History Teaching, Vol. 33 No. 1, 2022.
Review article
THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF NEW WEAPONS DURING THE 20TH CENTURY
Željko Holjevac
; Institute of Social Sciences "Ivo Pilar"
Abstract
The two world wars in the 20th century were the biggest and cruellest armed conflicts in the history of mankind. From the point of view of the triumph of natural sciences and technology brought about from the two industrial revolutions, the period of the world wars was marked by the spectacular development of aviation and motorization, including the battle tanks. In addition to operations on both land and sea, warplanes became known as a means of direct attack on the enemy's territory and infrastructure. The Cold War and asymmetric warfare at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century brought new changes that were supported by the latest scientific and technical achievements. The First World War at the beginning of the 20th century was marked by the appearance of new types of weapons, trench warfare, the development of infantry anti-tank weapons and the disappearance of cavalry. The Second World War was remembered for the appearance of new types of weapons, mobile warfare, the development of anti-aircraft weapons of the infantry and the first use of airborne forces. The improvement in the combat capabilities of the infantry, the massive use of armoured fighting vehicles, the automation of small arms and the introduction of helicopters into combat operations were characteristic of the Cold War period. The appearance of new forms of threats to national security, the globalization of international relations, the professionalization of armed forces and the adaptation of tactics to new tasks are the features of asymmetric and hybrid warfare at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century.
Keywords
new weapons; 20th century; world wars; Cold War; asymmetric and hybrid warfare
Hrčak ID:
294362
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2022.
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