History of weapons

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Old Japanese weapons and other military paraphernalia, c. 1892–95
A Gilbertese shark-toothed weapon (late 19th century)

Major innovations in the history of weapons have included the adoption of different materials – from stone and wood to different metals, and modern synthetic materials such as plastics – and the developments of different weapon styles either to fit the terrain or to support or counteract different battlefield tactics and defensive equipment.

People have used weapons in warfare, hunting, self-defense, law enforcement, and criminal activity. Weapons also serve many other purposes in society including use in sports, collections for display, and historical displays and demonstrations. As technology has developed throughout history, weapons have changed with it.

The use of weapons is a major driver of

cultural evolution and human history up to today, since weapons are a type of tool which is used to dominate and subdue autonomous agents such as animals and by that allow for an expansion of the cultural niche, while simultaneously other weapon users (i.e., agents such as humans, groups, cultures) are able to adapt to weapons of enemies by learning, triggering a continuous process of competitive technological, skill and cognitive improvement (arms race).[1]

Prehistory and the ancient world

Stone tips, arrows and bows

Stone tips are one of the earliest forms of weapons assumed by archaeologists, with the earliest surviving examples of stone tips with animal blood dating to around 64,000 years ago from the KwaZulu-Natal, in what is now South Africa.[2] These early arrows were just a stone tip, which is advantageous over organic materials because it enables weapons to cut through tougher hides and create larger wounds, killing more easily.[2]

The oldest known evidence of the bow and arrow comes from South African sites such as Sibudu Cave, where likely arrowheads have been found, dating from approximately 72,000–60,000 years ago.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

The oldest extant bows, from the Holmegård region in Denmark, date to around 6,000 BCE. The bows were quite effective against the enemies that were far from the archer, and so archers were sought after in recruitment for armies. When people started horse riding at around 2500 BCE, composite bows were created. In 1200 BCE, the Hittites, originating from Anatolia, shot arrows using their bows on light chariots. In 1000 BCE some of these horse-riding archers from Central Asia invented the recurve bow, which was in the shape of a "W" and had an improved elasticity.

People from the

composite bows
. According to Chinese beliefs and mythology, a story is narrated and written in old Chinese texts which says how bow and arrow were invented.

ONCE upon a time, Huangdi went out hunting armed with a stone knife. Suddenly, a tiger sprang out of the undergrowth, Huangdi shinned up a mulberry tree to escape. Being a patient creature, the tiger sat down at the bottom of the tree to see what would happen next. Huangdi saw that the mulberry wood was supple, so he cut off a branch with his stone knife to make a bow. Then he saw a vine growing on the tree, and he cut a length from it to make a string. Next he saw some bamboo nearby that was straight, so he cut a piece to make an arrow. With his bow and arrow, he shot the tiger in the eye. The tiger ran off and Huangdi made his escape.[9]

Men with weapons. Rock Carvings in Tanum, western Sweden

As humans discovered new natural resources beneath the Earth's surface, traditional weapons were replaced as methods for metal-working developed.

After the discovery of pure copper in Anatolia, around 6000 BCE, copper metallurgy spread in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Around 3500 BCE the art of metallurgy spread into India, China and Europe.[10]

Majiayao site. Bronze was produced on a large scale in China for weapons, including spears, pole-axes, pole-based dagger-axes, composite bows, and bronze or leather helmets.[11] From the excavations at Zhengzhou, it is evident that the Chinese during the Shang dynasty had well built walls, large buildings, bronze foundries, and bone and pottery workshops.[12]

Bronze significantly contributed to the ancient world and helped cultures of

bows and arrows and slings were used in wars. Bows and arrows were preferred over spears because they were easy to handle, provided greater mobility, were more accurate and did not require as much raw material.[citation needed
] Bows and arrows were a boon for hunters as they could hunt more effectively with a bow and arrow than with a spear.

