after seeing the future wepons event, i was sorta outraged at some of the choices, so i thought this would b a good place to have ppl place there opinions
my vote is for the AK-47 as #1

The atomic bomb. Whole strategic policies needed to be reevaluated and changed by its existense.

I agree with Knight-Dragon.. the nuclear bomb changed our world.

the maxim gun: it completely reaaranged tactics in the early 20th centrury

submarines: changed naval warfare forever

tanks: scared the be-jesus out of Jerry in WW1 and set in motion a whole new set of tactics

aircraft carriers: changed naval tactics and made mahan's theories obsolete

jet aircraft: made prop-driven aircraft obsolete

SSNs: revolutionized submarine warfare

SSBNs: added another twist in the MAD debate

how about paratroopers and helicopters?

i would think that airborne insertions were novel for a short period until the Germans got smacked on Crete during ww2. the casualty rates for airborne operations were imo really high. but you raise a good point b/c this was indeed a pretty good 20th centrury inovation.

Med-Evac for the helos was definitely a great development and saved countless lives.

i think that the airbourne and helicopters didnt have a tremendous impact on the way wars are fought. Without full land, sea/air support its a suicide run
helicopters as have saved countless lives but whats truly spectacular about them is there ability to support the ground troops
as for the nuclear bomb, i dont think it had a tremendous impact on the way wars are fought, but it did have an impact on this century.

actually, I came up with another one this afternoon.

SDI

while it never really came to fruition, the mere theoretical concept had impact on geopolitics.

Bullcrap to all of those. The most influential weapon (more proper term would be tactic) is guerilla warfare. BAM!

tactic != weapon? O_o

idea for another thread though Mr ballcrup...

SDI one would be good if there was a nuclear war, but since neither came it wouldnt/ didnt have much effect

Nuclear weapons
Simply the threat of there use has altered the modern world dramatically
Submarines
Compltely altered the concept of naval warfare
Machine Gun
Revolutionized warfare in the period up to the first world war. Caused the introduction of trench warfare and the tank.
Tanks
Completely altered warfare for the second world war. Forcing troops out of their trenches.
The gun
Totally altered medievil warfare. Obseleted the castle.
Aircraft
Totally revolutionized the concept of strategic and naval warfare.
Haxorz
we haven't seen it yet, but cyber warfare is quickly becoming more important...
Pike/Spear
A major part of the advance from tribal armies to organized ones.
ICBMs
Enabled nuclear weapons to be quickly deployed. Creating the MAD doctrine.
And I'll let one of you come up with number 10...:) (I'm outta' ideas sorry...)

well id say ak-47, cuse half the countries in the world wouldnt b around w/o it

Let's see...I've married weapons to tactics, as new weapons and new techniques are mostly inseperable.

World War I
1. Machine gun - never-before-seen firepower decentralized to battalion and company level
2. Infantry mortar - while mortars had been around before, the light mortar was an incredible innovation: now the infantry can bring their own artillery with them!
3. hydraulic-recoil artillery - These guns did not have to be repositioned after firing, so their effective rate of fire and accuracy were phenomenal. Also, high-angled artillery could fire from impunity behind the "dead ground" on the reverse-slope of hills and such. This wasn't started in WWI, but it became mainstream practice there.

WWII
1. Atomic bombs. I think they're overhyped myself, but they do present destruction on a mass scale. Caused a revolution in geopolitics

Postwar
1. Tough, reliable infantry assault rifles - the AK series comes to mind.
2. Airpower as a major factor in war - America in particular has a tendancy to only go to the ground after they've secured air superiority.

That's six. If I forgot anything major, I'll add it in. :)

Robotic Richard Simmons.

Winner: The Atomic Bomb (obvious reasons).

Honourable mentions (20th century only):
Machine gun - secure European hegemony of the world (not for long though) and revolutionised warfare.
Aircrafts - Revolutionised warfare like never before.
Missiles - Allow you to rain destruction from a safe distance without the vulnerability of aircrafts. Plus they got us into space.
Tanks - blitzkrieg, anyone?

Hands down, Tanks. In the first war, war was very trenchy. In the second war, you had to be mobile and tanks had a good laugh from trenches.

Postwar:
2. Airpower as a major factor in war - America in particular has a tendancy to only go to the ground after they've secured air superiority.


That's not a postwar development, the Americnas perfected air superiority towards the end of WWII. In fact, German divisions in Normandy couldn't move during the day because of the volume of fire they got from American, English and other Allied pilots within minutes of moving.

Rhubarbs (strafing enemy vehicles/troops) ftw lol

Guerilla warfare is the only tactic that can call itself a weapon. (metaphorically speaking)
But if you're going to get all technical, then I'd have to say the atomic bomb.

