Name the 3 most impactful military inventions in world history

[MightyGiants]

was it the bow and arrow?

was it the tank?

was it the battleship?

was it nuclear weapons?

was it the automatic weapon?


What are your top 3 and why?

[DaveBrown74]

Really good but difficult question. I'll go with:

1. Tank... an armored front-line vehicle like the tank is the cornerstone of ground warfare and was huge in both world wars. Has to be in the top three.

2. Nukes..  even though their usage has been limited, they have had an absolutely massive impact on the balance of power and geopolitics in the world.

3. Automatic weapon..  the ability to fire off rounds in succession (versus single action) is absolutely massive. Sadly we see this all too often in civilian life.


I think the airplane deserves serious consideration too, but I'm not sure that would be considered a "military invention."

[MightyGiants]

1)  Firearms-   while the earliest versions were not all that effective it lead to the weapon of choice for the last 300 years or so

2) Military Aircraft-  I know that Dave disqualified this one, but the introduction of aircraft changed warfare as we know it because suddenly there were no front lines of battle.  At sea, it ended the 300+ year of ship vs ship artillery duals

3)  Nuclear weapons-  I don't think it's possible not to include them on the list and I don't think they need an explanation

[Bob In PA]

The club, the rock and the wheel.  If you're close enough, use the club. If you're far away, throw the rock. In either case, after the attack, use the wheel to make your getaway. I'll just apologize for this now. Sorry.  LOL

[jimmyz]

The tank was impactful for some time but its reign on the battlefield only really lasted from the end of WW1 to the end of WW2 when US Air to Ground weaponry made the tank vulnerable.  Today the tank is only dominant when the aircraft have remove other tanks from the enemy's arsenal.

The crossbow decoupled the upper class and warriors.  The knight was once the most dominant weapon on the battlefield.  But to train and equip a knight costs money so only the rich could become knights.  In relative contrast, the bow/crossbow made the Knight an overpriced target.  The idea a peasant could nullify the years of training a Knight underwent was outrage to noblemen.  If captured, bowmen's middle finger was removed to impair use of a bow. Archers would mock Knights on the battlefield by displaying their middle finger. 

[LennG]

This is a really subjective topic because the military basically changes all strategies every 25 years or so. What was important during, say the Revolutionary war, gave way to massive changes for the Civil War, then to WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, and now the present day.

The best I can say
#1 is Nuclear Weapons as they have had the most impact over the most amount of time, even though they have only been used twice their presence, even today, scares the entire world.
#2--a gun that can shoot more than once before having to reload. Yes, the weapons out now can fore off who knows how many shots per minute, but when you don't have to reload every time you shoot has made war much more deadly.
#3-Not a weapon, but I would put military tactics, strategy has evolved so much and has made a huge difference in how we fight wars. I am a huge student of the Civil War, and part-time Revolutionary War, but the way wars were fought then just massacred. The common thinking, line as many men up, shoulder to shoulder, and leave them there to be massacred, a la Pickett's Charge was just a complete slaughter. Then say WWI where you just had men go 'over the top' over and over again int o enemy machine-gun fire, again, to be slaughtered was simply stupidity at its highest form. Thank God, military strategy has evolved to the point that human lives mean something--hopefully.

If I had to add a 4th, it would be the airplane, because it basically made all other warfare change. Airplanes changed the entire way WWII was fought, especially with long range bombers who could destroy cities in one swoop.

[MightyGiants]

This is a really subjective topic because the military basically changes all strategies every 25 years or so. What was important during, say the Revolutionary war, gave way to massive changes for the Civil War, then to WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, and now the present day.

The best I can say
#1 is Nuclear Weapons as they have had the most impact over the most amount of time, even though they have only been used twice their presence, even today, scares the entire world.
#2--a gun that can shoot more than once before having to reload. Yes, the weapons out now can fore off who knows how many shots per minute, but when you don't have to reload every time you shoot has made war much more deadly.
#3-Not a weapon, but I would put military tactics, strategy has evolved so much and has made a huge difference in how we fight wars. I am a huge student of the Civil War, and part-time Revolutionary War, but the way wars were fought then just massacred. The common thinking, line as many men up, shoulder to shoulder, and leave them there to be massacred, a la Pickett's Charge was just a complete slaughter. Then say WWI where you just had men go 'over the top' over and over again int o enemy machine-gun fire, again, to be slaughtered was simply stupidity at its highest form. Thank God, military strategy has evolved to the point that human lives mean something--hopefully.

