How significant was the Prussian Revolution in Military Affairs?

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Martin Fox        10/11/2003        AMR

How significant was the Prussian Revolution in Military Affairs?

The Prussian Revolution in Military affairs was one of the defining points in the changing nature of warfare; it led to the change of outlook on armies, on warfare and the balance of power in Europe. The Prussian RMA resulted in the establishment of a new order in the armies of Europe; the Prussians developed a professional army alongside some of the most influential technological developments in the history of warfare. The Prussian RMA also showed some of the most efficient and professional logistics that had ever been seen, despite these apparently revolutionary changes, they had no real long-term effect on warfare, the World Wars show no direct correlation to the two World Wars as can be seen between the two and the US Civil War. Arguably, the Prussian RMA was a most substantial step in the advancement of warfare in Europe; however, it is maybe only the contribution to logistics, which makes this RMA truly significant, as the long-term effects of other aspects are minimal, for only a brief period in the 1860’s did Prussia truly change the face of European Warfare.

  • The Prussians were at the forefront of innovation in terms of weaponry, the most impressive of these was the revolutionary Needle Gun. The needle gun itself was obviously not the central factor in the Prussian Revolution in Military affairs. The needle gun itself though was indicative of the innovation shown in this extraordinary period of the Prussian RMA. The needle gun not only equipped the Prussians with weaponry which has a lot in common with modern assault rifles, it also allowed the Prussians to plan for the future when it was evident modern weaponry would change the nature of tactics.
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  • One of the most important innovations on the part of the Prussians was to concentrate on innovation in the realm of strategy and operations; it was thought the advantage in these areas was far more important than any tactical advantage. The advancement of railroads was crucial, despite early concerns about the rigidity of railroads, as they grew their comparative advantage became more apparent the Prussians made a push to use them. The Prussians first used railroads to help to control the revolution of 1848, however, the railroads let the Prussians down in May 1950 when they tried to ...

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