The Sumerians and Akkadians

Main article: Sumer

The earliest civilizations in southern Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq, were the Sumerians and Akkadians. The occupied land was open to enemy attacks from the many barbarian tribes. The Sumerian warrior was equipped with spears, maces, swords, clubs and slings. Sargon of Akkad (2333–2279 BCE) was a great military leader and used both infantry and chariots. The chariot troops used both spears and bows and arrows which proved to be effective.[15]


For a long time the Egyptians' strategically advantageous locale allowed them to remain free from enemy attacks. Egypt was considered to be peaceful in the ancient world. They never considered training an army for the sake of invasion or defense of their own province.

arrowheads. Unlike the Sumerians, they had horse-drawn chariots and not donkeys, and wore mailed shirts and metal helmets. They were also armed with superior daggers and swords.[17]

Before the Hyksos invasion, the Egyptians did not have a cavalry because, it is believed, their small horses were not strong enough to support a rider. It was from the Hyksos charioteers that the use of horses in warfare was introduced to Egyptian culture. When the Egyptians came to power once again, after a civil war with the Hyksos rulers, they continued to use horse-drawn chariots in their armies.

Ancient naval weapons

Fish were a major source of food in the ancient world, and the Egyptians lived on whatever the river Nile had to offer to them.

Ramses III fighting a naval battle against the Sea Peoples.[18]
The Phoenicians are said to have developed the first war galley armed with a battering ram for attacking other ships in the ancient world.

War chariots

Pharaoh in his chariot defeats the Hyksos

Chariots, a mode of transportation, were used as a weapon by ancient peoples. The Hittites used chariots to crash into enemies, whereas the Egyptians used them to stay away from enemies and attack them by arrows and spears. These vehicles were first made in Mesopotamia by the Sumerians, as four-wheeled wagons each pulled by four donkeys. Every wagon held two people; a driver, and a warrior armed with a spear or an ax. Some historians[

Tutmoses III made 1000 chariots for military expedition. Each chariot carried two men, one to drive and one to shoot arrows. Much later, the Egyptians changed their strategy and divided the charioteers into five squadrons, with twenty-five chariots in each and two men in each chariot: a driver and a soldier armed with bows and arrows, a shield, a sword, and a javelin. When the arrows were exhausted they had swords for close combat.[20]

The Khopesh sword

Main article: Khopesh

The Khopesh, also called the

Muslim Empires and to Eastern Europe
.

Trident

The classical

retarii, or 'net-fighters', in keeping with the historical use of the trident in fishing. These net fighters would cast the net onto their enemies and once their enemies were trapped and helpless in the net, would then use the trident to kill them or inflict serious injuries. The trident is also associated with various gods: Poseidon and his Roman counterpart Neptune were both associated with and often depicted with a trident, and the Hindu god Shiva also wields the trident.[22]

Assyrian Empire

battering rams
. Cavalry had completely replaced chariots in late 600 BCE. The King stood in the middle on a chariot flanked by bodyguards and the standing army. The archers stood in front of the king and were covered by powerful 'spearmen' and shielded carriers who fought in close combat with the enemies, then there were the heavy chariots and the horsemen who would charge into enemy lines with brutal force.

Ancient Greek weapons

Main article:
Ancient Greek weapons
Greek hoplite (left) and Persian warrior (right), fighting each other. Ancient Nolan amphora, 5th century BC.

Ancient Greece was surrounded by hostile neighbours such as Persia, and later Rome. The Greeks had adopted a different pattern of warfare and even fashioned their weapons differently. They had adopted a very strategic style of fighting, researching the strengths and weaknesses of their enemies, and developed their weapons accordingly.

Delian league; the Spartans were ready for a ground assault while the Athenians relied on their strong navy. Sensing the military might of the Athenians, the city-states and settlers of Asia Minor requested them to lead the league. The Athenians had a formidable navy; they produced an overwhelming number of warships and soldiers and in return demanded tribute from the league members. The Athenians had built dozens of warships known as triremes
to defend Greece. The crew consisted of 200 men which included the captain, ten dignitaries who may have been commanders, several archers, a few soldiers, and 170 oarsmen.

