History Main / WarfareRegression

* As both sides were able to negate the other's advantage in both armored and air combat, the UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}n invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} has turned into trench warfare over a long front in the East of Ukraine since late 2022. Artillery dominates the battlefield and causes the most casualties, not unlike UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Though this time there's also {{attack drone}}s and ballistic missiles.

* As both sides were able to negate the other's advantage in both armored and air combat, the UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}n invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} to turn to trench warfare over a long front since late 2022, where artillery dominates the battlefield and causes the most casualties, not unlike UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Though this time there's also {{attack drone}}s.

* The capacity to neutralize each other's air forces with long range AntiAir missiles has caused the UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}n invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} to turn to trench warfare over a long front since late 2022, where artillery dominates the battlefield and causes the most casualties, not unlike UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Though this time there's also {{attack drone}}s.

* The capacity to [[AntiAir neutralize each other's air forces]] has caused the UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}n invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} to turn to trench warfare over a long front since late 2022, where artillery dominates the battlefield and causes the most casualties, not unlike UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Though this time there's also {{attack drone}}s.

** Military commanders originally idealized the rifle and bayonet, believing that waves upon waves of soldiers armed with this combination would go charging towards the enemy, firing well-aimed shots before switching to melee combat when they got close. This rarely happened. Even when soldiers survived long enough to reach enemy trenches, rifles with fixed bayonets were much too long to be effectively used in those tight quarters. Instead, soldiers turned to much cruder weapons, using large knives, short swords, clubs (often made deadlier with nails or barbed wire), and even brass knuckles when it came time to fight hand-to-hand.

* ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' has "Holtzman fields", which radically changes war. Artillery is obsoleted, most projectile weapons can't penetrate the field, and even lasguns can't be used due to "explosive pyrotechnics". As a result, ground combat is relegated to sword combat. The exception is found on the titular planet -- shields attract {{Sand Worm}}s, and as such can't be used for the most part, causing warfare on Arrakis (Dune) to shift back the other way. This spreads to the rest of the empire in ''Literature/GodEmperorOfDune'' when shield technology is banned.

* In ''TabletopGame/StarsWithoutNumber'', the existence of quantum ECM and nuclear dampers means that modern Earth's methods of drone-and-missile warfare are easily countered unless one side has a True AI, most planets have defenses to protect against OrbitalBombardment, and the general poverty and low population of the periphery means that a UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks-style airpower doctrine is out of the budget of most star nations and mercenary companies, particularly with high-tech gravflyers (which are ''expensive''). Instead, the highest-tech armies are fighting UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo; poor bloody infantry supported by dumb artillery, with tanks and airpower as a sidebar. HumongousMecha are an option, though, and they're actually the best platforms for quantum ECM.

* In TheSixties, a view emerged in the US military that the rise of guided missiles had rendered [[OldSchoolDogfight dogfighting]] obsolete, and so new fighter jets like the F-4 Phantom II did not have machine guns or cannons built in. Air combat in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, in which North Vietnamese pilots shredded their American counterparts in close-range dogfights where their long-range missiles were ineffective, demonstrated the hard way that this was not the case. Machine guns, cannons, and the training to use them returned to the fore ''very'' quickly.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' introduced the Minovsky Particle, which when scattered across an area did a number on detection and guidance equipment, forcing both land and space combat back into visual ranges. It should be noted that the arming of the Zaku II with a [[HotBlade Heat]] [[AnAxeToGrind Hawk]] was something of a predictive move, with Zeonic designers figuring that the Federation would develop their own mobile suits sooner or later, and added the weapon just in case.

** Best seen with the Imperial faction, which uses units inspired by its real-life WW2 counterparts with much higher tech (i.e. kamikaze drones, superheated katanas, {{ninja}} that can take out PowerArmor, etc.).

* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', the first game in the franchise featured advanced firearms with BottomlessMagazines that were restrained by an [[{{Overheating}} overheating system]]. This unbalanced the game too much in the player's favor so subsequent games utilized heat sinks, single use weapon cartridges that absorb heat and need to be replaced after a certain number of bullets are fired. Many fans complained that this was functionally no different than using regular ammo, something that was poked fun at in the third game.

