EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY THE EVOLUTION OF MILITARY TECHNOLOGY GINA HAGLER AND LINDA R BAKER Britannica Educational Publishing IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSEN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
Armed conflicts have plagued human societies since ancient times Early warfare included crude weapons and hand-to-hand conflict These battles resulted in injuries for nearly everyone involved This situation began to change as dif ferent types of projectile weapons were invented beginning with stones then spears arrows and poison-tipped darts As civilizations became more advanced weap ons could be constructed of metal using the latest in technology metal blades and suits of armor More sophisticated battle strategies came into use Then the introduction of gunpowder into Europe from China around the year 1300 CE changed warfare dramat ically It became possible to propel a projectile from a significant distance At first the targeting was not very accurate but it was improved with the advent of rifling in the mid-nineteenth century Armies and navies could face one another from farther away and battles could be won and lost more rapidly than in the past By World War I and World War II weapons had grown even more sophisticated Meanwhile trans portation and communication capabilities had also undergone a revolution Troops could call in and 4 INTRODUCTION
Guns were used in 1645 at the Battle of Naseby during the first English Civil War report conditions from the field and commanders could issue instructions from a great distance Codes were devised so that messages even if intercepted would be meaningless to the enemy Bomb-dropping 5
