By the end of the Second World War the nature of warfare had changed without recognition. No longer a limited war of cavalry and infantry charges, warfare involved civilian casualties, air and naval battles, and extensive land campaigns covering hundreds of kilometres. The tactics of land war changed from quick offensive plans such as the Schlieffen Plan of World War One to the war of attrition, to the lighting fast Blitzkrieg. Acommpaging the devolpments in tactics were technological innovations such as the machine gun, and the tank.

At the beginning of WWI the expectations of the nature of warfare were vastly different to how the war actually occurred. Generals expected a short campaign and each planned to use offensive tactics . France had Plan XVII, Russia Plan 19, and Germany had the well-known Schlieffen plan. These plans all involved invading enemy territory using infantry and cavalry. The development of the...