mrw311 - AnthologyMain MenuIntroductionThe Gatling Gun and Machine GunsRifles and HandgunsIronclad Battleships and Torpedo TechnologyThe Boer WarsStagnation and Fear of DestructionAnxious, Fictional Accounts of the FutureBibliographyMatthew Werkheiserbaf3c422a98f36dbd4c83c180176ff0854fcbc18
The Logic of Methods of War
12016-11-27T14:11:35-05:00Matthew Werkheiserbaf3c422a98f36dbd4c83c180176ff0854fcbc18663plain2016-12-11T23:06:25-05:00Matthew Werkheiserbaf3c422a98f36dbd4c83c180176ff0854fcbc18This article by Keningale Cook for the Dublin University Magazine begins with a description of the origins of the “ethics” of warfare, beginning in the medieval period and then moving into the Victorian period. The author’s argument is that warfare itself used to be personal, such as the knight and lance. However, with the invention of rifles and cannon, distance was added into the equation, resulting in more casualties and a less personal form of warfare. The author cites the Geneva Convention of 1864, namely to highlight the inconsistencies between merciful warfare and the warfare being implemented towards the latter half of the 19th century. Ultimately, the violence of the contemporary era was far worse than that forbidden in the original Geneva Convention, thus creating a discrepancy between the evils of the current era and those forbidden earlier. The irony here being that a lot of what was considered acceptable in the contemporary era (such as the .455 Webley) would be considered inhuman in the amendments to the original Geneva Convention (and subsequently forbidden in further amendments to the Convention).
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12016-11-27T14:03:59-05:00Matthew Werkheiserbaf3c422a98f36dbd4c83c180176ff0854fcbc18Stagnation and Fear of DestructionMatthew Werkheiser13plain21432016-12-16T13:16:20-05:00Matthew Werkheiserbaf3c422a98f36dbd4c83c180176ff0854fcbc18