Guerilla warfare is the only tactic that can call itself a weapon. (metaphorically speaking)
But if you're going to get all technical, then I'd have to say the atomic bomb.

How do you figure guerilla warfare as a 20th century invention? Those tactics have been around a long time, but certainly in the 19th century: Geronimo's tactics immediately spring to mind, for example.

My Set:

Nukes
Tanks
Laser-Guided missiles.
Powerful infantry weapons
Stealth

I can see that stealth might not be an exact weapon, but it allows the delivery of weapons much more effeciantly. Also, laser-guided missiles allow for precise death and destruction. Tanks changed warfare. Period. WWII would be so different without tanks. Also, powerful infantry weapons (AK-47, RPGs, heavy explosive...) allow for a versatile platoon in an urban situation.

Nukes are on there because the mere threat of nuclear annihalation has stopped another big war.

i think that the airbourne and helicopters didnt have a tremendous impact on the way wars are fought. Without full land, sea/air support its a suicide run
helicopters as have saved countless lives but whats truly spectacular about them is there ability to support the ground troops
as for the nuclear bomb, i dont think it had a tremendous impact on the way wars are fought, but it did have an impact on this century.

I have no idea where you get your information on "Vertical Envelopement" ie the progression of airbourne to airmobile warfare. Airborne warfare was used to secure strategic areas in advance of a ground thrust. The last mass drop that I can recall is when the 1'st and 75th Rangers parachuted onto the airport in Grenada to secure it for air landing part of the 82'nd Airbourne Division. However specialized parachuting ie HALO / HOHO are still used and very effective for inserting small specialized tactical teams were stealth is uppermost.
Airmobile however is a huge part of warfare even today. It was originally developed as a modern replacement for the age old and revered cavalry. The ability to both insert and extract troops and equipment anywhere on the battlefield is huge advantage in terms of logistics as well as manueverability.

:lol: spoken like a true airborne vet :lol:

:lol: spoken like a true airborne vet :lol:
"Who are you?" AIRBORNE
"How far?" ALL THE WAY
Actually I agree with the weapons you posted. Both nuclear subs and aircraft carriers really project a nations power and can wipe out a small country by themselves.

You people are all nuts. If civ 4 teaches us anything, its that history is shaped mostly by whichever country made the most axemen back in 2000 BC.

i'm afraid that civ 4 teaches many of us nothing :) we use civ3 for that.

Isn't it 20th not 21st?

Whatever, I'll say my pick. (Takes in factors like influence, reliability, etc.)

1. Warplanes
2. Atomic Bomb
3. Tanks
4. Machine guns
5. Bazookas
6. Grenades
7. Assault rifles, mainly AK47 and its copies.
8. Submachine guns
9. Artillery


Worst weapon: M16A1

carmen: Technically grenades have been around in one form or another for hundreds of years. So has 'artillery' for that matter though I assume you mean modern long range guns not ye olde cannons.

Single most important weapon of the twentieth century can only be the atomic bomb. Don't know about a top ten but planes, tanks and machine guns must be high up the list.

How do you figure guerilla warfare as a 20th century invention? Those tactics have been around a long time, but certainly in the 19th century: Geronimo's tactics immediately spring to mind, for example.

spanish partisans during the peninsular war used guerilla tactics so thats early 19th century

spanish partisans during the peninsular war used guerilla tactics so thats early 19th century

Yes and actually it dates older than that.
Large-scale guerrilla fighting accompanied the American Revolution, and the development of guerrilla tactics under such partisan leaders as Francis Marion , Andrew Pickens , and Thomas Sumter has been called the great contribution of the American Revolution to the development of warfare. The term guerrilla itself was coined during the Peninsular War (1808-14), when Spanish partisans, under such leaders as Francisco Mina, proved unconquerable even by the armies of Napoleon I . From Spain the use of the term spread to Latin America and then to the United States.

Also you could also say that Rogers Ranger's used guerilla tactics because they practiced a form of irregular warfare against the french in North America.

Horrible Pop Music. :mischief:

Horrible Pop Music. :mischief:

Actually, that is a tactic used, certainly by the US.

I remember there was a case of some dictator holing himself up in his palace, and US troops parking outside and blasting various versions of "I fought the law (and the law won)" until he surrendered.

US troops were also fond of blasting the Clash's "Rock the Casbah" from Humvees in the first gulf war.

