The wars of the late nineteenth century – the American Civil War, for example and the Franco-Prussian War – were wars of the railway, the telegraph, breech-loading small arms and tinned rations. The seas were dominated by the ironclad. At the beginning of the twentieth century the Russo-Japanese War show to any who cared to learn the dominance on the battlefield of the spade, barbed wire and automatic weapons. The First World War rammed home the same lesson, in a war in which the internal combustion engine, artillery, the submarine, air power and armoured vehicles became the dominant features. The Second World War was one of worldwide mobility on land and sea and in the air, of total mobilization of population and industrial reserves, of sea power and of air forces. It ended in the shadow of the nuclear weapon. The Third World War was widely expected to be the first nuclear war – and perhaps the last. It turned out in the event to be essentially a war of electronics. | |
— General Sir John Hackett (et al) | |
From his book: “The Third World War: August 1985“ | |
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On This Day In: | |
2021 | The Correct Answer Will Be In The Form Of A Question |
Listen Up | |
2020 | Testing To Open The Economy Safely |
2019 | Or Thought I’d Thought |
2018 | Go And Dare |
2017 | And Wealth A Poor Substitute For Ability |
2016 | Neither Darkness Nor Shadows |
2015 | It Took Roots |
2014 | Hard Evidence |
2013 | Full Participation |
2012 | Roving (Again) |
Ooops, Again | |
2011 | Why Not? |
We Are Seeing The Future
May 20, 2022 by kmabarrett
i hope not
Hi Beth,
I’m afraid this ship has already sailed… Electronics – in all its variations (communication, targeting, surveillance, command and control, drones, missiles, logistics, etc) rule the day. Don’t get me wrong. There is still the actual killing (bullets and explosives) and a surprising amount of personal courage still involved, but this is one prediction (in this case, from the late 1970s) which has very much already come to pass.
Our great hope (and prayer) is the escalation in the two “future” war novels I’ve reviewed doesn’t (NEVER) happen(s). Humanity has lived on the brink of annihilation for the last 65 years. It only takes one madman and a compliant core of military officers to tip us over the edge. As the song (“Eve of Destruction”) goes: “If the button is pushed, there’s no running away.”
Like I said: “Hope and Prayers”