Through the experience the United States acquired with participation in various wars, the advancement of weaponry and technology has been clearly noticeable. From the slaughtering, barbaric fighting of World War II to the tedious, elongated combat of the Iraq War, a progression is apparent in the styles of combat. As each war came and passed, the technology the United States had available to fight with changed. In some ways, they became more economical; in other ways, they became more dreadful and powerful. What is the relationship between available weapon technology and the way of using these weapons for fighting? Different wars required different types of weapons, as no two wars had identical weapon use. So, what things guide the way to determining what types of technologies are used in a war? Finally, what do we learn from one war to the next regarding what technologies to use and at what times? After a technology is tested and used in a war, does it change? And if so, what determines what changes are made? This paper will examine and answer these questions.
During World War II, the main reason of victory was due to productivity and growth of industry. During the beginning stages of the war, massive troop recruitment brought peaks of almost 8 million people enlisted in the army. Towards the end of the war, over 15 million had served in the fight. Immense quantities of weapons and vehicles were constructed. In his State of the Union Address, President Roosevelt stated, “… we shall produce 60,000 planes, 10,000 more than the goal we set a year and a half ago. This includes 45,000 combat planes.” The president also had some improving future ideas as well. “The rate of increase will be maintained and continued so that next year … we shall produce 125,000 airplanes, including 100,000 combat planes.”
There were more plans to mass produce products other than planes. Roosevelt proposed, “… we shall produce 45,000 tanks; and to continue that increase so that next year, 1943, we shall produce 75,000 tanks.” In addition, “we shall produce 20,000 [anti-aircraft guns]; and to continue that increase so that next year, 1943, we shall produce 35,000 anti-aircraft guns.”
With this massive production rate of weapons and automobiles, the necessity for a battle plan arose. Tactics and strategies could bring victory; but without them, the United States was prone to disaster and chaos. The United States devised a complex tank-infantry cooperation plan to prevent disorder and confusion. First, “The tactics … called for tanks to lead the assault over no man’s land and rake the enemy positions with shell and machine gun fire, pinning the defenders in their trenches.” Afterwards, when the area was generally cleared of opposing forces, the infantry came in. The tanks remained where they were, “for tanks remaining stationary simply rendered them an easier target.” This way, the infantry would survive longer for battle while the heavily armed tanks would receive the fire and take next to no damage.
When there were no vehicle weapons available, there were groups of infantry only with a specific type of weapon. The tactics changed greatly when these situations were the case. For example, there was a group of soldiers with rifles called the Rifle Group. “Its size varied between six and eight men, dependent upon nation and, of course, casulaties.” With limited availability in some cases, infantry had to adapt to what they were faced with. Although sometimes these rifles were slow-firing and at times frustrating, they had the potential to be very destructive in accurate hands. However, at the end, the combination of forms of offense proved to be better. Riflemen were important, but combinations were better: “The evolution of tactics gives that argument some validity, but ultimately without the presence of the individual riflemen the Squad would prove a one dimensional tool.”
However, in some cases, although there were massive numbers of tanks available, each division was limited to one tank, or even less at times. This was due to the proportion of infantry to tanks: “In 1940, the British Expeditionary Force had just two Battalions of infantry tank to support nine Divisions in France.” In these cases, the affectivity rate of the tanks decreased. To adapt to this dilemma, “the preferred option was to deploy a full tank company or squadron….” Even after these difficulties, there was no specific proportion or ratio set between infantry and tanks. They were used as they became available to deploy.
Amphibious landing craft also played an important role in coordinating attacks against enemies. These landing crafts, better known as boats, were mechanized utilities used for lifting military equipment. They were even capable of transporting entire tanks with little trouble. For protection, amphibious landing crafts also had their own form of defensive weaponry. Several machine guns or other similar weapons were mounted on the outside of the vehicle for defense of troops and crew inside.
Finally, the last thing that Roosevelt brought up in his speech was the merchant shipping. “In … 1942, we shall build 6,000,000 deadweight tons … and … we shall continue that increase so that next year, 1943, we shall build 10,000,000 tons of shipping.” All these drastic increases for production and industrial enhancement led to the United States’ victory in World War II.
Not only did the production of war materials increase; the funding for war shot up drastically. In Roosevelt’s speech “A Call for Sacrifice,” he mentioned to the United States that, “we are now spending, solely for war purposes, the sum of about $100 million every day in the week … but before this year is over, that almost unbelievable rate of expenditure will be doubled.” This massive rate of spending allowed the industry to rise at a rapid rate. Later in the speech, he mentions, “we must put more billions into war bonds.” In effect, the overwhelming amount of money will provide an overwhelming superiority of the United Nations: “so overwhelming that the Axis Nations can never hope to catch up with it.” This consistent reminder to the nation that we must put more available resources into the war shows a continuing effort to out-nutrition the opposers. With the massive amount of resources the United States has compared to the lower amount of resources their enemy has, the opposing side will eventually run short of resources and be forced to surrender due to lack of attack and defense.
