I ask the question in the title not necessarily in regard to the most destructive military advancement, but rather the most striking. That is, what has been the achievement that has separated one army or nation from its predecessor, relatively speaking?
- Was it the first use of bronze or iron?
- The use of large projectiles such as the catapult, or the long bow or the crossbow?
- Or perhaps gunpowder, or the rifled barrel – or even the fully automatic rifle?
Then again, it could be the use of air power in military conflict in the twentieth century, or the atom bomb. Then again, it could be the hydrogen bomb, ICMBs, or some other development in our future.
