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50 Weapons That Changed Warfare
The book describes the effects of these weapons, and how and why they changed warfare. Taking them roughly in chronological order, Weir covers battle from the bloody carnage produced by hand weapons to the silent threat of the never-used but universally feared fusion bomb, the sole purpose of which is to destroy millions of people while leaving buildings intact. Each weapon is not only described but also illustrated to give a clear picture of its uses and effects. Also included are devices that, strictly speaking, are weapons carriers (tanks, bombers, missiles), but have had an enormous impact on warfare.
From the tip of the sword to the tip of the ICBM, 50 Weapons that Changed Warfare tells both a story of war and a story of human society in its most terrifying aspect.
William Weir, a combat correspondent with the 25th Infantry Division during the Korean War, is now a freelance writer specializing in military history and true crime. His other books include Soldiers in the Shadows and 50 Battles that Changed the World.
From the tip of the sword to the tip of the ICBM, 50 Weapons that Changed Warfare tells both a story of war and a story of human society in its most terrifying aspect.
William Weir, a combat correspondent with the 25th Infantry Division during the Korean War, is now a freelance writer specializing in military history and true crime. His other books include Soldiers in the Shadows and 50 Battles that Changed the World.
261 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 22, 2009
Buku ini membahas perkembangan senjata-senjata yang digunakan dalam peperangan. Disusun secara sistematis mulai dari senjata paling awal, yaitu tombak, sampai dengan senjata yang saat ini masih dalam pengembangan.
Memang terdapat beberapa kekeliruan yang muncul di buku ini, seperti terlihat dalam pembahasan glider. Di situ disebutkan bahwa penerjunan pasukan lintas udara di Normandia pada Juni 1944 adalah yang terbesar dalam sejarah karena dilaksanakan oleh empat divisi lintas udara, dua Inggris dan dua Amerika. Padahal kita tahu bahwa yang terlibat dalam penerjunan di Normandia hanya tiga divisi, dan itu pun tidak full. Sesungguhnya penerjunan lintas udara terbesar itu terjadi di Belanda, di tahun yang sama namun bulan yang berbeda, yaitu September, dan dilaksanakan oleh tiga divisi lintas udara, dua Amerika dan satu Inggris.
Penulis buku juga menyertakan daftar senjata-senjata yang tidak termasuk dalam limapuluh senjata yang mengubah jalannya peperangan, salah satunya adalah battleship.
Untuk para penggemar senjata...mmm, maksud saya penggemar kemiliteran, buku ini cukup baik sebagai penambah wawasan. Isinya mudah dimengerti dengan bahasa yang populer, jarang menggunakan istilah-istilah resmi militer, meskipun beberapa di antaranya diperkenalkan juga.
Memang terdapat beberapa kekeliruan yang muncul di buku ini, seperti terlihat dalam pembahasan glider. Di situ disebutkan bahwa penerjunan pasukan lintas udara di Normandia pada Juni 1944 adalah yang terbesar dalam sejarah karena dilaksanakan oleh empat divisi lintas udara, dua Inggris dan dua Amerika. Padahal kita tahu bahwa yang terlibat dalam penerjunan di Normandia hanya tiga divisi, dan itu pun tidak full. Sesungguhnya penerjunan lintas udara terbesar itu terjadi di Belanda, di tahun yang sama namun bulan yang berbeda, yaitu September, dan dilaksanakan oleh tiga divisi lintas udara, dua Amerika dan satu Inggris.
Penulis buku juga menyertakan daftar senjata-senjata yang tidak termasuk dalam limapuluh senjata yang mengubah jalannya peperangan, salah satunya adalah battleship.
Untuk para penggemar senjata...mmm, maksud saya penggemar kemiliteran, buku ini cukup baik sebagai penambah wawasan. Isinya mudah dimengerti dengan bahasa yang populer, jarang menggunakan istilah-istilah resmi militer, meskipun beberapa di antaranya diperkenalkan juga.
