621 



and precision metal-working. However, between 1870 and 1895, Ger- 

 many passed the British and assumed world technological leadership. 



In Germany the advent of the railway age resulted in the iron-ore deposits 

 becoming, for the first time, economically linked with coal in that country. The 

 era of 'blood and iron' was dawning. By 1866 Prussia had replaced Austria as 

 leader of the German-speaMng peoples. Four years later, a pretest had been found 

 for war against EYance, and Bismarck's concept of a unified Germany had 

 materialized. In achieving military victories the Prussian armies were consider- 

 ably aided by their technological advantage in small arms. . . . Emergence of a 

 united Germany and its acquisition by conquest of the low-grade phosphoric 

 iron ores of Lorraine had a dominating significance in world events for the next 

 three-quarters of a century. The Gilchrist and Thomas process, invented in 

 England in 1879, permitted the first use of the iron ores of Lorraine and Luxem- 

 burg in the manufacture of steel. The new powerful and energetic Germany was 

 not long in rivalling Britain's early lead in steel production. By 1895 the British 

 output was surpassed by the German.* 



German emphasis in education was on technological skills q,nd in- 

 novation. '"The United Kingdom, on the other hand, was by then 

 lagging technologically, especially in the newer fields of electrical engi- 

 neering, organic chemical manufacture (particularly of dyestuffs) , and 

 the motor-car industry. . . . Politically, at that time, German progress 

 in arms manufacture — ^typified by the mighty Krupp works and great 

 naval yards — seemed the most serious consequence of her industrial 

 expansion." ^ 



Technological Support for Germany'' s Struggle for Power 



On the eve of World War I, Germany's energy showed itself in many 

 ways : in ambitious plans for a railroad line to the Middle East, con- 

 struction of a modern war fleet, development of African colonies, and 

 the prospect of a technological hegemony over the European Con- 

 tinent. ^^Hien the war broke out, Germany's superior technology very 

 nearly enabled her to overmatch the combination of England, France, 

 Italy, and Russia. In World War I, German submarines threatened 

 England's command of the sea. German chemistry enabled her to 

 produce synthetic nitrate fertilizer and synthetic nitrate explosives 

 to frustrate the British blockade. German metallurgical skills enabled 

 her to substitute available metals for those deemed indispensable. 



At this time. Imperial Germany led the world in most branches of 

 the physical and biological sciences, and many fields of technology. 

 Her collapse in 1918 was only partial, but the two decades that fol- 

 lowed were marred by social upheavals, runaway inflation, political 

 instability, and finally a dictatorship too erratic in its concepts to 

 exploit systematically the undoubted talents of its people in science 

 and technology. 



By the close of World War I, moreover, the industrial technology 

 of the United States — in quantity if not quality — had overtaken Ger- 

 many's. From then on, the United States assumed world technological 

 leadership and provided the standard of achievement toward which 

 the developed and developing nations of the world came to aspire. Yet, 

 even in the period of decay, after 1939, the technological gains of 

 Germany disturbed the world by the disclosure of the V-2 ballistic 

 rockets, one of the major achievements in World War II. 



8 "A History of Technology," Vol. V : The Late Nineteenth Century, 1850 to 1900, op. 

 cit., pages 820-21. 



» Ibid., pages 821-822. 



