Don’t Look Them in the Eye, Just Kill Them

American M142 HIMARS during an exercise in Latvia, 2 December 2023

Robots may indeed be fighting our wars for us sometime in the future. Yet in all likelihood, UAVs, artillery and fortifications of the early 20th century will be key to any upcoming war in our region

Generals are fond of saying that one has to prepare for the next war rather than the last one. One would be hard-pressed to disagree. Once we take a closer look at the history of armed conflict, one trend stands out: the distance at which humans are capable of mutual slaughter has been growing for thousands of years. At one time, it was necessary to look the enemy in the eye in close sword combat, and a successful strike could spray the attacker in the enemy’s blood. During the war in Afghanistan, on the other hand, American forces used MQ-Reaper UAVs to strike targets hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from their base. The tactic even earned its own abbreviation moniker: OTH, Over The Horizon. While Reaper operators would later often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, they were exposed to no threat during the mission itself.

“The more modern and technologically advanced the army, the fewer troops armed with proverbial bayonets are out there on the frontlines. Many more are in the rear – the absolute majority of troops will never see the enemy. They are the logisticians, pilots, artillerists and communication specialists”, historian and military analyst Norbert Bączyk told DGP Magazine. “Backed by powerful reconnaissance and steamroller attacks, you don’t need a huge frontline army to win. Truth be told, infantry troops don’t have any fighting to do – their only job is to seize their enemy’s destroyed positions. Having spotted the enemy before, their fellow soldiers have handled all the destruction for them. This is how modern armies work, how the US operates”, the expert explained.