Military Engineering and its Impact on War

Military engineering can be traced back to its origins in the defensive frameworks in the fort hills constructed in Europe during the late Iron Age. One of the earliest feats of Military Engineering was the Great Wall of China, which was built in the 3rd century B.C. to protect the Chinese against the barbarians to the north.

The ancient Romans were the preeminent engineering people of the ancient western world. They constructed a vast network of roads and aqueducts within their empire and various guard towers and forts to protect their many settlements. The Romans also effectively used siege craft such as catapults, battering rams, and ballistae. As the ages wore on, castles became a commonplace site in Europe, as armies clashed in bigger and more savage conflicts. Many castles were strongholds, allowing the defenders, for the most part, to hold off attackers through the many advantage points the castle provided while the castle itself proved an overwhelming obstacle for the attackers to capture. The castle was steadfast as it contained ton after ton of stone, which was nigh impossible to impregnate without weakening the supports by tunneling underneath the fortifications

As the 16th century opened, the invention of gunpowder came about. Along with that was the mighty siege cannon, allowing attackers to smash through walls with relevant ease. Adjusting to this new machine, engineers used the idea of the “sunken profile,” which protected walls from artillery bombardment. In the 17th century, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban of France perfected the defensive engineering against artillery and his plans were handed down for generations to succeeding military engineers around the world. Following the Napoleonic Wars, military enginee...

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...ir dominance. After only a few decades have passed and another American ship entered Japanese harbors, the industrialization of Japanese inventions skyrocketed. They were no longer simple weapon savages; they were now modernly equipped, well trained soldiers just as the Americans were. Through the use of studying other cultures and innovating their own designs, the Japanese had become an economical and military powerhouse within a span of just a few decades. No one had anticipated the effectiveness of the small island nation, but through their industriousness and determinacy, the Japanese were able to catch up to the modern countries as well as surpass them in the coming century.

The profession of military engineering has been a huge impact on the use of warfare for ages. Without the engineering advancements made, warfare would still be in its bow and arrow days.