Analysis of World War Two’s War Fought in Trenches and The Advancements of Technology

The Technological Advances and Trench Warfare in World War Two

A world war is described as a war consisting of several other nations around the world. World Wars involve various countries on multiple continents in which battles take place. The term world war involves the major international battles that partook during the time periods of 1914-1918 (WW1) and 1939-1945 (WW2). World Wars usually involve countries that are considered more superior and populated. These are the types of battles that shape the way international politics ensues. World War 2 was a war that resulted in over 70 million casualties, the United States and Russia becoming global superpowers, and the founding of the United Nations.

The technological advancements in weaponry and the beginning of trench warfare had a significant impact on the nature and duration of World War I. The effects of trench warfare on soldiers and their families were immense. This type of warfare caused a great deal of causalities on the battlefields. Bodies piled upon each other. Trench warfare also had a pernicious effect on the lives and health of the soldiers. The advancements in technology, weaponry, and war tactics also made war more complex and negative in ways. Technological developments in engineering, weaponry, chemistry, and visuals had produced weapons deadlier than anything known before. These developments potentially had mass effects. The power the defensive weapons held made winning the war much more difficult for either side.

WW2 led to the civil rights movement in the United States, the modern women’s' rights movements, as well as programs for exploring outer space post war. Despite the culmination of math, science, and other innovate weaponry and war tactics, no other war can compare to World War 2 in terms of how the advances then still shape our lives today.

Advancements having to do with weaponry included firearms, tanks, and grenades. These advancements lengthened the duration of the war. The advancements made it almost impossible for either side to win. Each side of the war maintained dominant defensive positions with their machine guns and artillery. As a result, the soldiers would be forced to charged oppositions which was obviously extremely risky.

One advancement by Nazi Germany includes rocketry. The V-1 was an automatic aircraft which was known as the "cruise missile". The V-1 is also referred to as the "buzz bomb". The V-2 works in a different manner. It was a missile which would fly in space before executing targets. The V-2 was actually used in London in 1944-45 and ended up killing thousands of civilians. Those who produced these weapons for Germany were brought back to the United States of America post WW2. They were referred to as the "rocket team". The rocket team settled in Alabama and assisted in the producing of rockets which were used to bring astronauts to space as well as the moon. In addition, the British created electronic computers. The computers were used to hack Nazi codes. The Americans used the computers to calculate battlefield equations and ballistics. Ballistics is described as the science which studies the movement of objects (such as bullets or rockets) that are shot or forced to move forward through the air.

As we known, our society has quickly become centered and dependent among technology and computers. This computing aspect in a way derived from the war. The history of computing hardware covers the productions from early, simplistic devices to modern day devices. Handheld computing devices which were said to be made from cardboard, mechanical trajectory calculators which solved long lists of ballistics, and even the earliest electronic digital computers played vile parts in the war. Aspects of this computing technology were found either on soldiers' person or in control centers. These control centers eventually made their way to ships and aircrafts which was extremely advantageous to the war and society today by creating jobs and more efficient ways of protection and trade.

Before electronic computers were invented during the war, the term "computer" was a job description. The occupation was predominant among women mainly because women did partake in the war in terms of the battlefield. It was more logical to have women in such work-field and had nothing to do with inequality. Their jobs included solving long, complex lists of equations using mechanical desk calculators. This made is possible for soldiers in the battlefield to aim/focus weaponry and other artillery while taking into account certain conditions such as air density, temperature, and types of land.

The use of radar was another technological advancement. Radar is described as the use of radio waves to discover objects at a distance. Radar made surprised attacks more plausible and easier. Radar gave nations the ability to detect incoming attacks through the air, guide bombers to their targets, and discover enemy aircrafts. Researchers also produces strategies to counter and jam enemy radar such as dropping strips of tinfoil. Radar signals were also beneficial in triangulating positions of airplanes and ships. In addition, radar was also used by meteorologists to track weather and storms.

Another technological advancement included putting radar sets onto the shells of artillery. Weapon designers used this to create proximity shells which would explode as they neared neared targets. This invention eventually became an imperative aspect in the creation of anti-aircraft shells. Other things such as the jerrycan (container that held fuel), penicillin (which didn't gain popularity until the war), and Colossus (which was the first computer) were all inventions which impacted the war.

Trench warfare had a gruesome effect on the soldiers. It resulted in many bloody, horrible deaths on the battlefield. The trenches worked well by protecting soldiers from small artillery and enemy fire, but once a grenade or mustard gas landed in the trench, soldiers had nowhere to go. Trenches were about 2 m deep and 1.8 m wide. The land used for trenches after the war resulted in a loss of agricultural land and were unable to be used because of the horrid conditions. Trench warfare in WW2 wasn't as relevant as it was in WW1.

The soldier’s families would have also been impacted by trench warfare. Many soldiers died which led wives widowed and children without fathers. This impacted families emotionally and financially because it made a families living more difficult without a father figure or support. It would have been very scary knowing that your dad, brother, son would have been lining themselves up for a possible death and maybe never returning home, which happened to many, but many who did return home went insane or “shellshocked”. Shellshock included being bombarded with shells from weapons and firearms. People were were shellshocked during the war were considered cowards and scared. It wasn't until after the war where doctors were able to make the diagnosis that shellshock included having psychological issues due to violence in the war and being in the trenches.

Many other psychological effects resulted from the war that related to anxiety and wellbeing. The trenches were muddy, crowded and wet and because of this the smallest of cuts ended with nasty infections. Trenches were also infested with rats and lice, this caused diseases to spread rapidly. Sicknesses such as the common cold could quickly turn into a major problem. Trench warfare was violent and many problems came about from it. Because of the major advancements in technology, weaponry and the introduction of trench warfare, we are where we stand today.