by Barry Parker
Soon after World War I radar was developed, and it would eventually play a central role in war. Along with it came a significant improvement in submarines, and the use of sonar. Submarines would be very effective for the Germans in World War I and at the beginning of World War II.
Then in 1939 came another, even greater war, namely World War II, which produced phenomenal new weaponry. These developments included important advances in radar, the first jet airplanes, the first rockets, the first large computers, and of course, the atomic bomb. All of these will be discussed.
Finally, in the last chapter we will discuss the hydrogen bomb and some of the possible weapons of the future.
As we will see throughout the book, every era had its “wonder weapon,” and one of the earliest was the chariot. Pulled by two or three horses, chariots allowed warriors to move at tremendous speed. The chariots were usually manned by a driver and an archer equipped with a large number of arrows. Fast-moving chariots would crash into the infantry of the enemy while the archer fired arrows, frequently causing panic. Like our tanks of today, the chariot became a major weapon of early armies. Soon thousands of them were involved in the battles of the day.
BATTLE OF KADESH
One of the largest chariot battles the world had seen occurred in 1274 BCE near the village of Kadesh (in present-day Syria). More than five thousand chariots were involved. A large Egyptian army was led by twenty-five-year-old Ramses II. He was brash and confident but had little experience. Against him was a Hittite force led by Muwatallis II, who was a veteran of many wars and had considerable experience. Ramses led a force of about thirty-five thousand men, which included about two thousand chariots and a large number of archers. The Hittite army consisted of over twenty-seven thousand men and close to three thousand five hundred chariots. The Egyptian chariots accommodated two men, and they were much lighter, faster, and more maneuverable than the Hittite chariots, which were built to accommodate three men.
Ramses commanded four divisions, each of which was named for an Egyptian god: Amun, Re, Seth, and Ptah. He also had another division of mercenaries called the Ne'arin. With Ramses in the lead, his army began a month-long march toward Kadesh. When he was about seven miles from it, his men came upon two Bedouins, or nomads, who claimed they had been conscripted to serve in the Hittite army but had escaped. Ramses questioned them and was pleased when they told him that Muwatallis's army was 135 miles away in a place called Aleppo. Furthermore, they said Muwatallis was afraid of Ramses and his army.
This made Ramses even more confident, since it meant he would be able to capture Kadesh without having to fight the Hittites. Without verifying the story he quickly pushed on. Indeed, he was in such a rush that he and his bodyguards had soon outdistanced most of his troops. Close to his destination was the Orontes River, which was difficult to cross in most places, but it could be crossed close to Kadesh. Ramses and his small contingent of guards splashed their way across it, then moved through a wooded area to a clearing, from which he could see Kadesh. He decided to set up camp, and within a short time his Amun division caught up with him, but his other divisions were still relatively far behind.
As the men were setting up camp his guards brought two captured Hittite soldiers before him. Ramses began questioning them, but they refused to talk. Only after being beaten did they finally confess, and what they had to say shocked Ramses. They told him that the Hittites were massed behind the old city of Kadesh with infantry and chariots, and that they were more numerous than the grains of sand on the beach.
Ramses could hardly believe what he was hearing. The two Bedouins that he had talked to earlier had been lying, and indeed Muwatallis had sent them to set a trap. Ramses was now only a few miles from Kadesh, and he had only half his army with him. The Hittites were no doubt ready to attack. Ramses sent messengers to the lagging divisions telling them to hurry. He knew that the Ptah division was not far away, however, and with it he would have three-quarters of his army, so he wasn't worried.
Muwatallis, meanwhile, had divided his troops into two main forces. One was to strike at the rear of the Egyptian army; the other, which included Muwatallis, himself, along with a force of one thousand chariots and a large contingent of infantry, would strike from the side, preventing the Egyptians from retreating.
