Technology and War

Throughout modern history, and particularly since the onset of the industrial revolution, technology has had profound, if often ill understood, implications for the capacity to wage war. Nations which effectively exploited technological advances could gain significant advantage on the battlefield, while those which lagged behind might find themselves vulnerable and even defeated.

Prussia, for example, had a great advantage over Austria at Sadowa in 1866 because its soldiers carried breech-loading rifles while Austrian forces were armed with muzzleloading muskets —a qualitative difference which enabled the Prussians to achieve a six-to-one superiority in rate of fire. Such examples have made the role of technology in military capability an important and controversial issue in the defense policies of major powers.