There are many other things the war’s fighting style depended on; one of the key components for selecting weaponry is the geography and terrain of fighting. Air transportation was a vital necessity for conveying troops to islands. In addition, the infantry needed weapons to fight: “Victory requires the actual weapons of war and the means of transporting them to a dozen points of combat.”
As a variation to air, sea forces were equally imperative in numerous battles. A prime example that caused the destruction of many United States forces was during the Battle of the Atlantic. Although the Allies had a virtually infinite number of troops and supplies, Germany was equipped with the efficient and versatile U-boats, which brought havoc to United Nations’ defense. These submarines “nearly choked the shipping lanes of Great Britain, cutting off vital supplies of food, fuel and raw materials needed to continue fighting.” Germany had targeted the massive line of streaming resources.
To combat the massive losses experienced during the U-boat attacks, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain brought together a Cabinet Anti-U-boat Warfare Committee. This committee found and took necessary steps to defend from further German U-boat attacks. They also developed new technologies and anti-submarine defenses. Once the production of proper mechanisms was complete, there were enrolled army volunteers titled as anti-U-boat escorts. A soldier with experience states, “… we sailed escorting tugs towing barges and equipment arrived at Omaha beach the day after D day.”
These anti-U-boats were also known as destroyers, and they were heavily armed with weapons. Most of them included “double turrets and heavy gun and torpedo armament….” These boats were originally called the torpedo boat destroyers, as they had powerful torpedoes with a high destruction potential and a very long range. Although the best way to attack using a torpedo is close range, these long-range torpedoes had a high accuracy rate. Even the bulkiest, most crudely built destroyers successfully completed their tasks: “Already, these ships, whose design had evolved from smaller and less capable ships, mounted all the armament that would go into the flushdeckers, but had a different layout.” When the development of anti-U-boats continued, different numbers of different types of weapons had priority over others. For example, “stressing torpedo firepower over gun firepower, the Gridley class mounted sixteen torpedo tubes but only four 5” guns.” Another example is the Fletcher with “modifications with three twin mounts of 5” guns instead of five singles.” The diversity of destroyers allowed the United States to gain an advantage over a variety of different opposing forces.
The vehicles anti-U-boat escorts controlled had sonar, depth charges, and other forms of direction-finding radar. However, this was not as easy as it sounds: “In order to be lethal, the depth charges had to land very close to the pressure hull within ten seconds of the disappearance of the U-boat.” These specific requirements required very skilled pilots that were very familiar with flying aircraft. Beginner pilots caused a resounding issue: “At first the aircraft and crews suffered from their inexperience.”
Finally, World War II was the marking of the beginning of use of nuclear weaponry. The most famous atomic bombings during World War II are the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the United States made the offensive on Japan, the Japanese government surrendered to the Allies. This powerful and destructive force caused devastation beyond anyone’s belief. As realized by many people across the world, “the nuclear age had truly begun with the first military use of atomic weapons.” The United States held a weapon that not only killed, but also malformed and mutated the ones victimized. Although a relatively small weapon in size, the area its effects cover are massive: “It is 28 inches in diameter and 120 inches long. ‘Little Boy’ weighed about 9,000 pounds and had a yield approximating 15,000 tons of high explosives.” After the bombing occurred, many people were arguing about the ethicality of using nuclear weapons. Although war is against a country, it is immoral to kill immense numbers of potentially innocent citizens of the country.
World War II’s fighting strategies can be greatly contrasted with the ones used in the Vietnam War. Being America’s longest war, it took a great toll on the country as a whole, along with the countries the United States was fighting alongside. America had a desire to stop communism from spreading in southeast Asia. In the end, “the Vietnam War ended with the capture of Saigon by Communist forces and the surrender of General Duong Vanh Minh and his cabinet in the Presidential palace.” Although America did not meet total success, they used innovative technology to fight for what they believed was right. The nature of the soldiers fighting in the war also helped the country fight through until the end. Survey statistics show that 91% of Vietnam veterans say they are glad they served in the Vietnam War. If the Vietnam War were to be recreated, 74% say they would serve again, even after knowing the outcome. A common myth of the Vietnam War is that a majority of the ones that served were drafted. This is highly inaccurate; over two-thirds of the veterans that served in the Vietnam War volunteered, as opposed to World War II’s one-third. Because of this dedication and patriotism to the United States during the Vietnam War, 87% of the American population hold Vietnam veterans in high esteem. Finally, a fortunate result of the Vietnam war is that 85% of all surviving veterans were able to make a successful transition to civilian life.
