When Did Modern War Begin?

Historians do not agree on when war began to be "modern." Many date the modern era in warfare to the American Civil War (1861-1865), but, though that war was like today's wars in many ways, it did not include air war (except for observation balloons), and modern armored warfare had not yet been invented. World War I (1914-1918) led to the invention of many modern weapons and tactics, but missiles and guidance systems, which were an important part of the Persian Gulf War (1991), did not exist. Missiles were first used late in World War II (1939-1945), and modern guidance systems were developed long after the end of that war.

What all this shows is that war has changed over the years. To understand modern war and why it is so devastating, you have to look at how it evolved as well as how armies fight today. For simplicity, this chapter will assume that modern war began to develop during the Civil War.

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