How the Concept the Technological Ability of a Nations Army Can Win the Wars - Research Paper Example

War and Technology Introduction According to JFC Fuller, that if a country or nation wants to be victorious in a war, they need to give more importance to the technological side of their army rather than focusing on professionalism of the military (Harris 2009)1. This paper will focus on the how the concept the technological ability of a nations army can win them wars came into existence, this paper will even focus on how these technologies can be of great aid for the tactical as well as field operatives. Examples of various incidents will be provided which will represent the usage of technology to win wars. During World War One, military officials realized the importance of having up to date weapons to win wars (Stewart 2001)2. During this period, armies used advanced weapons recognized as second generation warfare and realized that machinery and weapons are used to conquer and win battles and the only importance of military officials is limited to occupying the conquered areas. 1Harris, Brice F. America, Technology and Strategic Culture: A Clausewitzian Assessment. London: Routledge, 2009. Internet resource. 2Neil, Stewart. The Changing Nature of Warfare, 1700-1945. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2001. Print. During this period armies even realized the importance of transportation as these vehicles were used to transport men and machinery from one end to another. These improvements in technology clearly defined that to gain victory in war; you have to be sound technologically at both the operative and the tactical bases. The belief of technological soundness being the determinant o victory of war was clearly visible in different wars such as the Cold War and Current Wars that take place every now and then. Body After WWII, major nations throughout the earth started developing the technological side of their defense, they started developing and acquiring new kinds of air shuttles, sea transport and weapon, new form of larger missiles and bombs and machinery that is used while nation’s army is fighting in the land (Melko 2001)3. The continuous up gradation of the technological side led to the development of military aircrafts and air transports which had higher degree of accuracy and speed, researchers even developed new forms of surveillance systems to gain higher degree of accuracy during the process of acquiring information, for this purpose GPS systems came into existence. These developments in technological advancements were recognized as 3GW (Third Generation Warfare), these developments were utilized during the period of WWII and during Gulf War that took place between Iraq and US and later even in different attacks conducted on Iraq starting from 2003 till present date. These wars clearly exhibited that those countries that were able to accept and create technological advancements are the victorious ones. 3Mathew, Melko. General War Among Great Powers in World History. Lewiston, N.Y: Edwin Mellen Press, 2001. Print. Advanced Technology in Operational Level While creating a strategy before going to war, both the tactical as well as the operational bases of the war are taken into consideration and special importance is given to the technological aspect of these two bases. According to Giulio Douhet, one of the best strategies implemented is the use of air power to destroy the opponent civil population’s willingness to fight (Douhet 2010)4. This strategy was implemented in different wars, for example: during the period of WWI, this strategy was implemented by the German strategists while attacking London and NATO forces even used the same strategy while attacking Kosovo. This strategic move increases the accuracy at which the war targets are attacked, thus this strategy obtains the optimum result while keeping the collateral losses at the lower end. Advancement in technology has been accepted as morally correct as these advancements increases the probability of armies gaining the accurate intelligence about the legal targets that need to be hit and the illegal targets that need to b avoided and helps acquiring this intellect in a very timely fashion. 4Giulio, Douhet, Harahan P. Joseph, Kohn H. Richard, and Ferrari Dino. The Command of the Air. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2010. Internet resource. Advanced Technology in Tactical Level Changes and the way advancements in information technology have taken place, similarly, the tactical side of fighting a war and planning an attack has even changed. If any nation wants to fight a war and end up experiencing victory, they should first gain victory over the war for information. Armies that are ability to gain information before their opponents and plan an attack accordingly have an advantage over the opponent and can make the war turn in their favor before even actually going to a war. Only those armies have the ability to gain information before their opponent who has better technology than their opponents. Technological advancements have enabled armies to gain information before their opponents, which gives them an added advantage as they can devise a strategy before their opponents do. Secondly, these technological advancement have increased the accuracy and speed of communication which has increased the processing time required for updating and making fellow army men aware of situation of the battlefield (Browning 2002)5. The combination of advancements in weaponry and transportation and the added advantage of information provide current armies with an edge in the battlefield. An army that is able to make plans faster and attack with precession and speed is certainly destined to have an edge over its opponent during the time of war. During the Gulf War that took place in 1991, the US military forces had an added advantage over their Iraqi opponents because the US forces had the advantage of advanced technology such as; accurate missiles and bombs, stealth bombers, thermal imaging devices which helped them figure out the accurate locations of the opposing army. 5 Peter.Browning, The Changing Nature of Warfare: The Development of Land Warfare from 1792-1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. Plus the advanced air technology of their coalition forces provided them with air support which helped in destroying the C2 systems owned by Iraqis, this made the ground officials weak. The end result was in the favor of the US as their opponents faced heavy loss of army officials and the US stood out as victorious (Mahnken 2008)6. 