Fighters and bombers
Aircraft were first used in the First World War to spot enemy artillery positions. Fighter planes were invented soon afterwards, followed later in the war by the first bombers. During the Second World War, mass bombing of cities caused them to blaze like huge bonfires. In 1945, a single atom bomb dropped by the Allies on the Japanese city of Hiroshima killed or injured 130 000 people. Modern bombers and fighters are fitted with computer that navigate at supersonic speeds and calculate the positions of targets while on the move.

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Siege mentality
In medieval times, town and castles were built with heavily fortified stone walls, towers, and walls within walls, to make them easier to defend, but attackers found all kinds of ways to breach the walls.

Own Goal
Underwater warfare began in the 19th century. The effective submarine attack was made in 1864, during the Confederates H.L Hunley fired a ram torpedo and sank an enemy ship. Unfortunately, the explosion blew up the submarine, too.

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When was gunpowder invented?
Gunpowder is made by mixing saltpetre (potassium nitrate) with sulphur and powdered charcoal. A formula was published in AD 1044 in the Chinese Complete Compendium of Military Classics. In the 12th century, the Arabs used gunpowder to fire arrows from guns. Cannon, in which gunpowder is used to fire a cannonball, were in use in Europe from 1326.

Machine-age war
The machine gun, invented in 1884 by an American engineer called Hiram Maxim, eventually ended the supremacy of cavalry on the battlefield as horsemen were mown down in droves. During the First World War, the tank, an armour-plated gun turret mounted on caterpillar tracks, made its first appearance. The name 'tank' was a codeword invented by British officials, who wanted to keep their new weapon a secret. They hoped people would think they were talking about a water tank.

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WARFARE HISTORY

Stone Age men hunted with flint axes and club, which they sometimes used for fighting each other, too. The development of metalworking led to finer weapon with sharper cutting edges. Ancient Mesopotamian soldiers wielded bronze swords and spears, and tougher, more damaging weapons made of iron appeared around 1000 BC. Wars tend to be won by the side that has the more advanced weapons.

When did people first ride horses in battle?
Horses were first tamed around 2000 BC by nomads on the Asian steppes. Long afterwards, these warrior horsemen struck terror into neighbouring civilisations and their riding skills were copied by their enemies. Egyptian pharaohs went into battle in horse-drawn chariots, and the Roman army included cavalry. The invention of stirrups around AD 400 allowed cavalrymen to carry lances and swords. By the Middle Ages, mounted knights fought in heavy chainmail, plate armour and visored helmets.

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Mass production
Factory output speeded up considerably when manufacturers adopted mass-production methods. The motor magnate Henry Ford pioneered this system in the United State. Instead of using skilled craftsmen to make a car from start to finish, he employed teams of worker to put together standardised parts. Each worker did the same or two simple jobs on every car as the vehicles came past on a moving assembly line. The Model T Ford was launched in 1908, and 15 million are made in the next 19 years. Mass production meant that the 'Tin Lizzie', as the Model T was called, became cheap enough for ordinary families to afford. There was little variety in design, though. Ford said that the customer could have any colour so long as it was black.

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