Industrialization of War

Sources:

Archer, Christon I., Holger H. Herwig, John R Ferris, and Timothy H.E. Travers. World History of Warfare. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2002.

Billington, Stephen D. “War, What is it Good for?:” The Industrial Revolution. Belfast: Queen's University Centre for Economic History, 2018.

Chin, Warren. War, Technology and the State. Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2023.

Fuller, John F. The Conduct of War: 1789-1961. London: Methuen, 1979.

Parkinson. Stuart. “The Industrialisation of War: Lessons from World War I.” SGR Newsletter, no. 44 (2016): 14-15.

U.S. National Park Service, ed. The Civil War Remembered. Virginia Beach: Donning Co. Publishers, 2011.

Wilson, Trevor, and Robin Prior. “Conflict, Technology, and the Impact of Industrialization: The Great War 1914-18.” Journal of Strategic Studies, vol. 24, no. 3 (2001): 128–57.

Armchair Team Credits:

[rsookchand]

When goods and services could be done on an industrial scale it was only a matter of time before warfare followed suit

[derkaiser]

"Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters."

[TKDragon]

I would argue the notion of obselete cavalry with that during the Civil War, McClellan's reluctance to use Cavalry at all due to what he witnessed in the Crimean war actually created an obstacle for him in that he lacked a force to scout ahead of his marching columns or observe enemy positions. Instead he relied on private detectives which proved ineffective and fell for clever confederate marching tactics and deception. The use of cavalry later during the civil war proved vital as scouts and skirmishers, as well as being able to move troopers between locations very fast. Even during WW1, mobile infantry used horses to change positions quickly and deploy on foot. Even today in certain battlefields, horses can prove a vital role in transportation, scouting, and repositioning as seen during the war in Afghanistan.

[superjesse]

Griffin has a photo of an Automaton in the background.
Don't tell Super Earth.

[thalmoragent]

World Wars 1 and 2 saw Europeans do everything they could to absolutely destroy one another;
Their *Monarchies, * their *Empire's, * their positions as *Global Superpowers...* were all either completely destroyed or greatly diminished by the end of it all.

[larryalvares]

Machine guns: one of the best and worst things ever invented by mankind

[mitchverr]

The big thing forgotten is that the lesson of outproduction in WW1 is exactly what lead to the doctrines of WW2. Both France and the UK knew they would win a total war scenario with the Germans, but that it would take time for them to "get into gear" for it, while the Germans knew that they couldnt win a total war scenario which is why they pinned their overall hopes on fast attacks to end wars as quickly as possible.

Sadly, the Germans got very lucky/successful on their plan, stopping the Western Allies from implementing their own plan.

[The_Watchful_Scribe]

This is why WW1 was so deadly and horrifying, it was old tactics versus new technologies not yet adapted for this type of war, it was no longer the musket and saturation effect, but now the trench and machine gun.

[HistoryfortheAges]

I am a History professor. I have an entire Playlist on WWiI. I explain to my students that the new technologies created by the industrial revolution made the trenches so brutal.

[ColtRobbins-bf]

How DARE YouTube hide this from me for 16 minutes

[Silentplains_YT]

A good movie about military industrial expansion is called "9" the guy that made nightmare before Christmas and coroline made it

[Thepredator-tb]

When you realise war is a industry, you are grown up

[SeanDahle]

Mass production of death. Industry became both a blessing and a curse

[gingsever]

I am now suddenly reminded of Albrecht von Roon advocating the latest crap for the soldier to the point everyone in Prussia was pissed at him. Bismarck saw this foresight and this guy's booming laugh was heard last eventually.

[kidsrock]

Eisenhower warned us about the military industrial complex.
I wish we would’ve heeded his advice.

[anon]

Drones will do to war today what the machine gun did to war last century.

[Nuddles]

War became a business and it’s thriving

[Synarch]

"As war becomes dishonored and its nobility called into question those honorable men who recognize the sanctity of blood will become excluded from the dance, which is the warrior's right, and thereby will the dance become a false dance, and the dancers false dancers."

[touhoutrash]

Guys wake up! The armchair historian has uploaded a new video on weapons of the Industrial Revolution!

[tran]

I like the reference to “Lord of war” in the beginning.