If I had to add a 4th, it would be the airplane, because it basically made all other warfare change. Airplanes changed the entire way WWII was fought, especially with long range bombers who could destroy cities in one swoop.

Len,

In terms of strategy, it seems they always start out fighting the last war.   The line of men standing shoulder to shoulder did serve a purpose.   The weapons of the time were so inaccurate that most couldn't hit the broad side of a barn at 100 yards.   The idea of the line of fire was to mass fire to create a great shotgun effect where sure no single musket ball was likely to hit an aimed target but so many balls heading in the same direction were bound to hit a lot of targets.    Plus with the slow reload times they often split it up so that half were firing and the other half was loading so they were less likely to be overrun by some sort of bayonet-type charge.


I mean look at the last 2 wars the US fought in.  Despite our massive military and the advanced nature of our military and even experience in insurgent style warfare, we were ill-equipped both in equipment or tactics to deal with an enemy whose principle tactics were the use of IEDs and ambush-style attacks.    Tanks were too big for many streets and the thing with tanks is they are nearly invincible when attacked head-on, but they are relatively

weak when attacked from the sides, top, or bottom (mines).  Humvees were found to be extremely wanting in those two wars.   It wasn't until the MRAPs were developed that our troops got a bit of a chance.





One of the areas of warfare that I am most curious about is naval.   We haven't had a true naval conflict in nearly 80 years.   The advances of missiles in terms of range and speed and the advances in drone technology and even sub technology make me wonder if the carrier tasks forces (the backbone of our navy) are as ill equipped for modern naval warfare as our battleship fleet was for WW 2. 

[Blue4Life]

1)  Firearms-   while the earliest versions were not all that effective it lead to the weapon of choice for the last 300 years or so

2) Military Aircraft-  I know that Dave disqualified this one, but the introduction of aircraft changed warfare as we know it because suddenly there were no front lines of battle.  At sea, it ended the 300+ year of ship vs ship artillery duals

3)  Nuclear weapons-  I don't think it's possible not to include them on the list and I don't think they need an explanation

I'd add the drones to the military aircraft, that playing more and more roles in military conflict. While its pinpoint striking capabilities are well know, providing surveillance of the enemy forces and their military capabilities is just as important, especially for ground troops.

I'm not certain where to place the Navy, with its aircraft carriers. They are deployed around the world, usually within striking distance to conflict, or soon to be conflict zones to provide air superiority in the area.

The nuclear weapons, owned by nine nations, is not a technology that will be deployed soon. It's more of deterrent nowadays, the actual military technology is not employed in recent conflict. If it will be, good bless us all...

These are all modern military technologies, that actually decide the outcome of the current conflicts.

[MightyGiants]

I'd add the drones to the military aircraft, that playing more and more roles in military conflict. While its pinpoint striking capabilities are well know, providing surveillance of the enemy forces and their military capabilities is just as important, especially for ground troops.

I'm not certain where to place the Navy, with its aircraft carriers. They are deployed around the world, usually within striking distance to conflict, or soon to be conflict zones to provide air superiority in the area.

The nuclear weapons, owned by nine nations, is not a technology that will be deployed soon. It's more of deterrent nowadays, the actual military technology is not employed in recent conflict. If it will be, good bless us all...

These are all modern military technologies, that actually decide the outcome of the current conflicts.

One of the current problems with aircraft carriers is that newer shore-based anti-ship missiles are starting to outrange the aircraft on the carrier.  In other words, these missiles could keep carriers from approaching close enough to use their aircraft as a ground attack weapon.

[LennG]

The Aircraft carrier replaced the battleship and now the Aircraft Carrier will be replaced by other things. They still serve a purpose, again to go back to the airplane, but given time, again, they may just be obsolete.

[MightyGiants]

The Aircraft carrier replaced the battleship and now the Aircraft Carrier will be replaced by other things. They still serve a purpose, again to go back to the airplane, but given time, again, they may just be obsolete.

My best guess is that the aircraft carrier will be replaced by smaller cheaper ships that carry drones.   I think the days of manned combat aircraft are coming to an end.    A pilot is rapidly becoming just something that takes up room, limits the G-forces, and runs the risk of being killed or taken prisoner