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would carry reports or orders from one officer to another. Once the horse was domesticated messages could travel much faster. A very fast way to send information was to use either drums, trumpets or flags. Each sound or banner would have a pre-determined significance for the soldier who would respond
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Communication between armies were of course much more difficult before the electronic age and could only be achieved with messengers on horseback or by foot and with time delays according to the distance the messenger needed to travel. Advances in long-range communications aided the commander on the
42:, are conveyed from one command, person, or place to another upon a battlefield, particularly during the conduct of combat. It includes any kind of delivery of information, whether verbal, written, visual or auditory, and can be sent in a variety of ways. In modern times, this is usually done by
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Visual cues, such as flags or smoke signals required the receiver to have a clear line of sight to the signal, and know when and where to look for them. Intricate warning systems have though always been used such as scouting towers with fires to signal incoming threats - this could occur at the
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Although visual communication flew at the speed of light, it relied on a direct line of sight between the sender and the receiver. Telegraphs helped theater commanders to move large armies about, but one certainly could not count on using immobile telegraph lines on a changing battlefield.
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accordingly. Auditory signals were only as effective, though, as the receiver's ability to hear them. The din of battle or long distances could make using noise less effective. They were also limited in the amount of information they could convey; the information must be simple, such as
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tactical as well as the strategic level. The armies of the 19th century used two flags in combinations that replicated the alphabet. This allowed commanders the ability to send any order they wanted as they needed to, but still relied on line-of-sight. During the
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in which air, armor, and infantry forces acted swiftly and precisely, with constant radio communication. They triumphed until their enemies equipped themselves to communicate and coordinate similarly.
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At the end of the 19th century the disparate units across any field were instantaneously joined to their commanders by the invention and mass production of the
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Security was a problem. If you broadcast your plans over radio waves, anyone with a similar radio listening to the same frequency could hear your plans.
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Rienzi, Thomas
Matthew. "Vietnam Studies: Communications-Electronics 1962–1970. (Washington: Department of the Army, 1985.
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battlefield, for then they could receive news of any outside force or factor that could impact the conduct of a battle.
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was developed and made commercially viable. This caused a new signal occupation specialty to be developed: lineman.
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advanced, tactical voice radio could be encrypted, and large amounts of data could be sent over the airwaves in
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The earliest way of communicating with others in a battle was by the commander's voice or by human messenger. A
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132:. The first field radios used by the United States Army saw action in the Spanish–American War (1898) and the
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too complex for humans to crack without the assistance of a similar, high-tech machine, such as the German
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of voice radio. Operational and strategic messages during the war were by text were encrypted with
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to non-tactical military commands, to tactical forces by civil organizations, nor does it include
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Getting the
Message Through: A Branch History of the U.S. Army Signal Corps
128:. At first the radio could only broadcast tones, so messages were sent via
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442:. Augusta, GA: United States Army Signal Center. 2012. Archived from
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354:. Bakersfield, CA: William Penn School. 2011. Archived from
136:(1899–1902). At the same time as radios were deployed the
226:for simulation of Tactical Communication Systems
230:Joint Tactical Information Distribution System
379:United States Army Center of Military History
112:to relay information between tactical units.
8:
377:. Army Historical Series (1st ed.).
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80:Bugler in Greek Army trench during the
16:Orders and reports within a battlefield
108:the defending French effectively used
23:Lithuanian signal corps soldiers, 1930
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419:from the original on 25 August 2022
371:Raines, Rebecca R. (19 June 1996).
38:of any kind, especially orders and
429:Federal Depository Library Program
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318: This article incorporates
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331:General Services Administration
195:with more complex encryption.
1:
48:Defense Communications System
163:became the tactical part of
352:"History of Communications"
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240:Naval Tactical Data System
209:Air Defense Control Center
214:Combat Information Center
175:, allowed for electronic
147:the German army invented
219:History of communication
165:World War I cryptography
106:Siege of Paris (1870–71)
69:of Roman legionary with
462:Military communications
193:quick bursts of signals
155:The digital battlefield
134:Philippine Insurrection
116:The wireless revolution
52:strategic communication
32:military communications
28:Tactical communications
440:"Signal Corps History"
326:Federal Standard 1037C
320:public domain material
245:Electronics technician
235:Mission Control Center
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67:Historical reenactment
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339: (in support of
171:, particularly after
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40:military intelligence
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467:Command and control
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224:Network Simulator
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360:. Retrieved
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335:the original
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341:MIL-STD-188
169:electronics
143:During the
82:Balkan Wars
58:Early means
36:information
456:Categories
281:Raines, 68
272:Raines, 5.
263:Raines, 3.
251:References
177:scrambling
149:Blitzkrieg
130:Morse code
423:25 August
413:34420751M
362:25 August
34:in which
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203:See also
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187:. Once
181:ciphers
98:retreat
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