this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2024
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It has nothing to do with the weapons, and everything to do with communication. You can't coordinate a battle you can't observe, and you can't command your troops beyond the distance that a drum or bugle can be reliably heard.
The advent of the telegraph and the telephone took us from Napoleonic formations to trench warfare. Front line defensive could directly communicate with commanders, logistics, and artillery support tens or hundreds of miles away. Attacks still couldn't be coordinated very well, giving fixed defenders a strong advantage and leading to the stalemate.
It wasn't armored vehicles that brought the end of trench warfare. It was the radios in those armored vehicles. Once radios appeared on the battlefield, attackers gained the ability to effectively coordinate, and fixed defenses lost their inherent advantages.