The Vietnam War introduced a new form of transportation to the battlefield. During battles in deserts where storms are potential, troops needed to find a way to get in and get out quickly and efficiently without any extra work or losses. The Vietnam War is characterized by the United States’ large employment of air power. Helicopters were used to transport goods and troops in and out of battle areas. This type of war was relatively new to the United States, and when they first got introduced to the concept, they called it “air mobility.” This technique was highly effective against the communist troops: “American H-21 helicopters were used to ferry … troops into battle against communist Viet Cong guerillas in 1962. At first, communist troops fled when the troop-carrying helicopters landed.” The United States was able to rise victorious without even fighting.
However, the United States was not the only country that was adjusting and developing their weapons for a more efficient fighting style. “… at the important battle of Ap Bac, [the communist troops] soon learned that if they stood their ground, they could bring down the helicopters with relative ease.” This caused a problem for the United States, as the Viet Cong were being trained how to be the most destructive against these helicopters. They learned “…how to shoot ahead of the target to increase the chance of hitting it and where to shoot to cause the most damage.”
From this great loss of helicopters and troops, the United States made drastic changes in the ways they used their vehicles. As the United States got more involved in the Vietnam war, they increased the number of helicopters they used at once. The efficiency of helicopter drops drastically increased, and more troops received transportation with the helicopters. “Some combat operations involved over 100 helicopters at a time, plus fixed-wing air support to drop bombs and fire rockets at enemy troops.” This massive number of helicopters kept rising. By the end of the Vietnam war, over 12,000 different helicopters were used during the war. Army UH-1’s helicopters totaled over 7.5 million hours in flight time; Army AH-1G’s helicopters totaled over one million.
This advancement in helicopter and air technology proved useful during the Battle of Ap Bac in the Republic of Vietnam. On January 2, 1963, the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam witnessed their first major victory. Americans used helicopters to move quickly and transport troops from place to place, which gave Commander Hai Hoang and his troops little time to retreat. Although the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam downed many United States helicopters, the United States had proven themselves as a difficult opponent.
Using helicopters and starting an air war was a survival tactic as well as being a battle tactic. In ground combat, more Americans’ lives were lost due to the greater susceptibility to getting killed. However, when Americans used helicopters to strike Vietnam from the air, the chances of getting killed were greatly reduced. The United States used this strategy more often because it worked: “Once Johnson unleashed Operation Rolling Thunder, the air war over Vietnam escalated dramatically – from 25,000 bombing raids in 1965 to more than 108,000 in 1967.” At first, the bombings were only targeted against military locations and supply routes. However, as the war progressed, civilian areas such as roads, factories, and homes were attacked as well. “By 1967 the United States had dropped more bombs on Vietnam than the Allies dropped during all of World War II.”
Although fighting from the air was more efficient and effective, there were still ground battles. In areas safe from the mass destruction from bombs falling from the sky, ground forces attempted to wipe out the Viet Cong. However, the United States was inexperienced and had difficulty finding their enemies in unfamiliar jungles: “‘I could see neither villages, nor fields, roads, or anything but endless rain forests the color of old moss.’” The fighting environment was very uncomfortable for the troops, especially because of the harsh natural surroundings. There were traps hidden in the vegetation, and every step taken by an American soldier could be their last.
A development of a chemical called Agent Orange and the improved technology of aircraft were combined to form a defoliant. The trees, rain forest, and jungle were excellent places for the Viet Cong to plant mines and traps to kill American soldiers. In addition, soldiers of the Viet Cong could hide in the trees and snipe American troops without being seen. To prevent this, aircraft was used to spray Agent Orange across forests. After exposure to this defoliant, a mixture of herbicides, most of the vegetation was destroyed from the toxic compounds in the substance.
The previously mentioned spraying of defoliants was one of the air operations performed by the United States. With the various integration of air technology into other available forms of warfare, the United States had a great variety of techniques of attack. A specific operation with a correlation of spraying herbicides on South Vietnam to prevent vegetation protection for the Viet Cong was Operation Ranch Hand. The entire operation included a large number of different agents, titled by the color of the label on their barrel. “Between 1962 and 1971, Ranch Hand sprayed about 19 million gallons of herbicide, 11 million of which consisted of Agent Orange.”
