The importance of communication

Communication between military units it's one of the most important factor during a war.
Without the possibility of communication, troops become vulnerable to the enemy. Messengers
have been employed in war since ancient times and still constitute a valuable means of
communication. Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar each developed an elaborate system of relays
by which messages were carried from one messenger post to another by mounted messengers
traveling at top speed. They were thus able to maintain contact with their homelands during their
far-flung campaigns and to transmit messages with surprising speed.
Genghis Khan at the close of the 12th century not only emulated his military
predecessors by establishing an extensive system of messenger posts from Europe to his Mongol
capital but also utilized homing pigeons as messengers. As he advanced upon his conquests, he
established pigeon relay posts across Asia and much of eastern Europe.
He was thus able to use these messengers to transmit instructions to his capital for the
governing of his distant dominions. Before the end of the 18th century European armies used the
visual telegraph, system devised by Claude Chappe, employing semaphore towers or poles with
movable arms. Despite the early pioneering efforts on land the real development of signal
communication in war did not come until after invention of the electric telegraph by Samuel F.B.
Morse. In his successful demonstration of electric communication between Washington, D.C.,
and Baltimore in 1844, he provided a completely new means of rapid signal communication.
The development of the Morse Code of dots and dashes used with key and sounder was
soon used to augment the various means of visual signaling. The first application of the telegraph
in time of war was made by the British in the Crimean War in 1854, but its capabilities were not
well understood, and it was not widely used. During the American Civil War, the Union was able
to communicate much better than the Confederacy thanks to the electric telegraph, allowing them
to distribute troops and resources with more efficiency.
During battle operations the troops that are able to communicate between each other are
more efficient and more agile in combating the enemy. During World War 1, both sides used
every possible way of communication, from telegraph lines, to pigeons. On the morning of
October 2, 1918, the 77th Division was ordered to move forward against a heavily fortified
German line as part of a massive American attack in the Meuse-Argonne region. Whittlesey
commanded a mixed battalion of 554 soldiers, who advanced forward through a ravine. Because
the units on their flanks failed to make headway, Whittlesey's troops were cut off from their
supply lines, pinned down by German fire from the surrounding 200-foot (61 m) high bluffs.
Due to the lost of communication with the HQ, their position was often bombarded by friendly
fire.
During World War 2, when the first tank battalions were formed, most countries didn't
equip their tanks with radio stations. Germany was the first country who equipped their tank
battalions with radio stations, thus allowing them to move swiftly on the battle ground and to
conquer France and most of Europe. Today, communication between troops it's still one of the
most important factor of winning a battle, modern technology allowing it to be more fast and
safe.