Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger - Essay Example

However, what could have been the most significant change in European warfare in those times? Junger’s accounts are extremely straight forward and he makes no effort in downplaying the extremity of the situation; “Bloody scraps of cloth and flesh had been left on bushes around the crater – a strange and dreadful sight that that put me in mind of the butcher – bird that spikes its prey on bushes.” (Page 23) One can easily notice the fact that the book involves a lot of manual work when it came to fighting.

Shelling, that is tear gas was a common way of making the enemy retreat. It can be stated that there was minimal use of technology, the biggest one being guns and bullets. Even though the Industrial Revolution took place in the 18th century, it had a rather late impact on the European warfare. There was little or less impact in World War I for them, however, towards the 20th century and when World War II took place, some big changes were observed. Nuclear powers came into being when the world witnessed the bombings of 1945.

The storm of steel clearly gives away tactics of that time. It is quite obvious that only the general who is the head of a particular army made plans and the rest of them just followed or executed it. However, this single minded approach is not very useful if we pay a little attention. In the late 19th century, people started believing that the risk or fate of an entire nation in a war could not be left upon one person’s hand; hence the general started being advised when it came to making plans regarding battles.

Also till World War I generals would be present in the scene of action. This routine was changed when strategies were allotted into categories which were separated geographically. This meant that at no single time, the strategies could be gone into the hands of the enemy at once. These accounts of Junger can be easily used to analyze the European tactics and warfare in those days. In the very beginning of the book, Junger introduces the reader to the introduction he got when he was fist deployed, a place called Champagne.

As soon as the soldiers reached their place, they were attacked with what Junger describes as “curious fluttering and whooshing sound…followed by a sudden violent explosion” (Page 6). The attack was also made by shelling which has been frequently in the past and remains to be commonly used today as well. As the book moves forward, we learn the use of trenches. Trenches play a significant part in the book, as it is a great defensive strategy. World War I has played a significant role in developing the European countries in matter of tactics and warfare.

The biggest change that one saw in the warfare was the decrease in the usage of trenches. They were greatly used in the World War I as per the narrations of Ernst Jugner, but just as the world has witnessed a revolution in every aspect of life, technological advancements also came and swept everyone off their feet. Trenches required hard work and a lot of labor, also, with the new machines and equipment, crossing trenches became no problem at all. As a result, when the trenches stopped providing the basic need of security and shield, they were stopped being used as a whole.

After World War I, there was a rather definite change in European warfare. In terms of