The Hittite chariots spread into formation, then they attacked. The Re division, straggling behind, had just emerged from the forest into the clearing area. Twenty-five hundred Hittite chariots ripped into it; the Egyptians didn't know what hit them. Panic raced through the survivors as the Hittites slaughtered most of them. The remnants of the division ran toward the safety of the main Egyptian encampment, but the Hittites followed. Ramses was surrounded by his guard, which consisted of the best-trained troops in his army. The Hittite charioteers rushing toward him proved no match for the well-trained guards, who quickly killed large numbers of them.
Ramses had been busy reaming out his officers when the attack came, but he quickly took charge, and with what remained of his army he counterattacked. He did, however, have several advantages: his chariots were faster and could easily outmaneuver the Hittite chariots. Furthermore, his archers had a relatively powerful composite bow, and within a short time they had inflicted severe damage on the Hittite forces.
Strangely, the Hittite infantrymen, who were sure the battle was almost over, stopped and began looting the Egyptian camp. As a result, they became easy targets for the Egyptian counterattack. They were soon routed, with many of them dead on the field. The battle, which had started out as a slaughter for Muwatallis II, was now turning in favor of the Egyptians. Nevertheless, Muwatallis ordered another attack. In the meantime, Ramses’ Ne'arin troops arrived, bringing his army to nearly full strength, and it counterattacked with everything it had. Soon the Hittites were overwhelmed, and many of them fled back toward Kadesh.
But Muwatallis II was not ready to give up. Most of his chariots, however, were now on the opposite side of the Orontes River. They had to cross it to attack the Egyptians. Ramses looked over the situation and decided to let them attack; he had a plan. He let the Hittite chariots cross the river, knowing that as they started up the steep bank toward the Egyptians they would slow to a crawl. When they did, Ramses ordered his chariots to attack, and they soon pushed the Hittites back into the water, inflicting heavy losses.
Muwatallis then ordered another charge, and again his troops were driven back, this time with even heavier losses. For the next three hours, in fact, Muwatallis continued the same tactic, until most of his officers were gone and many of his charioteers had been killed, many by drowning. Finally, when the Ptah, the last of the Egyptian divisions arrived, Muwatallis decided it was hopeless. He and his troops retreated, many to the safety of Kadesh, with others continuing on to Aleppo.
Ramses had also lost a lot of men by this time. He decided not to attack Kadesh and instead returned to Egypt. Both leaders claimed they had won the battle, and, indeed, Ramses had routed the Hittites, but he had not achieved his goal, namely the capture of Kadesh. Muwatallis, on the other hand, claimed he had stopped the Egyptians, and indeed, they had left.1
THE WONDER WEAPON
The chariot obviously played a large role in the Battle of Kadesh, and for many years thereafter it continued to be a major weapon of war. And certainly when it was first introduced it created terror among enemy troops. Most of the first chariots were built for two men, but later three- and even four-man chariots were used.
Most people are familiar with chariots from the movie Ben Hur, which starred Charlton Heston. It contained an exciting nine-minute chariot race that became one of the most popular sequences in the history of film, and it certainly gave viewers a good idea what it was like to drive or ride in a chariot.
An early war chariot.
Although the chariot was initially a wonder weapon, it didn't take long before many armies had them. So of course a search soon began for a new wonder weapon. At the time, weapon designers coul
dn't turn to science because science didn't yet exist. Nevertheless, the search was on for a new weapon that would shock and terrorize the enemy. Indeed, the process soon became an endless cycle.