When the Persians met the Greek army they outnumbered it three to one, the Persian army consisting of infantry and excellent cavalry. Their tactics were primarily defensive since their main weapon was the bow; they were also supplied with the akinakes, a dagger-like sword. The Greeks used long spears,

breastplates. The Greeks had no cavalry at this time. As soon as the Persian army came to the battleground, the Greeks already started to charge into the enemy lines to avoid the shower of arrows. The Greek shields were so strong that they broke the spears of the Persians, much to their surprise. The long Greek spears, with sharp iron spearhead on a wooden shaft and a bronze butt-spike, helped them break enemy ranks and rout the Persian army. If their spear was broken they used their swords for close combat. Ancient Greeks brought many changes in the technology of warfare.[24]

The victories in the Greco-Persian war at

Old Oligarch
that land forces could not sustain lengthy campaigns against sea powers.

The Macedonians

Main article: Ancient Macedonians

The

ballistae, and the smaller, and more portable weapons, cheiroballistra were improved by King Philip II and Alexander the Great.[25]

The Romans

After Rome was

Italian peninsula as well as North Western Europe. The Romans never used complex weapons, instead they chose to use the more simple and unusual weapons of warfare. The armor and weapons were used under excellent supervision, great leadership and discipline that enabled the Romans to create superior military forces, both regular and irregular armies including mercenaries and allies, that were able to conquer their opponents.[26]

Swords

The gladius, one of the primary close-combat weapons utilized by the Roman military

Originating in Spain, the gladius was adopted by the Romans as one of their most commonly used weapons for close combat. Typically 30 cm in length, characterizing a short sword, the term gladius was also applied to longer swords. Though many swords were double-edged for ease of cutting, this was not always the case. In addition, the geometry of the sword's point varied over time due to changing combat styles, but all were tapered to allow for thrusting.[27] The gladius was also suitable for cutting and chopping. It was mainly used for thrusting, however, and thus had limited effect when wielded from horseback. These swords were made with an iron blade to which a bronze-covered wood, or ivory cross guard, pommel, and grip would be attached. The gladius varied in length and size as Roman soldiers of different ranks used gladius measuring around 34.5 and 64 centimeters.[28] There were other short sword variations that were classified with names other than gladius. One such example is the sica, which was about 40 cm long and had a curved tip.[29] To engage in close combat, Roman soldiers would lead with their shield protected from volleys of arrows or pila and thrust forward with their sword.[27]

Spears

In addition to short swords, Roman infantry typically carried a spear or other type of polearm. The most common was known as the javelin, a heavy spear that could be either thrown or thrusted.[30] Similar in function to the javelin was the fuscina. Although not used by the Roman military, this fork-like trident was one of the most popular gladiator weapons.[29] A version of the javelin that had a much longer and thinner tip was the pilum, which could pierce armor or shields when thrown. Several pila could be thrown to initiate combat, disrupting the structure and defense of enemy armies and providing an opportunity for close combat, where the gladius would take over. The design of the pilum allowed it to become lodged in an enemy shield. Removing a pilum from a shield was often difficult and time-consuming during combat. In fact, most were not reusable after removal.[31]

Catapults

A replica of a Greek/Roman catapult used for launching darts or large arrows

Siege warfare gave the Roman army significant offensive advantages over their enemies. Though the catapult was developed in ancient Greece, the Romans were able to replace the traditional Greek catapult made of wood making the most stressed components out of iron or bronze. This allowed for a reduction in size and also the ability to increase the stress levels to provide more power.[32] Since a detailed understanding of mathematics and mechanics was required to design the catapult, it stands as a prime example of cooperation between ancient science and technology. Additional knowledge in topics like metallurgy and machine design helped to improve the performance of catapults. One example is the addition of machine elements like springs and copper bearings.[33]