October 24, 2020
The blurb for this book proclaims: 50 Weapons That Changed Warfare includes devices that, strictly speaking, are weapons carriers, such as tanks and bombers, but which have had enormous effects on the conduct of war. This book describes the effects of these weapons and how and why they changed warfare-from the bloody carnage produced by hand weapons throughout history to the never used but universally feared fusion bomb, whose sole purpose is to destroy millions of people while leaving buildings intact. Each weapon is not only described, but also illustrated to give a clearer picture of its usage and effects.
For extensive stretches of time, wars have been fought with similar, weapons. For instance, flintlock smoothbore muskets were the essential infantry weapons for more than a century. When, in the early 19th century, they were replaced by percussion smoothbore muskets, soldiers got a more reliable weapon, but they didn’t have to change their tactics.
A little later, they were given percussion rifled muskets. The musket looked almost the same. It had a percussion lock, and it was a muzzle-loader. About the only difference were the rifling grooves in the barrel. Generals didn’t see why they should change their tactics. That’s why the American Civil War is the bloodiest war in American history.
Most of the weapons that change warfare sooner or later become obsolete. The weapons that substitute them may further change warfare, or they may not. The muzzle-loading rifle was quickly replaced by the breech-loading rifle, and the breech-loading single-shot by the breech-loading repeater. The repeater let troops fire faster.
The muzzle-loading rifle had taught infantry the need to disperse and take cover. The breech-loader made firing from cover much easier, which meant that infantry opposing it had to move faster and in smaller groups. That was a substantial change. When the repeating rifle replaced the single-shot breech-loader, soldiers could still fire from cover, but they fired much faster.
Many inventors of weapons, according to the author, such as Hiram Maxim, with his machine gun, and Alfred Nobel, with dynamite, thought their inventions were so powerful they would make war too horrible, and the world would try to settle disputes in a more peaceful way.
The inventor of the spear probably considered it nothing more than a way to bring more meat to the family cave. The inventors of riding and the composite bow aimed to make it easier to herd cattle and sheep and protect them from predators, not to make it easier for Genghis Khan to conquer most of the known world. Like the inventors of barbed wire, they were thinking of the cattle business, not the battle business.
The Wright brothers were mainly interested in soaring through the air with wings, like birds. They may have had some thoughts about faster transportation, possibly also the use of planes in war. But it is most unlikely that they had any inkling of the way their invention would be used in World War II.
Other inventors, of course, knew very well what their innovations would do.
Callinicus knew that his “Greek fire” would annihilate enemy fleets and enemy sailors, but his object was not killing people but saving Christian civilization.
David Bushnell, who built the first submarine used in combat, was interested only in freeing his country from British domination.
It should also be said that new weapons have made war different, but not necessarily more horrible. Genghis Khan, in the course of a few years, managed to kill 20 million people, which in the 13th century was quite chunk of humanity. And he did this primarily with bows, arrows, and swords.
In addition to the inventors, anyone writing about the development of weapons over the last million or so years had to rely on the testimony of writers who have seen them and seen their effects. Finding those writers would have been impossible without the research staff at the Guilford, Connecticut, public li-brary and their librarian colleagues around the country and around the world.
This book speaks about the fifty basic weapons that have gone on to change the course and history of warfare completely. Each of the book’s chapters explains how the weapon in question changed war, typically through showing how it was used in battle. It also describes, in easy-to-follow terms, how the weapon worked. The weapons are presented in roughly chronological order — roughly because, with many weapons, it’s hard to say precisely when they went into use.
An appealing read for students and inquisitive amateurs of history alike.
For extensive stretches of time, wars have been fought with similar, weapons. For instance, flintlock smoothbore muskets were the essential infantry weapons for more than a century. When, in the early 19th century, they were replaced by percussion smoothbore muskets, soldiers got a more reliable weapon, but they didn’t have to change their tactics.