COPPER, BRONZE, AND IRON
Wonder weapons had, indeed, already appeared. The earliest weapons were no doubt wooden spears and sharpened knives made of stone, but about 5000 BCE men in Persia and Afghanistan began to find strange lumps that could be hammered into various shapes, and they soon discovered that the material could be melted at a relatively modest temperature. It was what we now know as copper, and it would soon play a large role in the lives of the people of the time. Copper could be molded or cast into many different shapes. But it was soft, so knives made of copper would not keep a sharp age. Something harder was needed, and perhaps by luck, or perhaps by extensive experimentation, it was discovered that when a softer metal, tin, was added to copper in a molten state, the result was a new metal, bronze, which was considerably harder than either copper or tin alone. Bronze was soon used for knives, spears, and other weapons that needed sharp edges.2
The science of metals, or metallurgy as it came to be called, soon came into its own. Axes, daggers, shields, and even helmets were cast from bronze, and they soon became the new wonder weapons of war. For years however, people had been aware of a red-brown mineral that could be found near the earth's surface, and it was eventually discovered that it could be mined and smelted into another new metal, iron. It's hard to say exactly when the Iron Age began. Iron had been observed as early as 3000 BCE, but it took until about 1200 BCE before suitable smelting techniques developed. Iron smelting is much more difficult than copper smelting because of iron's higher melting point. Furthermore, when it was first obtained in a relatively pure form, it wasn't much harder than bronze, but then it was discovered that if carbon was added to it, it became much harder.
One of the things that may have spurred the search for a better metal than bronze was that tin was relatively rare, and shortages frequently occurred. Another reason was that states that could not afford to build thousands of chariots needed weapons that could match the dominance of the chariot. Infantry was no match for chariots, but some leaders began to believe that with the proper weapons it could be. And as metallurgists learned more and more about iron, and how it could be strengthened with carbon, much longer swords and spears came into existence along with iron shields that arrows could not penetrate. And with them, infantrymen could be equipped to stand up to chariots. With shields that could easily deflect arrows, and iron helmets to protect their heads, they could attack chariots with long iron swords and spears.
THE ASSYRIANS
The chariot was still a lethal weapon for many years, but a real breakthrough came when warriors on horses began to challenge them. Among the major enemies of the Assyrians were the nomads and barbarians of the north countries. Their life centered on horses, and they were particularly comfortable around them, usually learning to ride at a very early age. And it soon became obvious to them that a man on horseback, equipped with a bow or sword, had an advantage against chariots, since the mounted warrior was very mobile and could easily outmaneuver a chariot. He was high off the ground, and, with a horse under him, he was a formidable force; in addition, he was fast in a charge, even faster than a chariot.3
We now refer to forces of men mounted on horses as cavalry, but at that time they were not organized into what we would normally think of as cavalry. Nevertheless, they were effective. Early horse-mounted warriors didn't use saddles, but they were quite comfortable and stable without them. Stirrups came even later.
Mounted warriors from the north were highly effective in their frequent attacks on the Assyrians. It wasn't long, therefore, before the Assyrians began to develop their own cavalry. The Assyrians, who eventually became the most powerful empire of the region, were descended from the Akkadian Empire, which flourished near the upper Tigris River (near present-day Iraq) and lasted until about 2100 BCE. The Akkadian Empire eventually evolved into two states: the Assyrians in the north, and later the Babylonians in the south, but it was the Assyrians who first came to dominate the region.
During the early Assyrian years, the Bronze Age was in full swing and most weapons were made of bronze. Over the years the regional power of the Assyrians fluctuated, but there were two eras in which they were particularly powerful. Their early period of power and empire lasted from 1365 BCE to 1076 BCE. During this time their armies conquered most of the surrounding countries, including Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, Phoenicia, Arabia, and Israel. But after 1076 BCE Assyrian dominance ebbed. Then, in 911 BCE, the Assyrians once more began to grow in power. The Assyrian Empire eventually became the greatest military power the world had ever seen up to that time. Its resurgence was mainly due to Tiglath-pileser III, who ascended to the throne in 745 BCE.
Tiglath-pileser III began by introducing dramatic changes. First he increased the efficiency of the Assyrian administration. Then he turned his attention to the army, which had become significantly weakened over the years. At this time the only army that existed was quite small; when a large army was needed, recruiters were sent out to round up farmers and anyone else they could get, and the conscripts were usually given very little training. Tiglath-pileser set up a large standing army, one of the first in history. And the soldiers were given uniforms and some of the best weapons of the time. He also significantly improved the roads throughout Assyria.
