Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Shallow men believe in luck or circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” The need for firearms didn't arise overnight, the military has required terrible weapons for so long. Firearms have been around for more than a thousand years, not only have they influenced warfare but also society in general. They have modified armies around the world and brought about an era of low-cost warfare. The first cartridge magazine was probably used as early as 1400 and was actually a small cannon (Maiorino, 2006, p.107). In the 19th century the military required breechloaders that fired cartridges, this led to the invention of many different types of sliding bolt, tilting barrels, breeches, trapdoors and falling, rotating and tilting breeches (Maiorino, 2006, p.111). .The innovation of the breech-loading rifle and machine gun gave Euro-African armies a significant advantage in battle. Breech-loading rifles were noticeably faster than the old muskets. Instead of loading and packing wadding, musket ball and gunpowder, a cartridge could be inserted into the breech, the weapon could be fired and then reloaded, constantly (Maiorino, 2006, p.108). The machine gun allowed for a quicker way of destroying enemies. Repeating rifles were produced in large quantities at the time of World War I (Maiorino, 2006, p.137). They were very useful for targeting troops in trenches from long distances with greater precision (Maiorino, 2006, p.131). The aim was to shoot down enemy fighters. Soldiers were able to fire a fair amount of shots at a time, as they pulled the bolt back to discharge the gun... middle of paper... machine guns brought about a revolution, they changed the way of doing ways in which they were wars fought. To prevent mass killings, wars became more strategic. Armies didn't have to line up on a field and shoot each other, they could use protective measures. The Maxim machine gun completely revolutionized the future of firearms and had a significant effect on society. The machine gun is a great invention that has the power to build or tear down a society. Automatic weapons come in all shapes and sizes, from pistols and assault rifles to machine guns mounted on vehicles and aircraft (Maiorino, 2006, p.227). Old guard weapons were slowly replaced by firearms because they were inexpensive. Not only did they expand the battlefield for soldiers, they had a radical effect on the nature of armed conflict, from the distances at which armies fought to the types of injuries suffered..