Title:



Warfare and Weaponry through the Ages

Leo Golden

1. Title:

History is alive and well. This message is broadcast through the study of developments in warfare and weaponry through the ages.

2. Course Content:

Regardless of what particular ‘war’ or development in warfare we study at any particular time, the following are themes which recur all the time and which provide reference points to help put the detail into context. The following list allows for the teacher or students to go deeper in the study of some topics than others, depending on time and preferences. The module can easily occupy two or three periods per week for a full TY year, again depending on the level of interest generated and resources.

1. How the face of war has changed since the Stone Age times.

a) The reasons wars have been fought – economic, political.

b) How the nature of war has changed and how tactics and offensive/defensive requirements have influenced weapons and tactical evolution.

2. The use of propaganda as an instrument of war.

a) What is propaganda?

b) How is it used – does it influence our lives today?

3. How wars have shaped the face of Europe today.

4. The role of the citizen in government policy on waging war.

a) Does the individual have a say?

b) What has happened to conscientious objectors, peace movements, anti-nuclear movements, Greenpeace, etc.?

5. Is there an alternative to war in international relations?

6. Strategic alliances of states and how effective are they? United Nations, NATO, EU, etc.

7. Is there a perfect form of government that can guarantee peace i.e. Democracy, Socialism, Communism, etc.?

3. Aims:

Generally, it is hoped that students might look to the past to explain the present but not to influence the future. More specifically, the module aims:

• To make students aware of the different systems of government and how the nature of government can lead to conflict e.g. Communism, world domination, right wing governments, etc.;

• To help students understand how modern Europe has been moulded;

• To help students become more aware of how the past has influenced the present in both a positive and negative way, e.g. Northern Ireland;

• To help understand how material aid rather than military aid can benefit developing countries.

4. Objectives:

• That history would become a more relevant subject for students and not perceived to be just about learning dates;

• To show that individuals have and can make a difference;

• To identify the role that Ballina people have had in Irish and European history;

• To teach students how to research, debate and discuss topics.

5. Explanation of topics on the course:

1. How war has changed with new weapons

Early war

New weapons – bow and arrow, horse, chariots, artillery, tactics.

Possibility of using Hannibal as an example?

2. Early Ireland – Celtic warfare

Celts V Romans – Roman organization of army as opposed to Celts. (Film – ‘Gladiator’. The opening fifteen mins shows the contrasting methods of warfare excellently)

3. Medieval times – Castle defences…Offence – siege, tunnelling, etc.

Development of siege guns, making castles obsolete.

(Film – opening or closing scenes of ‘A Knight’s Tale for jousting, something like the last 30 minutes of ‘El Cid’ for an attack on a castle. Much of ‘Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves’ and ‘Braveheart’ can be useful too.

4. Profile of two generals – Napoleon and Wellington – General Winter, General Luck, etc. Profiling the reasons for Napoleon’s military success, up to the Battle of Waterloo. (The battle scenes in the 1970 film, ‘Waterloo’ are excellent). The section from Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’ which deals with the Battle of Borodino offers great possibilities here for collaboration with the English Dept. of the school.

5. Modern war

A Study of American Civil War and Franco Prussian War – how these influenced military thinking for the First World War. There is a thorough treatment of the American Civil War in Kevin O’Donovan’s module elsewhere on this Transition Year site. The film ‘Glory’ is worth a look here and again extracts from a book like ‘The Red Badge of Courage’ could be used very productively.

6. First World War

Because of the absence of anything relating to World War I on the Junior Certificate course, I prefer to spend a couple of classes on The system of alliances – How the war began – the events of Sarajevo, June 28th, 1914, always fascinate students.

7. How trench warfare developed: The generals expected a war of movement, like the Franco Prussian War. The trench was meant to be temporary – how they evolved – secondary trenches – support trenches. How the trenches changed as the generals and new weapons sought to overrun them– how each side hoped to achieve breakthrough.

8. New weapons – tank – airplane – I like to show fifteen or twenty minutes of action from the film ‘Aces High’, to get across the idea of a dogfight.

9. The war at sea – strategic aims of both navies – the Battle of Jutland.

10. Role of Propaganda – save small nations, etc. The case study of Belgium can be useful here, though it is also worth a look at Kitchener’s recruiting drive and posters, perhaps in conjunction with the Art Dept. at the school.

11. ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is an absolute ‘must’ at this point. If you can get your hands on the original black and white version, I’d strongly consider showing it in its entirety if the class shows enough interest.

12. Second World War Film: ‘Saving Private Ryan – The opening D Day sequences are very graphic and historically accurate, taking no more than one class period to show.

13. Failure of the League of Nations – Nationalism as a constructive or destructive force. How weapons changed – Blitzkrieg – the jet age – submarine – old and new weapon.

14. Modern day war. The future of sea power – means of carrying on war – Gulf War.

Air power – the weapon of the future.

15. Man and war – special forces, their training and the role they played – SA, SS, Commandos, Paratroopers – covert warfare – SAS, code breakers…(Excerpts from the film ‘Enigma’ or something about modern war like ‘Brave Two Zero’ would be appropriate hee).

16. Has war stabilized Europe – Is the UN effective? Depending on circumstances, the role of the UN in current affairs issues like the US-Iraq conflict can be highly relevant and interesting for students.

17. Ireland and its involvement in wars.(Book – ‘The Fighting Irish’) –role of Irish soldiers in continental armies – Waterloo –

18. First World War – Connaught Rangers – strong ties to Ballina. We examine the involvement of local people in the First and Second World Wars, other wars if possible. This can be done in most towns and communities in Ireland.

19. Parks Castle, Sligo. This is an opportunity for an excellent, cross-curricular field trip, incorporating the poetry of Yeats, recited to us by the boatman who takes the group across the lake to the castle, and the expertise of our Construction Studies teacher who comes and explains the builing methods and design features of our nearby castle.

20. A visit to ambush site, Irish Civil War.

21. Nuclear War, Star Wars, etc. An opportunity for us to consider where the future of war lies, with infinite possibilities for using material from the Star Wars films etc.

6. Assessment

students are asked to do a project on a topic of their choice – either a person, an event or a concept, or build a model e.g. castle (Woodwork link-up)

7. Links with other subjects

English – Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’, as mentioned, and countless other works of literature can be very valuable assets in teaching this module with the assistance of the English Dept. Modern works, such as ‘Birdsong’ or ‘The Siege’ can be excellent and more readable than classics.

Trip to Parks Castle, right beside Yeats Country, as already mentioned.

Construction Studies – structure of castle – defence of towns (site and situation)

Religious Education – Morality of War – rules of engagement – Geneva Convention

8. Methodology of course

This course is flexible, enabling teachers to focus on their own areas of interest. It is flexible enough to dwell on areas that students have an interest in. The use of video, literature, model-making, field studies etc gives the module great variety and helps maintain student interest levels.

It allows students through their project to pursue their own area of interest.

Finally, it shows that History is not just learning about the past – it helps them understand that the past influences the present and future, and that History is about people who have influenced events for the better or worse.

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