It was known that the size of the catapult's components should be proportional to the weight of its intended projectile. As a result, tables relating standard part sizes and common projectile weights were assembled, which drastically increased the efficiency and production rate of catapults.[33] The Roman catapult could be moved and operated by a single soldier, which allowed a more efficient use of soldiers and resources. These machines were torsion-powered and most were used to launch large spherical or dart-like projectiles.[32] However, more creative options were often used. These included poisonous snakes, jars of bees, and dead bodies that were infected with diseases like the plague. The catapult was versatile, and could effectively launch any projectile that fit in its launch bucket.[34]

The Romans also developed an automatic repeating catapult called the scorpion. This was smaller than other catapults but had more moving parts. The rope coils were often made of twisted bovine sinews, horsehair or women's hair. The kinetic power delivered by a catapult was dependent on the diameter of these coils, making the coil diameter the dimensional standard for power rating. This would be similar to how the caliber system is used in modern firearms.[35]

Early Middle Ages

Alaric the Goth
charging into Rome with his barbarian troops

The Barbarian tribes from Germania kept penetrating deeper into the Roman territory, some of these tribes were the Osthrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals and Franks. After the death of Marcus Aurelius, Rome became vulnerable to attacks from all directions. The Huns, a tribe said to be from steppe regions of Central Asia started to push other barbarian tribes into Roman territories, the Huns not only attacked other barbarian tribes but eventually attacked Rome. By this time the Roman Empire was divided into East and West. The Huns always fought a battle on horseback as they were not used to infantry lines. Their favourite weapon was the composite bow.[36]

Flavius Aetius forged an alliance with the Visigoths, Alans and the Vandals and provided them with Roman arms and armour to fight against their common enemy, the Huns. His barbarian filled forces defeated the Huns in 410, and the visigoths sacked Rome under the leadership of Alaric I.[37]

Military organization

After the defeat of

Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine empire held on. The barbarian kingdoms had already set up their kingdoms in place, they started the process of recruiting and the advancement of soldiers. A warrior was highly respected according to the barbarian tradition, a brave warrior was often rewarded by allotting land, titles and other benefits, and these land owners later became medieval nobles.[38]

Weapons of the barbarians

Frankish throwing axe of the 5th and 6th century AD

Many barbarians had served in the Roman army and so used similar weapons to those in that army. However, after a brief period, the barbarian tribes including the Vandals, the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Franks started to develop and make their own weapons. Archers began to fire iron-tipped arrows, the cavalry and infantry both initiated the use of longer two-edged swords. Meanwhile, the Franks used a variety of weapons, they chose not to wear their armor and instead carried more weapons. In 470 Sidonius Apollinaris recalls his first meeting with Frankish soldiers and according to him, the Franks hung their swords onto their shoulders, they also carried with them barbed lances and throwing axes. Many Frankish warriors also did not wear helmets. They carried their traditional double-edged axe and never carried any missile weapons.[39]

Amongst all the barbarian tribes,

Merovingian kingdom of the Franks became the most powerful realm in Western Europe. Most of the power was exercised by the military lords who eventually gained total control of the Merovingian kingdom in late 600 AD. Pippin II, who had gained total control of the Merovingian kingdom passed mayorships to his illegitimate son, Charles Martel, in 714. Charles Martel was responsible for modernization of the Frankish army and the defeat of Muslims at the Battle of Tours. During the battle, the Franks had carried with them swords and axes, the iron heads of their weapons were exceedingly sharp, and their axes were forged from a single piece of iron. However, by the end of the 7th century production of axes ceased as the number of skilled axe throwers started dwindling.[40]

The Byzantine armoury

During the reign of

civilized world had never seen.[41]

In around 672, an incendiary substance known as

dromons. Researchers have been unable to duplicate this substance today, ships were set alight by the Greek fire and it had the capability to kill large number of warriors inside the ship with one shot.[42]
Some of the early devices used by the Byzantines were torsion powered engines used to shoot arrows with greater intensity. The Byzantine military engineers were learning and developing more sophisticated siege weapons, and by the 10th century they had adopted engineering techniques used by the Muslims.[41]

Weapons of the Mediterranean

The Islamic world had already advanced way ahead of others in military engineering which, according to historians, was due to trade relations with China. The Islamic world had learned that the Chinese technology, was known to be superior to that of the Greeks or the Romans. Arab army generals were encouraging the use of new technology and inherited a highly sophisticated tradition of siege warfare.

