The 20 th century marked the beginning of industrial revolution which also marked the age in which technology exponentially grew. This is arguably thanks to the major wars that were experienced in that century. Fortunately, or unfortunately, both of the biggest wars in the world, i.e. World War I and World War II, took place in the 20 th century. These wars were so intense that they saw different new types of technological revolutions being introduced and used during battle. They marked the age of modern wars. World War I is certainly the first ever modern war. Compared to other wars, several military developments were witnessed during the World War. Despite the war’s reputation as being the most senseless bloodbath whose military operations were not intelligently thought through, the period during which the war was fought also goes down as the largest revolution in technologies and tactics used by the military. Before the war, no standard battlefield operations existed. However, after 1918 when the war ended, almost all battlefield operations used in the war remain valid until date. New weapons were also introduced during the war and are only being advanced as time goes (Hüppauf, 2010) . The emergences of World War I are, therefore, what is recognized as the modern war. Military advances that have been done after 1918 are merely advancements on the efficiency or concepts of ideas brewed during the first modern war. This paper will highlight the new concepts introduced during World War I and prove why it is the first modern war. This will be done by comparing it to the Napoleonic Wars that ended in the early 19 th century
The Main Paradigm Shifts
A paradigm shift refers to the adjustment in how people think and the basic assumptions about an idea. Most of the time, it refers to a revolution that reflects complete metamorphosis. The first major paradigm shift in war happened when the gun powder was introduced in the 15 th century. During World War I, three major paradigm shifts took place that completely changed how wars are fought.
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The first paradigm shift was seen in the way animal muscle power was abandoned and soldier began using machine power. The primary motive force in war became guns and bullets. Before World War I, horses had dominated as the primary motive force in different wars as they not only provided mobility and speed but was also a means of transport. This is not to say that horses were not used in World War I. However, as the end of the war approached in 1918, the number of horses being used in the battle field had significantly gone down. The transition did not take place in a snap as one would thing. However, the mature phase of the transition phase peaked during World War I (Keegan, 2014) . At the beginning of the transition, steam engines began being used together with railroads. The invention of the internal combustion engine sped up the transition and put it on full gear. The combustion engine allowed for the invention of the tank and introduction of combat aircraft that were heavier than air.
The second paradigm shift was marked by the ushering of the aircraft. This made war be viewed in three dimensions instead of two. Traditional wars such as the Napoleonic Wars were only fought in two dimension planes. In traditional wars, the person that held the high ground held the advantage over the opponent. The introduction of the aircraft meant that the sky was made the high ground. It was not enough for troops to dominate the horizontal space that the range of weapons could reach. The vertical space had to be factored in too. Fighting in the air meant that the battle could also be above the sea. The submarine was then introduced which extended the dominance of spaces to below the surface. With the invention of the submarine, ship of the line battleships became obsolete.
The final paradigm shift involved the inclusion of depth in World War I. the Napoleonic Wars were decided through contact of soldiers who fought and interacted physically. The invention of aircraft, submarines, and long-range firearms that allowed for fire to be controlled and targets to be accurately sited from a far made it possible for an enemy to be attached fom deep within. However, those with aircrafts were tasked not only with attacking the front and rear lines of their enemies but also defending their own fronts. This made World War I one of the most complicated wars. Not a single war before 1914 had seen several endless possibilities and a lot of moving parts on the chess board. Synchronizing all these movements also proved to be difficult. There was a need to come up with modern communication equipment that would make all these pieces move in synchrony. Rapid communication systems were built to cut down the time taken for reaction and also make the decision cycles fast. We can compare the Napoleonic Wars to a standard game of chess and World War I to a multi-level chess game in which 15 pieces are being moved at once.
Communications
Synchronization and coordination are important aspects in any war. The Napoleonic Wars had simple structures and, hence, the communication systems used at that time were just as simple. However, in modern way, it is important to have fast and efficient communication systems that makes synchronized fire and maneuver possible. For a modern war to be prosecuted effectively, the communication systems need to be stellar. The current communication systems, most of which are based on radio, did not exist totally prior to World War I. In fact, radio technology started being developed as World War I was being fought. It was not fully utilized well because it was still at its infancy stage. Telephone wired communications and Morse code were the prevalent means of communication at that time.
Before, in wars such as the Napoleonic Wars, non-electronic communication means were the most common means of passing information. These means had been used for thousands of years before World War I revolutionized communication in war and ultimately, in the world (Neiberg, 2016) . During the Napoleonic wars, primitive communication techniques such as messengers on foot and even mounted messengers were common. Despite the high casualty rates, the system found ways of getting the message to the intended recipient. For instance, multiple messengers were sent out with the same message and this would increase the probability of the message getting delivered. Furthermore, pigeons and messenger dogs were utilized although they also had their own inefficiencies.
Conclusion
After World War I, advances in communication technology rapidly picked up and by the time World War II came, the basis of the technology that is being used today was already in place. Radio communication made it possible for units to spread over large areas and still effectively communicate and synchronize their operations. Most of the military artillery that is currently in use was also developed during World War I. As seen, not a lot of inventions on weapons has been done since then. Military weapons are basically being incrementally innovated to be more efficient ever since the first modern war. This makes World War I the first of its kind in the current generation of wars.
References
Hüppauf, B. (Ed.). (2010). War, violence and the modern condition (Vol. 8). Walter de Gruyter.
Keegan, J. (2014). The first world war . Random House.
Neiberg, M. S. (2016). The path to war: how the First World War created modern America . Oxford University Press.