Isn't it 20th not 21st?

its about the wepons that had the biggest impact on 2day (recent weps of course)

"Who are you?" AIRBORNE
"How far?" ALL THE WAY

"Rangers Lead The Way!" :cool:

my personallist
-stealth
-satellites
-CIA
-drones
-APC
-laser-guided bombs
-air carriers

and in the future

-mechs
-space navy
-teleport devices

its about the wepons that had the biggest impact on 2day (recent weps of course)



"Rangers Lead The Way!" :cool:

Are you also a former graduate of Camp Darby?

naw, watch black hawk down 20 mins ago :goodjob:

Ah, yes, Hollywood always trumps veterans as far as military arguments go.

the interruptor gear for WW1 fighter planes

the snorkel for subs

g.u.p.p.y.

the idea 2 have pilots in WW1 shoot ea other with pistols and bolt action rifles sweeps the board

You people are all nuts. If civ 4 teaches us anything, its that history is shaped mostly by whichever country made the most axemen back in 2000 BC.
:lol: Roffle!

I think that the bomb made the biggest difference. Airplane delivered bomb, I mean. It saw a whole lot of use and greatly changed the way war was fought. If you did not control the skys, then you would get bombed to hell. Simple as that. It may not have been as accurate as nearby artillery, but dropping a poopload of bombs over an enemy city is going to kill some people, limit their production of weapons, and most importantly break their morale.

The gay bomb
ACME rocket propelled roller skates
The judo chop
The nipple cripple
The cone of silence
The five point palm exploding heart technique
Mr. Miyagi's crane kick
Sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads
The Vulcan nerve pinch
Boobies

In all seriousness, the kenetic energy weapon is the true bomb. All you need is a big slingshot and a pile of rocks.

J

I'd say the rise of air and space power projection. Those are completely new forms of weapon systems with nothing to compare in preceding history.

Also revolutions in command and control, caused by telephone, radio, computer networking are things that have no precedent in history, they are changing the way commanders can operate ('n troops, by the way), and the speed in which they can do it. This is, in a way, a weapon all of its own.

And yeah, nukes have to be up there somewhere. MAD created a whole new ball game for all nations that could participate in it, while leaving those outside the MAD lines of power open to conventional destruction.

A strange trend is that certain types of next generational weapons are getting increasingly expensive and complicated to make. Many countries that for instance in ww2 had many aircraft industries, now have difficulty getting a single multi-national aircraft out. Even america's JSF is in fact a muti-nation effort.

Oh the joys of the simple, cheap, effective AK-47 that we can hand out to criminals and children to shoot each other up and terrorize civilians with. They are indeed a weapon that is changing the face of warfare in the under-developed nations of the world. The wild west, with machine guns this time and all the chaos and destabilization that comes with it. Waging war was never easier.

Actually, that is a tactic used, certainly by the US.

I remember there was a case of some dictator holing himself up in his palace, and US troops parking outside and blasting various versions of "I fought the law (and the law won)" until he surrendered.

US troops were also fond of blasting the Clash's "Rock the Casbah" from Humvees in the first gulf war.

That was in Panama, against the corrupt, drug dealing, two faced, Manuel Noriega ;)

helicopter i think should be on a list of revolutionary weps 2, they save a lot of lives.

I don't know if I would include things such as tanks, submarines, airplanes, etc, when trying to discuss the top weapons that made the previous century. While they certainly had a huge effect, they're more weapon platforms then actual weapons. The actual weapons on them are mostly modern forms of old weapons. The innovation is in how they're delivered. The weapons I would include, in no particular order, are:

AK-47
Gas
Nuclear (probably the only weapon more useful merely existing than it is in actual use)
Machine Gun
Missiles
Bazooka/RPG (forgot about this one until I reread carmen's post)

Maybe land mines, I'm not to sure on that one yet.

Other than those, I don't think I would add anything.


helicopter i think should be on a list of revolutionary weps 2, they save a lot of lives.

I wouldn't include the helicopter since I consider it a weapon platform and not a weapon (much like I said above about tanks and such). But isn't saving lives the exact opposite of what a weapon is supposed to do? If you want to praise the helicopter for saving lives, praise it as a transport vehicle and not a weapon. I would want my top weapons to kill a lot of lives.

A strange trend is that certain types of next generational weapons are getting increasingly expensive and complicated to make. Many countries that for instance in ww2 had many aircraft industries, now have difficulty getting a single multi-national aircraft out. Even america's JSF is in fact a muti-nation effort.


Stealth weapons are the best but they are expensive so NATO want to use co-operation between several countries to cut costs. It's better for all ;)

I'd say Land Mines were pretty important. They needed international treaties to ban them.

Nukes are obviously the most important, due to their use both on and off the battlefield.

I'd say Land Mines were pretty important. They needed international treaties to ban them.

Nukes are obviously the most important, due to their use both on and off the battlefield.

We have to ban only plastic land-mines because metal-detector can't find them. Metal land-mines can be used