MILH536 The American Revolution

Limited Warfare Revolution: Rise of mercantilism, balance-of-power politics, establishment of colonies; drill, discipline, battle culture of forbearance

I would like to have introduction related to the subject, thesis statement and coherent paragraphs argument to support the thesis.

Introduction

The Revolution in Military Affairs or RMA is a theoretical hypothesis that concerns the warfare future and mostly associated with the organizational and technological recommendations for changing the Military of United States. The primary claim of the RMA is that within certain periods of time, there are new tactics, strategies and doctrines which have the potential of bringing an irreversible change within the warfare conduct. Therefore, these changes may also require adaptation of new strategies and doctrines. RMA is often associated with the transformation and system integration of the United States Military. However, many theorists utilize this term for referring to the technological revolution which acts as a driving force for the change, on the other hand, some theorists refers to the radical adaptations which are necessary for dealing with the technological revolutions.

Insight into military revolution

Under the leadership of Michel Roberts, the military field experienced a radical change in the governmental tactics of dealing with the European War. Although the happenings were of 1950, Michael focused on safeguarding the Swedish empire from the firearms. The reason behind this is maximization of the firearms in Sweden, which compelled the historians to think about the massive consequences, which occurred in the form of revolution. Typical components of the revolution were training the troops to make efficient and judicious utilization of the weapons. This training was thought to stabilize the consistency of the armies in terms of tackling the political, social and economic attacks from the enemy countries. In view of this scenario, the thesis statement of the essay is to speculate the economic, political and social factors, which took essential position in the military revolution. This paper also places the argument that the 18^th century limited war can be seen in the light of new progresses in the military doctrines which later paved the path for the real revolutions such as American and French revolution. The primary features of this war period can be discussed through the following aspects. 

How and why the revolution changed warfare

Answering this segment bears resemblance with exploring how the advent of gun powder compelled the United Government to think about restructuring the army. The main objective of this segment, therefore, is to project the social, political and economic factors and consequences, which transformed the entire situation of warfare.

Political parameter

Here, development of the naval forces gains an important position. Along with this, formation of modern European colonies is essential for speculating the political parameter. The political segment can be divided into land based and sea based. This division is similar to the separation of medieval from the modern colonies. This necessitated the need for forming strong and flexible military. As a matter of specification, increase in the use of fierce weapons projects the need for revolution. The vision was to prepare the new army more flexible than the earlier ones. The essential attribute in this direction was discipline, which defined the army. Governmental support was in full swing, however, maintenance of such an army was a tedious and complicated task as there was escalation in the number of bureaucracies, treasuries, taxations and loan payments. Michel was of the view that adoption of balance of power politics would act assistance in forming a modern state. Determined attitude led Michel to take stance in favour of four changes, which were the major drive behind the military revolution. One of the common aspects of these changes was the application of tactics. Tactics helped the armies to reuse the discarded cavalry. It was this tactics, which expanded the scope and arena of the military. Again, it is through tactics, which formed keystone in helping the armies to undertake strategies for projecting huge armies. Moreover, it was the tactical application, which posed as the cornerstone in planning the additional resources needed for fighting the war. These changes individually are the examples of parameters of political, social and economic.

Decline of the cavalry gave rise to infantile revolution, which exposed the public to different formations of the armies. For the convenience of the armies, they were instructed to make shallow formations. The architecture of the castles to be conquered was an additional assistance. The thick walls in the shape of the stars were flexible enough to ensure the secure the safety of the defenders from open attacks of fire. Here, trace italienne is appropriate in terms of introducing canons in the Italian threshold through invading the French colonies. Shallow to thin formations of the armies reflects the application of oriental tactics towards confronting the attacks of the opposite enemies.

Pondering on the economic aspect, the charges for constructing such massive fortresses for secret firing on the enemies was sky-rising. Mention can be made of the plan to invade Rome, where bastions were needed. High prices of the bastions, 10,000 pounds resulted in rejection of the plan. In modern times, this amounts to almost 4 million pounds, which is a huge strain over the economy. Along with this, bankruptcy deprived the armies of secured fortress, which resulted in their tragic fate. On the other hand, Dutch armies were conscious about financing for the fortress. Practice of mercantilism enabled the Dutch forces to conquer 100,000 pound for taking shelter in the fortresses of Antwerp. Netherlands had to bear more than 1 million charges for constructing the fortress required for providing protecting shelter to the armies. The major drive behind this financial crisis was the re-introduced tax reforms and renewed network chain of the government.

The story was similar for the sea based military. The creation of the naval forces can be considered as an addition in the security of the forces on land. Typical evidence of this fact lies in the presence of gun power in the ships in the era of 1500.

The social parameter relates to the impact of the military revolution on medicine, education and science. Science and medicine can be correlated in terms of the new medicines, which were available for curing the wounds of the soldiers. Along with this, hospitals were built for providing the necessary treatment to the injured soldiers. Apart from this, medical schools were constructed for providing medical education to the doctors regarding the best ways of medication. An evidence of its reality is the mass vaccinations for small pox for the soldiers in 1789. Along with the medical schools, army schools were built for imparting the basic military skills to the young boys.

Concluding remarks

Insight into the military revolution takes the readers back to the historic times. It acts as nostalgia for the people, who have witnessed the revolution. For the children, the widespread effects of the revolution enhance their preconceived historic information. Viewing it from the other perspective, these benefits reflect development of the society not only in the threshold of United States, however, in the whole world in terms of warfare. Establishment of the schools is an attempt to train the future generation towards creating a better place to live in. Military education is the best way to inculcate discipline in the lives of the children in order to become successful in their future lives.

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