Impact on Warfare
The Battle of Gettysburg had a huge effect on the future of warfare. For the rest of the Civil War, Lee never again tried to carry out old fashioned charges like Pickett's Charge. First given a glimpse of the destructive power of the new developments in weapons, such as rifled weapons and new artillery advancements, strategies and warfare were changed forever. The new weapons changed what might have once been effective marches and cavalry offensives into shooting galleries for soldiers defending a protected position. The style and method of warfare, as well as the magnitude of the slaughter at Gettysburg, changed tactics forever.
The Civil War in its entirety, and especially the Battle of Gettysburg, marked the beginning of new tactics like trench warfare and small squad warfare, and the death of the idea of battle on an open field. The piecemeal slaughter of the famous Pickett's Charge by Union soldiers wielding new breechloading and repeating rifles showed that tactics would have to adapt to the changes.
In World War I and World War II, the tactics of trench warfare and guerilla warfare changed the who style of fighting. Especially in WWI, there was extensive building of trenches and earthworks, where soldiers would often be stuck for weeks on end, shooting at enemy trenches. The Battle of Gettysburg marked the beginning of this change.
The Civil War in its entirety, and especially the Battle of Gettysburg, marked the beginning of new tactics like trench warfare and small squad warfare, and the death of the idea of battle on an open field. The piecemeal slaughter of the famous Pickett's Charge by Union soldiers wielding new breechloading and repeating rifles showed that tactics would have to adapt to the changes.
In World War I and World War II, the tactics of trench warfare and guerilla warfare changed the who style of fighting. Especially in WWI, there was extensive building of trenches and earthworks, where soldiers would often be stuck for weeks on end, shooting at enemy trenches. The Battle of Gettysburg marked the beginning of this change.
Click here to play a simulation on fighting tactics and trench warfare in WWI