Steve Jobs's previous related content: five corporate innovators who shaped our world. 167 1 year, the French took the lead in using bayonets for military purposes.17th century, this weapon became the standard version of European infantry. In the past, when reloading ammunition, the army relied on musketeers to defend against musketeers' attacks. With the introduction of bayonets, every soldier can become a rifleman and a musketeer.
Even though modern weapons made the bayonet more and more outdated, it was partly because it was regarded as an effective psychological weapon, so it continued into the 20th century. As a British officer pointed out, these "bayonet-charged" regiments never met or fought hand to hand; This may be the best reason. When one side approaches the other, it will turn and run away, which is for evil.
Barbed barbed wire: It was invented at the end of 19. As a means to control livestock in the western United States, barbed wire was quickly used in the Second Ying Bu War (1899- 1902), especially in South Africa now. With the escalation of the conflict, the British army took more and more severe measures to suppress the rebellion led by Dutch settlers.
One of the measures was to build a network of reinforced bunkers connected by barbed wire, which restricted the movement of Wiltbur people. When the British army launched a scorched-earth campaign to destroy the farm and refused to use barbed wire as a means of support, it promoted the construction of the so-called "concentration camp" at that time, where the British army detained women and children. After more than ten years,
The barbed wire will cross the battlefield of World War I as a countermeasure against the advancing infantry. A booklet 19 17 published by the United States Army Academy briefly summarizes the advantages of barbed wire winding:
" 1。 It is quick and easy to make. 2。 Hard to destroy. Three. It's hard to pass. Four. Do not interfere with the vision and firepower of national defense.
Steamboat: "In the bellicose navies of all maritime countries, the use of steam as power is a huge and sudden change in the means of maritime warfare, which will inevitably lead to a complete naval revolution," wrote Sir Howard, a British general, and Douglas said in a military paper in 1858:
He is right, although this naval revolution was a gradual evolution process before. Early commercial steamships were propelled by paddle wheels installed on both sides of the ship, which reduced the number of cannons that warships could deploy and exposed the engines to enemy gunfire. Every few hundred miles, a ship needs to enter the port to replenish its coal supply.
However, ships have one obvious advantage: they don't rely on wind to propel them. They run very fast. They are more mobile than sailboats, especially on the coastline, where they can bomb forts and cities.
It can be said that the most important driving force of steam-powered warships is the propeller invented by 1836, which replaced the paddle wheel. The next major breakthrough is the invention of the modern steam turbine engine in 1884, which is smaller, more powerful and easier to maintain than the old piston and cylinder design.
Robbery: justus Shebert, a Prussian royal engineer, observed the military actions of the Confederate army for seven months during the Civil War. He quickly concluded: "Railways play an important role in both sides' strategies." . "Until the last moment, the train didn't deliver food. Therefore, the Federation spared no effort and was designed to cross the wide ditch. Later called "Big Willie". 1965438+September 2006 15, the tank made its debut in the battle of the somme river. Historian Lei Nuode Wick pointed out: "The first military tank had no American parts, no engine, no tracks and no weapons. However, the technical innovation in stockton in October1904165438+10 proved that heavy machinery can move on difficult terrain with crawler pedals.
Camera: With higher flying planes and better cameras, aerial photography reconnaissance entered the era in World War I. Initially, this plane was used to help aim at the target more accurately. Later, they were used to draw detailed maps of enemy trenches and fortifications, evaluate losses after attacks, and even spy "rear echelon" activities to collect insight into enemy battle plans. Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron", said that a camera reconnaissance plane is often more valuable than a complete fighter squadron.
The other army took measures to obstruct the photo reconnaissance. Potential ground targets are painted with camouflage patterns. (French, natural person, seeking the help of cubist artists. )
Of course, the most effective countermeasure is to mount guns on the plane and shoot down the observation plane. In order to provide protection, the fighter plane escorted the reconnaissance plane to perform the task. The era of "dog fighting" began, followed by the aircraft becoming a weapon of war.
Chlorine: Historians generally believe that the first modern chemical war took place on April 22nd, 2005 1965438, when German soldiers opened 5730 cans of toxic chlorine on the battlefield in ypres, Belgium. British records show that there are 7,000 casualties, including 350 deaths.
German chemist Fritz Haber realized the characteristics of chlorine, a cheap chemical used in German dye industry, and made it an ideal battlefield weapon. Even when the temperature is far below zero degrees Fahrenheit in winter, chlorine will still exist in gas state, and because the weight of chlorine is 2.5 times that of air, it will sink into the enemy's trenches. When chlorine gas is inhaled, it will attack the lungs, make them full of liquid, and make the victims actually drown.
In response, all sides are looking for more deadly gas for the next conflict. Chlorine is an important component in the production of these gases, including almost odorless phosgene, which caused about 80% gas-related deaths in World War I.
DDT: At the end of 1930s, with the approaching of the war, the US military was ready to defend against one of the most deadly enemies of soldiers on the battlefield: insect-borne diseases. During World War I, typhus, a bacterial disease spread by lice, killed 2.5 million people (soldiers and civilians) on the eastern front alone. Health experts also worry that mosquito-borne diseases, such as yellow fever and malaria, may occur in tropical areas.
The military needs an insecticide that can be safely applied to clothes and blankets in powder form. DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) was first synthesized by Austrian students in 1873. Until 1939, Paul Müller, a Swiss chemist, discovered its insecticidal properties while studying the method of moth-proof wool clothes, and he was always a freak in the laboratory. After the military screened thousands of pounds of chemicals, DDT finally became the first choice pesticide: it can act immediately at low doses and continue to act.
DDT proved to be so effective that some historians think that for the first time in World War II, more soldiers died from bats than from diseases. However, even before the end of the war, entomologists and medical researchers warned that this pesticide may have long-term dangerous effects on public health and the environment. The United States banned DDT in 1972.
Tidal Forecasting Machine: 1944 When the Allied Forces planned to invade Europe, they were faced with a dilemma: should they land on Normandy beaches at low tide?
The argument in support of the climax is that when troops are attacked by enemy fire, the terrain they cross will shrink. However, German general Erwin Rommel spent several months supervising the construction of obstacles and booby traps, which he called "Devil's Garden" to prevent allied forces from landing. At high tide, the devil's garden will be submerged and almost invisible; But at low tide, it will be exposed.
In the end, military planners concluded that the best condition for invasion was the early morning (but steadily rising) high tide. In this way, the landing craft can avoid obstacles in Germany, and the army engineers can also start to clear these obstacles to prepare for the subsequent landing.
To complicate matters, the allies also hope to have a date before the dawn invasion, when there will be enough moonlight to help pilots and paratroopers.
So the Allies consulted meteorologists and other experts to calculate the date when the tides and the moon meet the ideal conditions. Among these experts, Arthur Thomas Doodson, a British mathematician, built one of the most accurate tidal forecasting machines in the world, which reduced the risk of ships stranded in the port. Dudson's machine is essentially a primitive computer, which uses dozens of pulleys to calculate. Dudson himself calculated the ideal date of D-Day invasion-a series of options including June 5 -7, 1944. The allied forces began to invade Europe on June 6th.