The 12 Weapons That Changed Everything

Started by bayonetbrant, September 17, 2013, 02:37:46 PM

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bayonetbrant

September 17, 2013, 02:37:46 PM
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/08/15/12-Weapons-That-Changed-Everything

QuoteHistory is shaped by these technological innovations. It is impossible to imagine a Roman empire without its Legionary sword, or a British one without muskets. The German blitzkrieg required fast engines and lots of gasoline. The Atomic bomb, which has shaped every political action since its first use at Hiroshima, required nuclear physics (and, obviously, flight).
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LongBlade

#1
September 17, 2013, 02:52:07 PM
Interesting.

Too many typos.

If JH sees this he'll blow a fuse. They call the AK's magazine a "clip".
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

besilarius

#2
September 17, 2013, 03:05:39 PM
Think they missed an obvious one.  The horse.
So many things came about because of the horse's mobility, and not mentioning it seems a bit silly.
"Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out until too late that he's been playing with two queens all along".  Terry Pratchett.

During filming of Airplane, Leslie Nielsen used a whoopee cushion to keep the cast off-balance. Hays said that Nielsen "played that thing like a maestro"

Tallulah Bankhead: "I'll come and make love to you at five o'clock. If I'm late, start without me."

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"With your eyes closed?"
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LongBlade

#3
September 17, 2013, 03:33:47 PM
Quote from: besilarius on September 17, 2013, 03:05:39 PM
Think they missed an obvious one.  The horse.
So many things came about because of the horse's mobility, and not mentioning it seems a bit silly.

Yeah, we could quibble. Crossbow. Sling. Atlatl. Fire. Siege engines, starting with the ladder and going from there.

Flipping sieges around, we could go through the evolution of defensive measures that have, over time, evolved and eventually disappeared. Today's warfare - at least against the US - demonstrates that defensive emplacements are tombs. If you hole up in a bunker you're toast. Maneuver, training, and CCCI matter most. The equipment, while significant, is almost secondary. Substitute this article's vaunted AK instead of our M-4s and we'd still mop the battlefield.

Drones are less a paradigm changer than they are an evolution of precision ordnance that has been evolving since the 90's. The entire class of stand-off, precision, high-explosive ordnance is a huge game changer, whether it be delivered by mortar, aircraft, or sea-launched.

Still, it does a good job of starting the conversation.
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

GDS_Starfury

#4
September 17, 2013, 04:40:11 PM
It wasn't the horse it was the stirup.
I'm all for the hubris of man but we didn't invent the .   ;)
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besilarius

#5
September 17, 2013, 07:46:28 PM
The Huns did not have stirrups.
If you're going to be picky, then taming horses is up there with the metallurgy necessary to mass produce the gladius.
"Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out until too late that he's been playing with two queens all along".  Terry Pratchett.

During filming of Airplane, Leslie Nielsen used a whoopee cushion to keep the cast off-balance. Hays said that Nielsen "played that thing like a maestro"

Tallulah Bankhead: "I'll come and make love to you at five o'clock. If I'm late, start without me."

"When all other trusts fail, turn to Flashman." — Abraham Lincoln.

"I have enjoyed very warm relations with my two husbands."
"With your eyes closed?"
"That helped."  Lauren Bacall

Master Chiefs are sneaky, dastardly, and snarky miscreants who thrive on the tears of Ensigns and belly dancers.   Admiral Gerry Bogan.

Staggerwing

#6
September 17, 2013, 07:55:36 PM
Quote from: besilarius on September 17, 2013, 07:46:28 PM
The Huns did not have stirrups.
If you're going to be picky, then taming horses is up there with the metallurgy necessary to mass produce the gladius.

Right. It was the Chinese who first used what we would recognize as stirrups back when the Roman Empire was in it's infancy but it was the Avars who introduced the stirrup to Europe in the late 500's or early 600's AD.
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