A little later, they were given percussion rifled muskets. The musket looked almost the same. It had a percussion lock, and it was a muzzle-loader. About the only difference were the rifling grooves in the barrel. Generals didn’t see why they should change their tactics. That’s why the American Civil War is the bloodiest war in American history.
Most of the weapons that change warfare sooner or later become obsolete. The weapons that substitute them may further change warfare, or they may not. The muzzle-loading rifle was quickly replaced by the breech-loading rifle, and the breech-loading single-shot by the breech-loading repeater. The repeater let troops fire faster.
The muzzle-loading rifle had taught infantry the need to disperse and take cover. The breech-loader made firing from cover much easier, which meant that infantry opposing it had to move faster and in smaller groups. That was a substantial change. When the repeating rifle replaced the single-shot breech-loader, soldiers could still fire from cover, but they fired much faster.
Many inventors of weapons, according to the author, such as Hiram Maxim, with his machine gun, and Alfred Nobel, with dynamite, thought their inventions were so powerful they would make war too horrible, and the world would try to settle disputes in a more peaceful way.
The inventor of the spear probably considered it nothing more than a way to bring more meat to the family cave. The inventors of riding and the composite bow aimed to make it easier to herd cattle and sheep and protect them from predators, not to make it easier for Genghis Khan to conquer most of the known world. Like the inventors of barbed wire, they were thinking of the cattle business, not the battle business.
The Wright brothers were mainly interested in soaring through the air with wings, like birds. They may have had some thoughts about faster transportation, possibly also the use of planes in war. But it is most unlikely that they had any inkling of the way their invention would be used in World War II.
Other inventors, of course, knew very well what their innovations would do.
Callinicus knew that his “Greek fire” would annihilate enemy fleets and enemy sailors, but his object was not killing people but saving Christian civilization.
David Bushnell, who built the first submarine used in combat, was interested only in freeing his country from British domination.
It should also be said that new weapons have made war different, but not necessarily more horrible. Genghis Khan, in the course of a few years, managed to kill 20 million people, which in the 13th century was quite chunk of humanity. And he did this primarily with bows, arrows, and swords.
In addition to the inventors, anyone writing about the development of weapons over the last million or so years had to rely on the testimony of writers who have seen them and seen their effects. Finding those writers would have been impossible without the research staff at the Guilford, Connecticut, public li-brary and their librarian colleagues around the country and around the world.
This book speaks about the fifty basic weapons that have gone on to change the course and history of warfare completely. Each of the book’s chapters explains how the weapon in question changed war, typically through showing how it was used in battle. It also describes, in easy-to-follow terms, how the weapon worked. The weapons are presented in roughly chronological order — roughly because, with many weapons, it’s hard to say precisely when they went into use.
An appealing read for students and inquisitive amateurs of history alike.
April 30, 2018
Nada en particular que lo haga sobresalir sobre otros libros de la misma temática. Me gustó el capítulo sobre el arco largo inglés y las ballestas, muy interesante.
November 20, 2015
I had high hopes for this book, sadly it is all over the place and I for one question the selection of weapons.
I think what would have made for a more delightful book would have been a sequential order and how the newer weapon/technology advanced the previous causing a military advantage.
I think what would have made for a more delightful book would have been a sequential order and how the newer weapon/technology advanced the previous causing a military advantage.
October 10, 2016
This book was so interesting i really hated that I couldn't love it more! It was all over the place -- I wish the author had set up a systematic way to compose this work whether it be a chronological order or perhaps categorized them better
February 15, 2009
Nice and neat summary of weapons that impacted the history of the World. Generally written in chronological order.
wishlist-a-k-a-buku-buruan
July 4, 2009Seru neh kayaknya!
August 17, 2014
Would have been better with pictures. I had to google a lot of stuff, just to visualize what the author was writing about. But don't get the wrong impression-it's not a bad book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews