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20,000 BCE
Humans First Used Bow/Arrow
It helped with hunting and warfare more long distance shots so you would be able to get kills from farther away. Stone Age – around 20,000 BC or 3,000 BC by Egyptians. -
3000 BCE
When Horses Were First Domesticated
Horses have performed multiple roles throughout military history; they've been used for transportation, reconnaissance missions, cavalry charges, packing supplies, and communications. -
Period: 499 BCE to 449 BCE
Greco Persian Wars
The Greco-Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. -
Period: 431 BCE to 405 BCE
The Peloponnesian War
The two most powerful city-states in ancient Greece, Athens and Sparta, went to war with each other from 431 to 405 B.C. The Peloponnesian War marked a significant power shift in ancient Greece, favoring Sparta, and also ushered in a period of regional decline that signaled the end of what is considered the Golden Age of Ancient Greece. -
300 BCE
The Development Of Trebuchet
A trebuchet is a type of catapult that uses a swinging arm to throw a projectile. The trebuchet ruled supreme for a few centuries until it was eventually replaced by gunpowder and cannons. The trebuchet were formidable against even the strongest fortresses. -
Period: 264 BCE to 146 BCE
Punic Wars
The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC. At the time, they were some of the largest wars that had ever taken place. The term Punic comes from the Latin word Punicus, meaning "Carthaginian", with reference to the Carthaginians' Phoenician ancestry. -
850
The Invention Of Gunpowder
Experimenting with life-lengthening elixirs around A.D. 850, Chinese alchemists instead discovered gunpowder. Their explosive invention would become the basis for almost every weapon used in war from that point on, from fiery arrows to rifles, cannons and grenades. -
Period: 1095 to 1492
Crusades
The crusades were a series of religious wars sanctioned by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best-known crusades are the campaigns in the eastern Mediterranean aimed at recovering the Holy Land from Muslim rule. -
1300
The Invention Of The Longbow
The longbow was invented by the Celts in Wales around 1180 C.E. but was not really used by the English military until the 1300s. The longbow is an incredibly strong piece of wood roughly 6 feet tall and 5/8 inch wide. -
1327
The Development Of The First Hand Cannon
Hand cannons were rudimentary and brutish, but they were the first firearms used during combat in recorded history. Early projectiles were crude, and the firearm’s aim was poor at best. When fired, bits of gravel or pottery would discharge over vast areas, often scattering around the intended target. -
Period: 1337 to 1453
One Hundred Years War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Plantagenet, rulers of the Kingdom of England, against the French House of Valois, over the right to rule the Kingdom of France. Each side drew many allies into the war. -
1401
The Development Of The Matchlock Gun
The matchlock was the first mechanical firing device. ... The flash in the pan penetrated a small port in the breech of the gun and ignited the main charge. -
Period: 1519 to 1521
Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire
Between 1519 and 1521, Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernán Cortés, overthrew the Aztec Empire. This event is called the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Cortés helped old enemies of the Aztecs defeat them in one of the most important events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. -
Period: to
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was a war fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. One of the most destructive conflicts in human history, it resulted in eight million fatalities not only from military engagements but also from violence, famine, and plague. -
The Development Of The First Submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. In 1620, the first successful submarine was built by Cornelius Drebbel and tested in the Thames River, where it completed a three-hour journey. -
Period: to
The English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists principally over the manner of England's governance. -
Period: to
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of major conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European powers formed into various coalitions, financed and usually led by the United Kingdom. -
The Development Of The Revolver Handgun
Revolver is a firearm that holds its ammunition in a cylinder containing multiple chambers that automatically rotate as the user fires the shots.Samuel Colt submitted a British patent for his revolver in 1835 and an American patent (number 138) on February 25, 1836 for a Revolving gun, and made the first production model on March 5 of that year -
Period: to
The Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion, which is also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion or civil war that was waged in China from 1850 to 1864 between the established Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. -
Period: to
The Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion, which is also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion or civil war that was waged in China from 1850 to 1864 between the established Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. -
The Invention Of The First Iron-Clad Warship
The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, Gloire, was launched by the French Navy in November 1859. -
Period: to
The American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North and the South. The Civil War began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people. -
The Invention Of The First Machine Gun
The first Gatling guns were used in the American Civil War. These guns were rapid-firing, but they depended on the arm of the operator to crank out the bullets. In 1884, Hiram Maxim invented the first machine gun. This weapon used the recoil from one bullet to initiate the firing of the next bullet. -
Period: to
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising, or Yihetuan Movement was an anti-imperialist, anti-foreign, and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, toward the end of the Qing dynasty. -
Period: to
World War I
World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. -
The Development Of The First Tank.
The first tank prototype, Little Willie, was unveiled in September 1915. Following its underwhelming performance–it was slow, became overheated and couldn’t cross trenches–a second prototype, known as “Big Willie,” was produced.By 1916, this armored vehicle was deemed ready for battle and made its debut at the First Battle of the Somme near Courcelette, France, on September 15 of that year. -
Period: to
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War. The Russian Civil War was to tear Russia apart for three years – between 1918 and 1921. The civil war occurred because after November 1917, many groups had formed that opposed Lenin's Bolsheviks. These groups included monarchists, militarists, and, for a short time, foreign nations. -
Period: to
World War II
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. -
The Use Of The First Atomic Bomb
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped its first atomic bomb from a B-29 bomber plane called the Enola Gay on Japanese city of Hiroshima. The “Little Boy” exploded with about 13 kilotons of force, leveling five square miles of the city and killing 80,000 people instantly -
Period: to
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union with its satellite states, and the United States with its allies after World War II. The historiography of the conflict began between 1946 and 1947. The Cold War began to de-escalate after the Revolutions of 1989. -
The Development Of The Anti-Satellite Laser
The initial efforts by the US and the USSR were using ground-launched missiles from the 1950s; many more exotic proposals came afterwards. -
When The First Hydrogen Bomb Was First Tested
The first series of thermonuclear tests conducted by the United States took place in November 1952 during Operation IVY. The first test took place on November 1, 1952 on the small Pacific island of Elugelab at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The explosion, nicknamed the "Mike Shot", was very successful. November 1, 1952 -
Period: to
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, was a mass slaughter of Tutsi, Twa, and moderate Hutu in Rwanda, which took place between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. -
Period: to
Second Congo War
The Second Congo War began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year after the First Congo War, and involved some of the same issues. The war officially ended in July 2003, when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power. -
The Development Of The M.O.A.B. (Mother of all bombs)
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB /ˈmoʊæb/, commonly known as "Mother of All Bombs") is a large-yield bomb, developed for the United States military by Albert L. Weimorts, Jr. of the Air Force Research Laboratory.