. As George C. Marshall Jr. says, “the only way human beings can win a war is to prevent it”. The best way to avoid wars is through having peace talks or diplomatic dialogues between nations. I strongly agree that maintaining peace worldwide is very important and that war is not only about the technology of advanced machinery but tactics and other factors as well.
Technology advantages in warfare
Technology makes life easier and enables faster results in little time. Therefore, embracing technology by armies will enable the soldiers to be more protected during war events unlike traditionally where there was no technology. This also means that their success in war is slightly higher since they will be using advanced weapons. For instance, the US army uses drones or aerial aircraft to view their enemies including terror activities. Aerial aircraft was used on 6th August in 1945 by to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan. The aircraft was named Enola Gay and the pilot who flew it was called Paul Tibbets. According to this technology, results were faster and nobody from the US army was harmed at the moment. Again the use radio communications and telegraphs are advantageous. For instance, during the 1877-1878 war between Russia and Turkey, there was the use of five military telegraph by the Russians army. Also, the use of chemicals increases the success rate. In a war between Germany and Russia in 1915, Germany military used teargas against the Russian army. This weakened the Russian army making things easier for the German army.
Technology disadvantages in warfare
As much as technology use by armies have shown their field worthiness and at times led to their success, it comes along with several disadvantages. One major disadvantage is that the use of advanced weapons leads to the death of civilians. An example is bomb dropped by the US army in Hiroshima Japan that claimed the lives of close to 80,000 civilians. Since developing advanced weapons involve a lot of research and the involvement of scientists, it is usually very expensive to develop advanced weapons technologically. The US, for example, has spent close to 5.5 trillion dollars over the period of 1940-1996, in its program for nuclear weapons. What does this mean? There was a raise in the amount of taxes the citizens had to pay. In events that the government needs additional money for technological advancement purpose, they may end up borrowing money from other states thereby increasing their overall money debts. Again, technology on warfare has led to developing of super-deadly weapons that could even harm nations not involved in a war when they are used. For instance, North Korea is one of the nation’s doing this.
Other methods used in warfare: Tactics
The success of a war is about being tactful. This enables armies to manage themselves well during warfare. As Sun Tzu says, “tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” This, therefore, means that tactically is essential for victory in warfare. Blunders in the battlefield where there are no tactics can really cost an army. For instance, during the World War I, the German army was well-trained and equipped. They knew that no enemy would defeat them one-on-one. Unfortunately, their army was outnumbered since they were fighting many enemies who had access to greater resources. German lost due to the failure of employing tactics rather than belief.
Other methods used: People and terrain
Furthermore, armies must be trained well in order to engage well in a fight. The use of advanced technology without skilled soldiers is almost a dead end. Again, the terrain must be well known and studied beforehand. For instance, weapons are specific to the terrain. A marine army sheep will do well in water fight and not field fight. The use of traps like booby traps can be set up in field fights.
Conclusion
Technology in warfare only increases victory rate but it does not guarantee success. Success in warfare is attributed to other factors as well like tactics, terrain knowledge, and skilled army. Technology in warfare have both beneficial factors and disadvantages. It is important that technology in warfare is well managed to avoid warfare cases by wrong people for malicious purposes, like technology in warfare falling into the hands of terrorists as the recent cases reveal unwanted and hurting outcomes. Therefore, I strongly agree that technology is not a silver bullet.
Bibliography
"George C. Marshall Jr." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
"Strategy without Tactics Is the Slowest Route to Victory. Tactics without Strategy
Is the Noise before Defeat. - Philosiblog." Philosiblog. N.p., 04 May 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
"The Costs of U.S. Nuclear Weapons | NTI." The Costs of U.S. Nuclear Weapons | NTI. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
