How Did The Advancement Of Weapons Technology Prior To World War One: Influence The Rapid Evolution Of German Infantry Tactics And Command And Control From 1914 To 1918?
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
Prior to World War I the German army had studied and toyed with new tactics off and on. By 1914 they were still practicing traditional tactics against the Allies. The use of these tactics against the massive destructive capability of modern weapons available to both sides at the start of the war caused enormous numbers of casualties. The German army, in comparison to the Allies, was limited in numbers of soldiers and material and could not afford to continue to keep up with the high attrition rate. Necessity being the mother of invention, the Germans acted aggressively in finding a way to defeat the advanced firepower that emerged during the war. Through experimentation and training they developed the famous “Storm Troops” that momentarily broke the deadlock near the end of the war. After World War I these new tactics were taken up by other forces around the world and eventually led to German Blitzkrieg tactics of World War Two.
Major Daniel T. Lathrop
See Book Description
Related to How Did The Advancement Of Weapons Technology Prior To World War One
Related ebooks
Fine Conduct Under Fire: The Tactical Effectiveness Of The 165th Infantry Regiment In The First World War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGerman Tactics In The Michael Offensive March 1918 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5German General Staff In World War I Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTactical Victory Leading To Operational Failure: Rommel In North Africa Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Campaign Of Ropes:: An Analysis Of The Duke Of Wellington’s Practice Of Military Art During The Peninsular War, 1808 To 1814 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCombat Failure: Nightmare of Armored Units Since World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFall Gelb And The German Blitzkrieg Of 1940: Operational Art Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnknown Generals - German Corps Commanders In World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArdennes-1944: An Analysis Of The Operational Defense Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTactical Responses To Concentrated Artillery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy Fight On? The Decision To Close The Kursk Salient Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The German Army Handbook of 1918 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rommel, Operational Art And The Battle Of El Alamein Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dynamics Of Doctrine: The Changes In German Tactical Doctrine During The First World War [Illustrated Edition] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe BEF Campaign on the Aisne 1914: 'In the Company of Ghosts' Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Coldstream Guards, 1914-1918 Vol. II [Illustrated Edition] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDevelopment Of Tactics - World War I [Illustrated Edition] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe German Army In War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBattalion: A British infantry unit's actions from the battle of El Alamein to the Elbe, 1942-1945. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sir Douglas Haig's Despatches (December 1915-April 1919) [Illustrated] Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCovered With Mud And Glory: A Machine Gun Company In Action ("Ma Mitrailleuse") Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarch On Paris And The Battle Of The Marne 1914 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battle of the Marne Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlumer: The Soldiers' General Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nivelle Offensive and the Battle of the Aisne 1917: A Battlefield Guide to the Chemin des Dames Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Memoirs Of The Marne Campaign Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrench Generals of the Great War: Leading the Way Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFighting And Winning Encircled Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThey Were There in 1914: Memories of the Great War 1914–1918 by Those Who Experienced It Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
European History For You
The Violent Abuse of Women: In 17th and 18th Century Britain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler's Defeat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book: The Script Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Short History of the World: The Story of Mankind From Prehistory to the Modern Day Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mein Kampf: The Original, Accurate, and Complete English Translation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Celtic Charted Designs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mein Kampf: English Translation of Mein Kamphf - Mein Kampt - Mein Kamphf Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of English Magic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCeltic Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Sagas and Beliefs Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Victorian Lady's Guide to Fashion and Beauty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Slave Trade: The White European Slaves of Islam Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Origins Of Totalitarianism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise of the Fourth Reich: The Secret Societies That Threaten to Take Over America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dry: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for How Did The Advancement Of Weapons Technology Prior To World War One
2 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
How Did The Advancement Of Weapons Technology Prior To World War One - Major Daniel T. Lathrop
This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com
To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – picklepublishing@gmail.com
Or on Facebook
Text originally published in 2002 under the same title.
© Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Publisher’s Note
Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.
We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.
HOW DID THE ADVANCEMENT OF WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY PRIOR TO WORLD WAR ONE INFLUENCE THE RAPID EVOLUTION OF GERMAN INFANTRY TACTICS AND COMMAND AND CONTROL FROM 1914 TO 1918?
by
MAJOR DANIEL T. LATHROP
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
Preface 5
Introduction 6
Background 8
Modern Weapons Technology Development 8
Infantry Rifle 8
The Machinegun 9
Artillery 9
Early Examples of Tactics Development 10
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) 10
The Matabele and Dervish Wars 11
Boer War 11
Russo-Japanese War. 12
Study and Experimentation 12
Early German Tactics Development 13
Closing the Gap Between Weapons and Tactics 17
Beginning of the War 17
The Great Stalemate 18
Identifying the Problem 19
The Tactical Solution 19
Experimentation 20
Changes in Artillery Tactics 22
Operational Testing 22
The Final Product. 23
Other Considerations 24
Standardization 24
The Defense 24
Doctrine and Organization Changes 25
Decentralized Control 26
Training and Standardization 27
Combined Arms 27
Allies vs. German solutions 28
Summary 30
Conclusions 32
German Ability to Adapt 32
Weapons Versus Tactics 32
Revolution in Military Affairs 33
Modern Examples 34
REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 36
Bibliography: 37
PREFACE
Bullets quickly write new tactics.–Wilhelm Balck
The fact that there has been significant evolution in infantry tactics during the past century is taken for granted. Also, it is well documented that the predominant advancements in tactics took place between 1914 and 1918, during World War One, rooted within the German army. However, the cause and effect that initiated this rapid evolution is somewhat unclear. Was this advancement solely due to the inspiration of one or more German commanders of the time? Was this advancement in tactics a Revolution in Military Affairs? Or, was this merely an evolution in tactics resulting from advancements in fire power due to technology improvements in infantry weapons such as the machine gun, infantry rifle, field artillery, etc.
Prior to World War I the German army had studied and toyed with new tactics off and on. By 1914 they were still practicing traditional tactics against the Allies. The use of these tactics against the massive destructive capability of modern weapons available to both sides at the start of the war caused enormous numbers of casualties. The German army, in comparison to the Allies, was limited in numbers of soldiers and material and could not afford to continue to keep up with the high attrition rate. Necessity being the mother of invention, the Germans acted aggressively in finding a way to defeat the advanced firepower that emerged during the war. Through experimentation and training they developed the famous Storm Troops
that momentarily broke the deadlock near the end of the war. After World War I these new tactics were taken up by other forces around the world and eventually led to German Blitzkrieg tactics of World War Two.
HOW DID THE ADVANCEMENT IN WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY PRIOR TO WORLD WAR ONE INFLUENCE THE RAPID EVOLUTION OF GERMAN INFANTRY TACTICS AND COMMAND AND CONTROL FROM 1914 TO 1918?
INTRODUCTION
The basics of modern infantry tactics were born on the battlefields of World War I. The seeds of this birth were laid prior to the Great War