Another air operation using newly developed air technology was Operation Pierce Arrow. During this military operation, new aircraft such as Ticonderoga and Constellation were used to attack Vinh oil storage depots. During this operation, two aircraft were lost, one pilot was killed, and one was captured and kept as a prisoner of war. However, the overall mission was successful; the United States was able to eliminate over 90% of the oil supply Vinh had in its depots.
Finally, one of the most significant but secretive air operations of the Vietnam War was Operation Barrel Roll. Simply put, “Barrel Roll was the U.S. air campaign conducted over northern Laos in support of the Royal Lao Government.” This was meant to be a signal to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the North from the Republic of Vietnam in the South. There were a few key missions and objectives of Operation Barrel Roll. The first “was to conduct air operations in support … by the interdiction of enemy supplies moving across northern Laos.” Second, “aid was to be given by providing air support for Laotian grounding forces fighting the North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao.” However, things did not go as planned immediately; the operation started with the Laos struggling for their own survival. As the operation progressed, there were several air wars that broke out. Due to the United States’ developed technology regarding aircraft, the United States did not wish to contribute ground forces to the battle. “Lacking the will to commit US ground forces in Laos, the direct US combat involvement was with airpower.” At the end, although the United States was tactically successful, the Lao’s People’s Democratic Republic was still established.
One of the instances where the United States could not use their air warfare and had to adapt to the Viet Cong was during the First Battle of Saigon. It took place during the Tet Offensive in early 1968. The Viet Cong attacked South Vietnam from all sides of the country. They targeted key buildings and structures. A key monument, the Presidential Palace, was taken down in the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon. To cut off communications to the rest of the country, local Viet Cong forces attacked the National Radio Station. Most importantly, they attacked the United States embassy to disable and retreat the Americans. To defend from this attack, the United States could not use their air force as they would normally use to bomb the North Vietnamese. Instead, they used ground troops to fight back.
Finally, the last fighting style that will be analyzed will be the one used during the Iraq War. The Iraq War, also known as Operation Iraqi Liberation or Operation Iraqi Freedom, is a conflict that started when the United States invaded Iraq. At the beginning of the war, the United States believed that Iraq posed a threat to the United States from intelligence received. With the news spread to the United Kingdom, they occupied the country. Saddam Hussein was captured later in the same year, and was executed three years later. In the fighting that took place for this to happen, there were tedious waiting times that extracted every bit of patience from the soldiers participating.
In the ongoing war, people may hear a lot about roadside bombs. These weapons are explosives placed on the side of the road that are detonated when vehicles drive by. These explosives have killed many American soldiers supporting Iraq in their war against terror. The number of people being killed by these bombs are only rising: “The number of US troops to die in Iraq since the invasion began five years ago has reached 4,000, after an attack in southern Baghdad killed four soldiers. The milestone is likely to strengthen calls for US forces to be withdrawn from the country.”
Even though the number of American soldiers killed is very high, the number of Iraqi civilians killed or injured is almost exponentially higher. The killing style used in the Iraq war consists of a few people a day, and over time, the numbers rise very high. In a specific case, American soldiers are not the only ones that are being killed. “According to Iraqi Government estimates, 12,000 of its own security forces have been killed.”
After the United States invaded Iraq, there has been violent and destructive fighting as well, with hundreds of thousands of civilians targeted. “January concluded that between 104,000 and 223,000 Iraqis had died violently since the invasion.” Even then, this number is slightly inaccurate; the United States did not keep track of the death toll at the beginning of the invasion.
This mass killing style of the Iraq War has more statistics with large numbers. In overall deaths of American soldiers it was “reported close to 90,000 deaths by this month.” And because of the United States president: “a quarter of whom died last year when Mr. Bush sent in an extra 30,000 troops to Iraq, bringing the total to 160,000.”
Another known name of this war is the War on Terror, which describes one of the objectives of the war. One of the key reasons for the United States fighting in this war is to stop terrorism, which is “the act of unnecessary violence to instill fear into others.” This reflects the fighting style that the United States must survive through when participating in the war. To overcome the torturous nature of terrorism, the United States is making an attempt to spread the ideas of democracy into Iraq.
Finally, the turning point that started the United States’ involvement in this war was the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Terrorists used airplanes as their key source of weaponry and caused great destruction to the United States. Part of the war’s efforts include an attempt to prevent something like that from happening again.
In summary, the United States have developed greatly from its participation in many wars. The technology of their weaponry have changed throughout the years from the experience acquired from fighting. The losses the United States faced were turned into valuable lessons as scientists better developed the weaponry.