An Assyrian warrior.
Chariots were still being used, but Tiglath-pileser immediately saw the advantage of cavalry, setting up a large cavalry division. The Assyrians did not have much experience with horses, and they were initially not nearly as good on them as the barbarians were. But with training they improved. At first the Assyrian cavalrymen worked in pairs, with one controlling the horses and the other shooting arrows. But soon each warrior had his own lance and control of his own horse. Cavalry eventually became the core of the Assyrian army, with thousands of cavalrymen on horses. This meant, of course, that large numbers of horses were needed, and Tiglath-pileser also took care of this. Large stables were set up to raise and care for horses.
There's no doubt that the Assyrians were a “warring nation” right from the beginning. They were, in fact, at war most of the time they were in power. And under Tiglath-pileser they continued their warring ways, conquering country after country. Not only did Tiglath-pileser build up the cavalry; he also significantly improved the infantry. The infantry consisted of archers, shield bearers, slingers, and spearmen. Slingers, who threw stones, were frequently used to distract the enemy. Large shields were used by most nations to protect their forces against the onslaught of arrows. Arrows were usually fired high so they would drop down on the enemy; the shield bearers would therefore hold their shields over their heads to protect the infantry. Tiglath-pileser employed slingers to project stones directly at the enemy, and to protect themselves they had to lower their shields. The Assyrian archers would then fire over their heads so that falling arrows would not be deflected by their shields. Tiglath-pileser also introduced lancers; they were soldiers with particularly long spears, called lances. They were much longer than swords are daggers, and, as a result, when they were used in an attack, swords were quite ineffective against them.4
There was, however, a serious problem for the Assyrians. So many nations were at war at this time that cities and towns were in constant danger of being invaded, not only by other nations, but even by their neighbors. And they needed protection. Kings and rulers, with their huge egos and aggressive ways, were always hungrily eyeing the resources and wealth of their neighbors and neighboring countries. Few were satisfied with what they had. War was a natural thing, and they had to go to war not only to conquer new lands, but also to build up their treasury.
The Assyrians were certainly guilty of this. Furthermore, it was well-known to all their enemies in the surrounding countries that they were brutal. They frequently killed entire populations, and they kil
led indiscriminately. They also used mass deportation as a terror weapon. If there were uprisings in any of the countries they conquered, they would deport thousands of people to other lands. Tiglath-pileser was well known for this. For example, in 744 BCE he deported sixty-five thousand people from Iran to the Assyrian-Babylonian border, and in 742 BCE he deported thirty thousand people from Syria to the Zagros Mountains in present-day Iran.
Because of these practices, many people put considerable effort into building huge walls around their towns or cities for protection. These walls were usually several feet thick and at least twenty feet high. Several years were frequently spent building them. The earliest walls were made of mud mixed with various other materials; they were thick enough to give some protection, but it soon became obvious that they were vulnerable. Mud was not very strong. Nevertheless, an enemy would frequently bypass a city if its walls were too thick and high. It was usually too much trouble for them.
Walls, however, were merely a challenge to the Assyrians. They weren't going to let walls stop them, and they soon began designing and building siege engines to get through them. Actually, they were nothing more than huge battering rams constructed of wood. In many ways they resembled a gigantic tank on wheels. They usually had four wheels, but some of the later ones had six. And because they were so big and heavy, it usually took thousands of soldiers to move them.
As terrifying as they were, the defenders usually fought back with all they had. The siege engines would have to be pushed up to the edge of the wall, and it soon became obvious that the pushers and anyone inside would need protection while it was being moved forward, since the defenders would bombard them with arrows and rocks, and as the siege engine moved close to the wall they would try to set it on fire. For protection, the Assyrians built small towers atop their siege engines for their archers. These archers would fire back at the defenders as the siege engine was being moved forward.