The

fortresses.[44]

Chinese gunpowder weapons

Chinese people had witnessed conflicts and constant warfare all across China. Fifty years after the fall of the Tang dynasty, China witnessed five successive dynasties in the north along with a dozen small nations in the south in a short timespan. The quick rise and fall of these countries and the fragmented nature is a result of the rise of warlords towards the later half of the Tang dynasty.

In 960,

Arabic: ثلج الصين thalj al-ṣīn and the Persians referred to it as "Chinese salt" or "salt from Chinese salt marshes" (namak shūra chīnī Persian: نمک شوره چيني). From about 1000 AD it had been mostly used in the form of firecrackers, and was used to improve existing weapons (for example), attached on spears for a shock burst upon engagement, or on arrows so they can fly faster mid air or be shot off in large salvos without the need of bows. In the 12th century, the Chinese were using crude hand grenades[15]
and were starting to use the earliest forms of rockets and cannons in addition to the aforementioned firecracker weapons.

Later Middle Ages

The Normans

The

chainmail and swinging swords from horseback, made history.[47] William the Conqueror
had successfully landed with his army of Normans consisting of an infantry composed of spearmen, swordsmen, and archers in Britain to claim his authority over the throne of England, Norman cavalry was well equipped with maces, axes, swords and boiled leather armours.

Advanced warfare

Western Europe by this time had already reached a level of military sophistication, the Arabs had even started to adopt manjaniq ifranji or manjaniq firanji, the Frankish or European trebuchet, a stone-throwing engine. The Europeans were by all means trying to outclass the Byzantines, the Indians and the Arabs in siege technology.[48] The Mongols on the other hand had brought about a revolution in siege warfare. They had learned the art of making siege weapons while conquering northern China, recovering some mangonels, trebuchets and rams from Chinese engineers.

The Crusades

The Normans and the Byzantines were successful in driving out the Muslim invaders from the

Alexius I Comnenus, requested for aid from Christians, he petitioned Pope Urban II to aid the Byzantines in regaining their lost territories. Pope Urban II
summoned the Christian armies in 1095 and sent them to recapture the holy Land from the hands of the Muslims.

Not much is known about the weapons that were being produced in Western Europe at the time of Crusades, but it is evident that their cavalry used lances. The Europeans armies also used crossbows excessively, it was said to be the best known infantry weapon used by the Europeans. By the late 13th century, the power of crossbows increased, infantry weapons of the Crusaders varied in shape, sizes and quality. Apart from spears, swords and daggers, foot soldiers were equipped with an extraordinary array of pole-arms, often reflecting their place of origin. The double edged sword was extensively used by both foot knights and mounted knights.

The Islamic armies too had a sophisticated military organization, their armies consisted of the Central Asian Turkish

Persians
, were also recruited from all over the Mediterranean. Their weapons were no different from the crusaders, using daggers, axes, spears, bows and arrows. The bows were differently crafted, using multiple strips of different kinds of wood glued together to maximize the range and penetration power of said bow. Their swords also had a slightly different design, Muslim cavalry used swords for close combat and their armour was often worn beneath their cloths, to protect themselves from the sun overheating the iron pieces. Muslim troops also carried with them round and kite shaped shields.

Hundred Years War

Main article:
Hundred Years War
Battle of Poitiers 1356 shown here in a miniature from Froissart's Chronicles

The Hundred Years' War was a series of big and small wars fought between France and England from 1337 to 1453. In the year 1337, the French

Edward III denied this demand which led to a war between the two. The English had their eyes on the wool industry in Flanders
, moreover they had a stable government and efficient soldiers ready to fight the French.