6Matthew.Melko, General War Among Great Powers in World History. Lewiston, N.Y: Edwin Mellen Press, 2001. Print. What is Needed To Be Victorious In War Though technology makes a major difference and those with better technology to use during war might have an upper hand but the question of whether alone technology is enough to be victorious or there are other things required to support technology and to make an army stronger than its opponent. For example: A men armed with a sword has lesser chances of winning against a men armed with a protection shield and an armed sword. Similarly there are other things needed to win a war and ownership of advanced technology is not only enough. Fighting power consists of three components, first the conceptual component which is referred to as the decision making process and the thought process involved in fighting a war, second component is the physical component which involves the man, machinery and capital required to fight a war and lastly is the moral component which refers to the requirement of motivation and leadership to fight a war. The best definition for fighting against power is that to fight power an army does not only require technological advancements, they even need military professionalism. This means that if an army is only technologically advanced strategically and tactically, they still can win a war without high degree of army professionalism. The purpose and the importance of military professionalism is that an army may be technologically sound at the operational and the strategic side, but they need experts who are recognized as military professionals, who will exploit the resources of their power and will exploit the information they have gained through technological advancements and then decide an attack or defense strategy for their army. Key elements of military professionalism that impact the outcome of a war includes: strategy, leadership, motivation, and principles. Strategy is the most important factor that needs to be considered before going to a war. As in sports, the coaches of a team create strategy for their players; similarly it is the job of military professionals to create a strategy to fight a war. Strategy is based upon the technological advancements and information that these professionals have obtained. By using these two elements, military professionals devise a plan that is to be followed by that side of the army which will be fighting in the battlefield. Strategy focuses on subjects regarding where to attack, when to attack and why to attack. Principle is the theory of fighting a war, this theory is learned by army professionals and they use these principles to create attack and defense plans according to these principles. Armies that do not have professionals who have a proper theoretical background knowledge end up failing before without principles, higher level army professionals cannot direct their teams that are fighting or will be fighting on the battlefield. Any army having great leadership in their ranks can easily have an advantage over the opposing forces, an army leaders job is not only to tackle the emotional side of his/her followers in the army. His tasks also include motivating the armed forces to fight the war, inform the armed forces about the threat they are up against and the opportunities and strengths their own army has. They even has to delegate tasks to different army officials and one of their fundamental job is to recognize the emotional needs of fellow army officials and help them solve their problems. Military professionals do not only have to deal with the internal environment, they are even in continuous interaction with the external environment and it is their duty to not only ensure that the interest of the people within the army are secured, they even have to ensure that interest of the people outside the army are even secured. This even means that military professionalism alone cannot help an army in being victorious and they are required to be technologically advanced. All these components are inter-linked and militaries that are strong in all components have an edge over those armies that lack in any one of these components or they lack in all of these components. Thus it is very essential for an army to have a proper planned strategy along with high-tech machinery and up to date information and a highly motivated armed force to be victorious in a war. Conclusion Armies that are technologically sound, has high-end machinery as well as up to date and timely information have an added advantage in war situation. But a war can not only be fought for victory with technological advancements, along with technological advancements, nations need a proper decision making body and leaders who can motivate the armed forces in order to stand victorious in any war conditions. Works Cited Browning, Peter. The Changing Nature of Warfare: The Development of Land Warfare from 1792-1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. Stewart, Neil. The Changing Nature of Warfare, 1700-1945. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2001. Print. Melko, Matthew. General War Among Great Powers in World History. Lewiston, N.Y: Edwin Mellen Press, 2001. Print. Mahnken, Thomas G. Technology and the American Way of War. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. Print. Harris, Brice F. America, Technology and Strategic Culture: A Clausewitzian Assessment. London: Routledge, 2009. Internet resource. Douhet, Giulio, Joseph P. Harahan, Richard H. Kohn, and Dino Ferrari. The Command of the Air. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2010. Internet resource. Read More