I know that I am bringing this up again, but it seems that the battle between trying to develop a shield against weapons and weapons that can penetrate that shield is timeless. It all started when man developed clubs. Other men would use their clubs in such a way as to block blows. The clubs grew into axes and spears and blocking was now done by shields. To pierce the shields the ancient greeks developed extremely long spears that could be used from as far away as 9 feet. These were used by hoplites, this was a Spartan infantry foot soldier. As the enemy was forced forward by those behind them the pressure would pierce many of the different shield types used. The Greeks used bronze shields to prevent piercing. Also developed was a metal helmet and breastplate. Various weapons were developed that could pierce this stuff and when the knights of the middle ages became covered with armor, it was easily pierced by the cross bow and by the composite Mongol bow, but the Mongol bow had a decided disadvantage, it couldn't be used in the rain, because it would fall apart as the glue that held it together liquefies. The English longbow could also pierce armor.

Armor started out being made from almost anything, horn, rawhide, wood then bronze, iron and steel. Skins and leather were used and as weapons became deadlier and sharper, bronze and later chain male came into use. Chain male was just tiny iron rings made into a shirt. It was better than nothing, but certain thrusting sword strokes would separate and penetrate it. This was replaced with iron armor plates and scales. Steel was around in the ancient world before even Alexander the Great. As a matter of fact, it is said that India presented Alexander with 100 talents of Indian steel as a tribute. It is amazing that this invention took so long to reach the western world. The best armor was made as gunpowder was coming into use and armor became practically useless. This sort of reminds me of the Jules Verne story, From the Earth to the Moon. In the beginning of the story Verne shows the competition between a munitions maker and an armor maker. Each time the armor is improved to withstand a cannon blast, the munitions maker comes up with a more powerful munitions that destroys the new armor. That is sort of what is going on with us right now. There is really no lasting advantage that we have gotten from weapons development yet. We do sometimes get a short period where our weapons and protection are superior, but that only spurs everyone else to develop better weapons to destroy our defenses or to use their spies to steal our secrets.

The American Civil War saw many devastating new weapons being developed. Besides huge cannons and repeating rifles, the Gatling gun was developed. This was a fearsome weapon that changed the face of war. Entire regiments would be mowed down trying to charge a fixed position. While this was a northern weapon, the south had its version of a machine gun. This gun was the first machine gun ever to be used in combat. It was the Williams breech loading rapid fire gun. It fired one pound projectiles at up to 2,000 yards. The gun crew consisted of 3 men. The gun could fire 65 rounds per minute or better than 1 per second. It had a crank that you had to turn. Here is how it worked. One soldier turned the crank, one placed a cartridge into the gun and the other placed a percussion cap into it. The gun was prone to overheating at times. To defend against rushes of charging soldiers, devices were used called Chevaux-de-frise. The were made of wood with sharpened spikes that could impale soldiers trying to get over them and also slow them down to make them easy targets for snipers.

Mighty USS Connecticut In 1908
Photo Source: US Navy

We know that the South had a pretty advanced submarine for the time. It was the Huntley. The North really had no defense against it and the ships it attacked would not have been able to lower their guns enough to hit it if it got close. Lucky for them that it was not fully perfected. Many crews died taking it out and yet there was no lack of volunteers. Most of the cannons of the time could only be defended against by getting out of the way of their shells. As weapons progressed so did defenses. On the seas, battleships were the pride of every navy in World War I. They were protected by thick steel belts that went around their hulls. Their offensive power was also staggering as huge naval cannons were mounted on them, but even the mighty battleship was a target for the new submarine fleets. Yeah it seems that nothing we build is impervious, no matter what we are told. This war was to see the first tanks. Some of them were small and some much larger. The British fielded a monster that could cross a large trench, but was slow and not very dependable. It was hard to stop with the weapons of the time, however.

It was only a little over 21 years before we were at it again. This time the weapons were a lot deadlier. The ships were bigger, the cannon bigger, the tanks heavier and the small arms a lot more dangerous. Planes and bombs were also a lot larger and there were missiles that could zoom to their targets so fast that they couldn't be detected. To defend themselves, the people in the cities that were being bombed went underground. Radar was invented as a sort of shield. It gave some time to prepare, since you could see an attack coming by air ahead of time, giving you a chance to launch your planes to meet it. It began to appear on large ships, allowing them to fire on enemy ships without even being able to see them visually. The Germans built huge fortifications in Europe hoping that they would protect their soldiers from being destroyed during an invasion. They also felt that this would allow them to repel such a force. Some of the strongest fortifications ever built, were built at this time. Needless to say, they didn't work. Nuclear weapons were invented by the U.S., but it wasn't long before the Soviet Union and several other countries had them.

Moving along to the current time period, today we live in a world where you can buy a powerful weapon known as an RPG for only $5.00 in some places. This explosive is strong enough to knock down a helicopter or destroy trucks and Hummers, not to mention what it can do to a foot soldier. The British have invented a system, that is said to be able to shield an armored car from RPG fire. It is electronic and is powered by a generator in the vehicle. Electrodes are built into the walls of the vehicle and if a shell from an RPG hits the vehicle, it is melted instantly without penetration. Tests have shown that even after being hit 7 or 8 times by RPGs, these vehicles survive without any damage. Ships at sea now all face a threat that is truly daunting. This is the new rocket propelled torpedo. It currently travels at hundreds of miles per hour and is capable of double that speed. If you fire one at a ship from a few thousand feet away, it hits its target almost instantly, there is no time for the crew to react. Our fleet is in serious jeopardy today, regardless what you have been told. Our enemies love this weapon because it will sink a carrier before it can even get one plane off. Then there are the new ship to ship missiles. Launch enough of them at once and you can over power the defenses of a ship. On the defensive end, there are rapid fire guns on big ships designed to shoot down incoming missiles, but if just one gets through, the ship could be finished.

New suits are being designed to protect our soldiers from stronger and deadlier weapons and more powerful weapons designed to defeat them. Planes that have no pilots are now making more flights over Iraq than ones that do and they are capable of carrying powerful bombs and other munitions. Many countries are digging very deep bunkers to protect themselves and we are trying to develop a bunker buster bomb that can reach them. We wanted a nuclear one, but the President caved to the public outcry from other countries and said he wouldn't build it. Is this the truth, who knows? We have decided to build a missile shield. It is based on a concept that has not worked during tests. Oh some will say that it has, but the truth is it didn't work very well shooting down real missiles even when it knew where they were being launched from, so to save themselves from embarrassment, they switched to simulated computer tests where it miraculously did much better. Even if it was perfect, it could only hit a couple of missiles maximum, so it would be worthless against an attack by a country. We also decided to tweak Russia's whiskers by stating that we must install it in former Soviet run countries. This has started another missile race, only this one is in defensive anti missile missiles. Russia is developing not only an improved anti missile, but a missile designed to break through any anti missile shield. China is also working on an anti missile as is Israel.

So there you are, everything we build that is a weapon or anti weapon spurs a weapons race. Are we doomed to just keep improving weapons until some day we decide to use them and erase ourselves from this planet? Why can't we learn from the mistakes of our past, are we stupid? It sure looks that way. We could all be living in a paradise, if we had spent the money used for weapons and anti weapons on the people of this planet. Will some advanced race, find a burned out cinder in space where our planet used to be and wonder what went wrong? Will they even be capable of believing that a race could be so stupid as to destroy themselves? I guess these questions will just have to wait for future events for their answers.