Best Military invention?

[Lord Draegon]

No no no the best invention was the spear. It makes tank inferior even though the spear is thousands of years older

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

Lord Draegan

Anyhoo, nothing has changed warfare as much as air craft.

 

[Xen]

Originally posted by Darth_Pugwash
Lord Draegan

Anyhoo, nothing has changed warfare as much as air craft.

the wheel.

 

[Mano3]

How about the combustion engine? It enabled the trucks, jeeps, tanks, planes, ships, etc. to actually move. Mobility is a key to victory.

 

[Xen]

mobility is the key to victory?

well then i suppose that clenches victory for the wheel

 

[Mano3]

Xen,

Very true. It's hard to drive something without a wheel!

 

[Adler17]

The wheel is too basic for an invention in this content. In the list of the most important inventions however it has a top place.

Adler

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

The wheel is the most important invention of all time, including all military inventions. The military application of the wheel is obvious, so the wheel is a military invention. In short, its the big one.

I took the wheel for granted, so I didnt consider it. Actually, now that Mano has mentioned it, the combustion engine is another biggie.

 

[Sarevok]

true adler, im reffering to direct military weapons.

 

[Xen]

Originally posted by Sarevok
true adler, im reffering to direct military weapons.

in that case almost ever single thing you have icnculded in you pole should not be onthere- spears and arows were developed for hunting- liekwise airplanes were invented to fly, not for war...

hell fact is, there are very few inventions that were made for war alone- but those that are would be-

Sword
Halberd/reniisance "combined weapon" polearms
early midieval guns
later Med/ guns
cannons
metalships
tanks
machineguns
nukes

all fo which had PROFOUND implications on war for when they were introduced

 

[civilleader]

I voted palnes, the worst though is probable nukes. They kill too many people.

Look at the role of planes today, in wars. The country without air superiority can not win a modern war. This is what planes have done to warfare.

 

[pawpaw]

read an article on this, while not a weapon, it stated none of these things listed were possable without the plow. the invention of the plow allowed small villages to become large villages or towns. with starvation pushed aside men began to organize--kings and priests. extra food meant storage--pottery, writing and mathematics to keep track. writing meant communication with other villages or towns--kingdoms. without the plow there was not time to develop any of the listed weapons.

 

[Sarevok]

true there.

Nukes have killed less than 1/100 of what Machine guns have killed off.

 

[stormbind]

Longbow, because it changed the way tacticians think and forever influenced warfare.

Recurring assault; Efficient use of infantry
Maximum avoidance; High maneuverability

These are backbone concepts of any modern weapon and the longbow introduced that fundamental change, making it the single most influencial weapon in history - imho.

 

[Unexpected]

I voted for the longbow.

 

[Xen]

if the longbow was nearlyl as influential as you say it was, then it, rather then the crossbow would have been the weapon adopted en masse by europe

 

[Birdjaguar]

I think its a matter of how one defines "best". For longevity and importance over time, it is probably the spear. They were in continuous use from early Sumer ~3000 BC through the end of the Musket and Pike era of early modern warfare (4,600 years!).

The wheel has had great impact in conjunction with the internal combustion engine (last 100 years) prior to that, it saw use in gun carriages and chariots and siege engines. So its military use has been intermitten. (Yes I'm ignoring the wheelock guns and ox carts used to carry supplies etc.)

Modern weapons are important but have been on the scene for so short a time we can't say what, if any, their long term impact will be. In the next few decades we may have new weapons that make today's tanks look like the chariots of old.

So for long term impact on the world of war, I think it has to be the spear in all its many variations.

 

[Androrc]

Originally posted by Xen
if the longbow was nearlyl as influential as you say it was, then it, rather then the crossbow would have been the weapon adopted en masse by europe

Although he exageratted the longbow's importance hugely, the longbow was a lot better than the crossbow against infantry, but since the crossbow required much less training and did much better against cavalry (which was the most powerful force at that time - and therefore the primary target). The crossbow could pierce a knight's armor, while the longbow could not do so.

 

[stormbind]

Originally posted by Xen
if the longbow was nearlyl as influential as you say it was, then it, rather then the crossbow would have been the weapon adopted en masse by europe

>> I'm no historian so I this may be inaccurate <<

Not really because to use a longbow effectively required a lifetime of workout. Thus for many applications the longbow wasn't as suitable.

On the battlefield, the longbow (in the hands of a longbowman) can fire many more times than a crossbow and I believe had greater penetration and greater range. These things threw fully clad knights from horses or speared them to their saddle and so on.

If you had longbowmen, it was a winner and it did change warfare.

The English used the longbow to anihilate the traditional French mounted knights.

The French only got rid of the English with a change of tactics; they ditched the idea of using knights and opted for longbows

It's been the same ever since: Mobile infantry with high rate of fire.

The crossbow required minimal training which afaik is it's only virtue.

 

[stormbind]

Originally posted by Androrc
The crossbow could pierce a knight's armor, while the longbow could not do so.

I am sure you are wrong.

Remember that Henry V used longbowmen and the images of his battles show long arrows causing extreme damage to armoured knights.