Civil War and War Essay

New Technology/Changes in Warfare from End of French Revolution/Napoleonic Wars to American Civil War Beginning

Warfare Change in Technology

In France, reforms began after the great Seven-Year-long war. The war ended in French calamity in1763. Evidently, it was important to have reforms to field soldiers that could fight for French interests and honor. The government suggested that light infantry should be increased. This later brought about initiatives for conventional infantry training in techniques for light infantry. This training created soldiers that could fight both in open and close order. The multiple gun calibers used by the artillery unit were taken away; and they were left with only four varieties. There were new guns, which were more portable and lighter than the earlier ones. The new guns featured standardized segments and enclosed rounds. Lidell-Hart stated that according to Jean du Teil, "light mobile guns for use in the field when used at high rates against infantry instead of counter-battery work can be significant in combat." Undoubtedly, Napoleon absorbed this principle while he was an artillery administrator under the command of Du Teil's elder brother. The soldiers carried an infantry weapon (smoothbore flintlock musket) to war. Under favorable conditions, a skilled soldier could use his weapon around two or three times per minute and if lucky, shoot a target 150 yards away. In order to benefit from this limited range, inexact, slow shooting weapon, soldiers were usually arrayed linearly, three positions deep, in order to inflict maximum firing capability. The main thing in training back then was moving the soldiers fast from their marching columns into lines by means of fast volley fire [2]. The soldiers were warned against portraying individual initiative. Officers on the other hand concentrated on aligning the formations and directing the soldiers' fire.

Napoleonic tactics and strategy were keenly analyzed by the initial great war theorists, Carl von Clausewitz; Prussian general and Antoine Jomini; French general. On War by Clausewitz stressed the close connection between national policy and war and the significance of the doctrines of mass force economy, and the annihilation of the enemy's forces. Jomini stressed occupying the territory of the enemy through keenly organized, fast, and accurate geometric maneuvers. Jomini's theories influenced North America and France, while Clausewitz's teachings particularly influenced the great strategies of the Prussian military in the 1800s. They included Helmuth von Moltke; who led his army successfully against the French in 1870 and Schlieffen; who came up with the Schlieffen defense plan against the Russians and French envelopment. Germans used the Schliffen plan in the Second World War. The 1800s were years of far-reaching change in technology that greatly changed the strategy and tactics, a change experienced in the so-called first total warfare, the Civil War in the U.S.A. Steamships and railroads increased the speed, reach, and volume of conscription and mobilization. The unswerving support of the war industry turned critical. In the early years of the 1800s, between 1815 and 1848, there was a long peaceful period in Europe, and the industrial expansion was extraordinary. In America as well, apart from their 1812-1815 war against England and the 1846-1848 Mexican War, there was political tranquility as well as remarkable national growth until the great Civil war began[footnoteRef:1]. Industrial Revolution led to civilians being responsible for providing industrial resources for war. The workshop was now an important element in the struggle; it was the battlefield. Through chemistry, there was tremendous progress during the 19th century. However, a setback emerged before most new discoveries had any effect on military technology. Many of the ordinary present-day explosives were found back in the 1800s. Back then, there were rockets, but they were not used productively. Throughout the 1800s, advancements in steel and iron manufacturing were cumulative and steady. [1: Zapotoczny]

By the end of the first half of the 19th century, the logistics in the military included both the old and new technological inventions. The railroad was used to move supplies and troops fifteen times faster than their speed when marching. Conversely, past the railhead, troops would still march, while draft animals continued to draw supply wagons. Therefore, the rail outline started to take up the function of the strategy framework. The only soldiers that mastered the tactic of using defensive and offensive strategies together were the Prussians. Soldiers from the 1800s were clingy to the Napoleonic techniques even long after being outdated by advancements in rifled weapons. This delay was partly because of the fast rate at which the mid-century wars took place in succession. There was little time, even for thoughtful soldiers to assess the lessons…