Technology is crucial to any military conflict. Technology provides the potentiality to destroy the enemy and thus an advantage in technology means an advantage in warfare. In World War I and World War II, technology played a key role at decisive points in these respective conflicts. At the same time, the nature of science means that technology also advances. From World War I to World War II, there was radical progress in technology, from increasing air power capabilities to the ultimate weapon of the atomic bomb. Thus, while technology was crucial in both World War I and World War II, advances in technology fundamentally altered the character of the battlefield in these two conflicts.
One of the most glaring examples of contrast between the technologies of World War I and World II was in the use of air power. In the first World War, use of air power was much more limited. The technology of aviation in World War I was more primitive and this can explain some of the logic behind the lesser significance of air power. For example, at the outset of the war most planes were “slow, unarmed and unreliable.” (Warfare & Technology in World War I) The use of planes in military endeavors was largely for reconnaissance purposes. (Warfare & Technology in World War I) Furthermore, technological limitations meant that only short range missions were possible for aviation vehicles. Certainly, from another perspective, aviation technology did advance during the war period itself.
Towards the end of the war, planes achieved greater ability for maneuver and they were also outfitted with machine guns. (Warfare & Technology in World War I) The Germans had superior aircraft technologically, but Britain had a greater number of aircraft. Despite these advancements, however, air power was not as decisive as it would become in World War II. The gains in technology made air power, arguably, the dominant mode of waging war. For example, many of the strategic decisions of the United States were aimed at establishing U.S. air power in the Pacific theatre. Air power was crucial here because of the nature of the theater as essentially island wars or “island hopping.” (Document I) The attack on Guadalcanal between 1942-43 essentially had the strategic objective to establish a position for aerial attacks by the US against the Japanese. Technological increases meant that long range bombing campaigns were possible. (Document 1) Furthermore, the increase in technology allowed for planes to fly at a high altitude, which contributed to the US’s capability to drop the atomic bomb. (Document I) Thus, whereas air power played a more peripheral role in World War I, in World War II technological progress in aviation made air power crucial to the outcome of the conflict, as the Pacific theater demonstrates.
Land war remained dominant in both conflicts, but technology changed how land wars were fought. Much of World War I was a “war of attrition”, a static type of war that was most embodied in trench warfare. (Document I) This static war was forced by technology, since machine guns made direct combat much more dangerous, and trenches had to be constructed. (Technology in World War I) Because of this static war, technologies such as heavy machine guns, artillery, which accounted for more than 70% of all casualties (Warfare & Technology in World War I) and the use of gas, which was introduced by the Germans at the Battle of Ypres in 1915, were key weapons of battle. However, the static nature of the battlefield did not mean that land technology was not being developed.
A crucial moment in the history of warfare was when the British introduced the use of the tank at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Although tanks were used as infantry support (Warfare & Technology in World War I), they were still used in large numbers and in a coordinated manner. In the Pacific theater of World War II, such a war of attrition became substituted by “island hopping.” Whereas the nature of this theater made it fundamentally different than World War I, technology still did contribute to a different form of warfare. Developments in amphibious vehicles were necessary for successful “island hopping.” Minimizing the danger of sea to land invasion was made possible through developments in these vehicles, such as the Higgins boat or the Alligator. Land war in World War I and World War II was defined by technology, but the different forms technology took made these two conflicts different in their basic character.
War at sea was crucial to both conflicts. A naval arms race was one of the main reasons for war between Germany and England, culminating in the Battle of Jutland on May 31-June 1, 1916. (Warfare and Technology in World War I) Success on land required control of the sea, for example, for supplies to also reach the civilian population, as British blockades caused maltrution in the Germans and 800,000 civilian deaths in 1916. (Warfare and Technology in World War I) Naval technologies also progressed during the war. The German development of the U-Boat submarine gave them a temporary advantage over a numerically superior British Navy. (Warfare and Technology in World War I)
Subsequent developments of primitive sonar and depth charges changed the war’s complexion, but Britain ultimately regained the upper hand. Sea power was especially crucial to the Pacific theater as well, once again owing to the nature of this battlefield. Control of the sea was crucial to maintaining a supply route for the Japanese, and this necessitated their attack on the U.S. controlled Philippines as one example. The Battle of Midway in 1942 was a crucial naval battle that stopped Japanese advances and allowed the U.S. to seize the initiative. Technological capability of sea warfare also increased, making possible the aforementioned sea landings. Sea power was thus crucial in both conflicts and technological capabilities in sea power directly affected the results of both wars.
Technology was therefore a decisive factor in World War I and World War II. The greatest difference between the two conflicts is the increasing importance of air power in WWII, which was directly the result of technological progress. Technologies however also defined the trench warfare of WWI, with the power of machine guns. Sea remained a key factor in the Pacific Theater and the conflict between Germany and Britain. Technology determined the capabilities of air, land, and sea power in both wars, and defined the type of warfare that was waged.