During this period, most of the Europeans armies relied mainly on infantry, the infantry dominated armies were taking a toll on cavalry dominated armies. Digging ditches, constructing wagon fortresses, or flooding already marshy ground, so that the enemy could attack from only one direction, were some of the methods employed by both the armies during the Hundred Years' War.

handguns and heavy cavalry.[50]

Longbow

Main article: Longbow

The English longbow was greatly responsible for making England a major military power in the late medieval period, the English had introduced this deadly longbow during the

Crecy. The French had easily outnumbered the English. Apart from armoured knights the French army also had nearly 4,000 Genoese crossbowmen. But the English archers outnumbered the Genoese and rained arrows, the English could shoot five times faster than the Genoese crossbowmen. When the French mounted knights tried to infiltrate into the English lines, the longbowmen turned their attention to them and started to shoot, resulting in chaos. The horses started to crash into each other, cavalry was destroyed and the French army annihilated.[51] The longbow was made of a simple piece of wood, but its design was fairly sophisticated. The bow's back, the part facing away from the archer, was the more flexible sapwood, that allowed the bow to be bent more sharply without breaking or causing any further damage.[51]

Cavalry weapons

The basic objective of a cavalry knight was to charge into enemy lines and create chaos. At this time, the old shields and armours were replaced by more sophisticated and advanced shields and armour. Lances were used by the mounted knights for initial charge, after the initial charge and annihilation of the enemy front lines, the lances were discarded and swords, axes or war hammer were used for close combat.

Gunpowder weapons

The invention of gunpowder weapons revolutionized siege warfare, Gunpowder is said to have been conceived in China. It was when the Mongols, after invading China, went on to subdue Japan. Their ships sunk from being hit by a typhoon, resulting in half of their army drowning at sea. Marine archaeology has revealed that the Mongols were carrying gunpowder in ceramic pots, similar pots with ignited fuses had been shot from mechanical artillery against the Japanese defenders. Even the old Japanese paintings show the Japanese samurai defending themselves against bombs and rockets hurled by the invaders.[52]

Some historians have observed that only 14 percent of men in Europe owned guns,

matchlock gun. Though inventors came with new technology, the process of reloading after every shot was very time-consuming; by the time they were reloading the gun, the cavalry would charge and annihilate the entire unit of shooters.[54]

Early modern period

Further information:
Gunpowder warfare

Medieval weapons continued to be used during the Renaissance, such as in the Islamic gunpowder empires[55] and the English Civil War. These weapons included the guisarme, halberd, sword, mace, and partisan. The halberd was a traditional weapon used by the Swiss, consisting of an axe-blade topped with a spike, with a hook or pick on the back, on top of a long pole.[56] This weapon was mostly used by foot soldiers against cavalry. Halberds became obsolete when improved pikes started to be produced in huge numbers. Meanwhile, the partisan was introduced in England in the 14th century and was used excessively and extensively in Europe and especially in France. The original partisan was spear with small wings added below it.

The sword remained the most popular weapon during Renaissance, however it underwent many changes. Various extensions were added designed to protect the hands of its owner. The

two-handed sword was widely used in Western Europe, being employed both by the rich and the poor. The armies during this period were usually equipped with double edged swords, halberd, arquebus, crossbows and improvised axes.[57]
The Spanish tercio used pike, javelins, bucklers, arquebus and muskets. Swords were the secondary weapons for close range assaults.

saboteurs. But the Venetians thought it was not required. So he went back to Florence, and in the year 1502, Valentino chose Leonardo da Vinci as his engineer general. Leonardo sketched new devices for war, something like pointed artillery projectile, bearing very close resemblance to an aerial bomb.[58]

Siege guns

Siege of Orléans
in 1429. From Les Vigiles de Charles VII

China was the first place where cannons were used for battle. Metal cannons were manufactured and mounted on the Great Wall of China to protect it from the Mongolian hordes, the Mongols learned this technology and made cannons to invade Korea. In 1593 cannons were used most effectively in the Siege of Pyongyang, Ming warriors made cannons to fight the Japanese, the battle was won by the Ming warriors because the Japanese lacked cannons or any sort of gunpowder weapons.

