Nuclear weapons were first used against Japan at the end of the Second World War, with the United States dropping nuclear weapons first on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, and again three days later on Nagasaki. These attacks are the only times nuclear weapons have ever been used directly against another state, with all subsequent detonations serving as either a demonstration of might or for research purposes. Since the culmination of WWII, direct warfare between superpowers has become seemingly non-existent. Nuclear states have stockpiled upwards of 15, 000 nuclear weapons total, with some 4, 000 estimated to be operational. Why is it, then, that only the first two have been used against another state? Has the advent of nuclear weapons brought
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Whereas in wars like WWII each side wore distinct uniforms, proxy wars are often a superpower fighting to supress a rebellious uprising or something similar. Since these rebellions are not an official state, they do not need to subscribe to the same rules of war that the superpower does. This gives the uprising an advantage in that it can use its ability to impersonate the local population, which allows them the advantage of guerilla warfare. Guerilla warfare has had an extremely successful reputation in combatting superpower states, such as in the Soviet-Afghan War. It allowed the Mujahedeen to (usually) engage the Soviets on their own terms, while forcing the Soviets to commit more and more resources to try and effectively fight them. In this way, the tactical level of war has evolved from conventional warfare into guerilla …show more content…
Due to the shift in how the tactical level of war evolved, it constituted a change in how operations were planned and developed. The Soviets could no longer occupy an area and claim success, as Mujahedeen fighters would wait to fight the Soviets when given the chance, but avoid unnecessary open conflict. Operations had to be planned with an intent to shift control over each area to local governments once insurgents had been eliminated, which in itself was a difficult task. As well, they had to win over the local population so the operation could be a sustained success, and not simply fall back under Mujahedeen influence. In this way, nuclear weapons forced an evolution in how the operational level of war was
Whereas in wars like WWII each side wore distinct uniforms, proxy wars are often a superpower fighting to supress a rebellious uprising or something similar. Since these rebellions are not an official state, they do not need to subscribe to the same rules of war that the superpower does. This gives the uprising an advantage in that it can use its ability to impersonate the local population, which allows them the advantage of guerilla warfare. Guerilla warfare has had an extremely successful reputation in combatting superpower states, such as in the Soviet-Afghan War. It allowed the Mujahedeen to (usually) engage the Soviets on their own terms, while forcing the Soviets to commit more and more resources to try and effectively fight them. In this way, the tactical level of war has evolved from conventional warfare into guerilla …show more content…
Due to the shift in how the tactical level of war evolved, it constituted a change in how operations were planned and developed. The Soviets could no longer occupy an area and claim success, as Mujahedeen fighters would wait to fight the Soviets when given the chance, but avoid unnecessary open conflict. Operations had to be planned with an intent to shift control over each area to local governments once insurgents had been eliminated, which in itself was a difficult task. As well, they had to win over the local population so the operation could be a sustained success, and not simply fall back under Mujahedeen influence. In this way, nuclear weapons forced an evolution in how the operational level of war was