** Though modern weaponry has not been replaced (and in one case, still survives as the "heavy stubber"), melee combat is back again as regular fare on battlefields, and nearly every army in the setting has dedicated assault units with a SwordAndGun loadout. When you're a [[OurOrcsAreDifferent hulking half-fungal monstrosity]], [[SpaceElves psychic bullet-dodging alien]], [[HordeOfAlienLocusts hyper-evolved killing machine]], or a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent daemon from Hell]], close combat isn't that stupid an idea, and when you're a bunch of {{Puny Earthling}}s facing those aforementioned threats, some CQC training might help the men survive a few more seconds if the enemy reaches your gun line.

** And finally you have the final mission, where you must engage a prototype fighter plane with EM shielding that prevents missiles from locking on and hitting. The only vulnerable spot on the plane is the two intakes, meaning you have to approach it from head-on, while he does the same. The result is jousting. [[AirJousting In midair. At Mach 3.]] ''[[UpToEleven With fighter jets.]]''

* In the early 2000s, the US Army switched to the Army Combat Uniform, which featured zippered fronts and velcro pockets. However, actual use showed that the zippers and velcro quickly became clogged and were noisy to use, resulting in later version switching back to buttoned enclosures.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', though modern weaponry has not been replaced, melee combat is back again as regular fare on battlefields, and nearly every army in the setting has dedicated assault units with a SwordAndGun loadout. When you're a [[OurOrcsAreDifferent hulking monstrosity]], [[SpaceElves psychic bullet-dodging alien]], [[HordeOfAlienLocusts hyper-evolved killing machine]], or a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent daemon from Hell]], close combat isn't that stupid an idea, and when you're a bunch of {{Puny Earthling}}s facing those aforementioned threats, some CQC training might help the men survive a few more seconds if the enemy reaches your gun line.

* Albert Einstein:

* This trope pops up over the course of the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries Tiberian games]]. In ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]'', the Global Defense Initiative upgraded its arsenal with {{Walking Tank}}s and [[HoverTank hovering weapon platforms]], but by ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars Tiberium Wars]]'' GDI reverted to just as advanced, but more conventional, units. The anti-grav units could be disabled by an Ion Storm, and the mechs were just too high-maintenance - plus, ''Tiberium Wars'' introduced a mechanic where a faction's Commando unit can run up and slap an explosive charge onto a mech's leg joint for a OneHitKill. So only one GDI subfaction in the ''Kane's Wrath'' expansion uses such units with great frequency, and all but the walking artillery pieces were mothballed by GDI at large. And on the Brotherhood of Nod's side, Earth's deteriorating enviroment forced them to abandon the subterranean units they used in ''Tiberian Sun''. However, by the events of ''VideoGame/CommanderAndConquerTiberianTwilight'', thanks to GDI and Nod finally getting the Tiberium situation under control, both sides have regained their unique technology, with GDI's combat walkers and Nod's subterranean technology back in action.

** A few pieces of soldiers' equipment that had come to be considered outdated in the 19th century made a comeback during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Grenades were considered obsolete with improvements to firearms easily stopping anyone trying to get close enough to throw them (the twists of trenches remedied that), and [[ArmorIsUseless armor and helmets were considered expensive, overly cumbersome wastes of effort]] (the former was restricted to mostly entirely-still sentries, but the latter turned out to be a vital last resort for a man ducked in cover getting raked by shrapnel). Said equipment has improved and remained in used to this day.

* This trope pops up over the course of the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries Tiberian games]]. In ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun Tiberian Sun]]'', the Global Defense Initiative upgraded its arsenal with {{Walking Tank}}s and [[HoverTank hovering weapon platforms]], but by ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars Tiberium Wars]]'' GDI reverted to just as advanced, but more conventional, units. The anti-grav units could be disabled by an Ion Storm, and the mechs were just too high-maintenance - plus, ''Tiberium Wars'' introduced a mechanic where a faction's Commando unit can run up and slap an explosive charge onto a mech's leg joint for a OneHitKill. So only one GDI subfaction in the ''Kane's Wrath'' expansion uses such units with great frequency, and all but the walking artillery pieces were mothballed by GDI at large. And on the Brotherhood of Nod's side, Earth's deteriorating enviroment forced them to abandon the subterranean units they used in ''Tiberian Sun''.