During the siege of Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed the Conqueror, sultan of Turkey, ordered his Hungarian engineer, Urban to develop the biggest guns ever seen. Once these huge guns, cannons or bombards were in position, the walls of Constantinople came tumbling down. The introduction of such bombards had a profound effect on the European society, engineers started to design their walls keeping in mind the danger the walls could have when facing the newly introduced bombards.[25]

Modern period

A painting showing the Tipu Sultan's army fighting the British forces with Mysorean rockets.[59]

The use of the bayonet, beginning in the 17th century, allowed soldiers to use muskets as pikes in close combat. The

Cartridges were also invented around this time, and made existing firearms easier to load.[60]

Submarine technology gradually advanced during the 17th and 18th centuries. Early submarines were mounted with spars and powered by hand cranks. By the mid-19th century, self-propelled torpedoes started to be used. They were largely ineffective until the end of the 19th century, when electricity and internal combustion engines could make them more powerful.[61]

The ruler of the

Napoleone Bonaparte and the British Empire.[62]

In 1803, the British began using shrapnel.[63]

Rifling was invented in 1498, but it was not practical until the 19th century.[64]

As well as these advances in firearms and artillery technology, new repeating firearms began to emerge on the battlefield. As soon as matchlocks appeared, there were attempts to create non-muzzleloading firearms. Early attempts such as the

First World War
that military leaders around the world adapted new tactics to employ these weapons.

20th century

This century saw a large increase in weapons innovation, but also their ability to adversely affect the entire planet.

Chemical weapons were first used on a large scale on the battlefield in World War I, starting from 1914, despite existing international conventions that prohibited the use of such weapons.

In 1915, the first propeller plane that could safely fire a machine gun through the propeller blades was invented. This led to later dogfights during World War I.[65] Tanks were also used for the first time during World War I, but they were often slow and unreliable at first. However, they did allow more mobility in the war. Early tanks were mounted with machine guns and light artillery. Armored vehicles with wheels had been used earlier, but they could not cross trenches.[66] Tanks were used a lot more and in greater numbers in World War II.

The first weapon designed to be guided to target is the German

UCAVs
.

The first weapon confirmed to reach

V-2 rockets in 1944, which were also among the first long-range ballistic missiles. V-2 rockets also led to the Space Race and eventually the Apollo 11
Moon landing.

The first

atomic bombs were tested and used in warfare in 1945. No nuclear weapons have been used in warfare since, due to the added risk of Nuclear holocaust.[63]
They remain the most powerful man-made weapons ever built.

The first weapons designed to attack targets in space were developed by both the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War, particularly with their respective anti-satellite missiles.

21st century

This century saw increased use of guided weapons, to reduce the risk of soldier fatalities and to increase effectiveness.

The first practical

Laser Weapon System, was built by the United States Navy and installed on the USS Ponce
. It is designed to destroy fast and small targets such as simple incoming missiles, primitive fast attack craft and drones at very short distance.

There are new physical principles weapons being created using emerging technologies such as super-high frequencies or psychophysics.

See also

Footnotes

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  2. ^ a b Lombard, Marlize and Laurel Phillipson, "Indications of bow and stone-tipped arrow use 64,000 years ago in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa", Antiquity, Vol.84, No.325, pp. 635–648.
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  11. ^ "Military". World History Timeline. Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  12. ^ The Golden Chinese Archaeology; Part 2; Bronze Age of China Archived 28 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "From Copper to Bronze to Conquest". Discover Copper. copper.org. 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
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  16. ^ Edward Mcnall p. 34.
  17. ^ Edward Mcnall pp. 37–38.
  18. ^ "Medinet Habu and the Sea Peoples". Retrieved 2 October 2015.
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  20. ^ "The Chariot in Egyptian Warfare". www.touregypt.net.
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References

External sources
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