Scientia Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies, Vol 9, Nr 4, 1979. http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za THE INTERNATIONAL ARMS TRADE * I..t M. lIJA'-HET Introduction failed to gain the support of the Prussian Everyone is aware of the existence of the arms government, so took to exporting not only steel trade but few have any idea of the nature of its but also guns, in an effort to impress the workings or of its implications, both actual and Prussians. It is interesting to see at so early a potential. Some information as to the methods stage in the arms trade's history that exports were employed in the sale of arms was made available deemed necessary for the development of a via the Lockheed and Northrop scandals, but by domestic industry and thus, in this case and large this was information that could not be incidentally, the foetal arms industry. evaluated in terms of all the elements of the system. It is the aim of this article to provide some Krupp began selling arms around 1851 and by insight into the various facets that go together to 1859 had succeeded in obtaining a large order make up the arms trade, in this way by no means from the Prussians for 300 rifled six-pounders. giving an all-embracing account but merely The interest of state and arms industry, however, providing some interesting facts and figures. were sti II very far apart and Krupp conti nued to rely upon exports to support the growth of his The early days company. In April 1866, Krupp exported a Strictly speaking the arms trade's history can be consignment of guns to Austria which led to traced back a very long way, yet it would serve perhaps the first incidence of guns from the same Iittle purpose to go any further back than the origin being used on both sides in a war, namely mid-nineteenth century. It was at this time that the the Austro-Prussian war. sophisticated armaments industry, as we know it today, was born in the wake of the first industrial It is clear that morality was not a driving force in revolution. Three important features of the Krupp's thinking, for he then attempted to sell industry were stamped upon it from this time. France his guns and, but for the inaction of the Firstly, the rate of change in the technological French generals, the Prussians would once world governed directly that of the armaments again have faced Krupp's guns in 1870 when industry and secondly, it was the most they defeated the French. The role Krupp's guns internationally orientated industry. Thirdly, and played in this war confirmed his position as not peculiar to this industry necessarily, was the 'Canon King' and he went on to sell to whoever fact that enormous power was vested in the would buy. By the time of his death he was hands of the few men involved in the invention employing 20000 workers where he had begun and development of firearms and explosives. with six. Key figures Perhaps the most famous of the 'pioneers' of todays' arms trade was Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and, paradoxically, the founder of the annual peace prize. This latter achievement was a reflection of his tortured conscience where his ardent pacifism clashed with his fascination with the science of explosives. Nobel com- menced his work in 1862 with the achievement of making nitro-glycerine explode and later of producing dynamite in 1867. He went on to discover a form of cordite for guns, called ballistite, and at the age of sixty bought the Alfred Krupp whose position as Canon King was well-known Swedish gun company, Bofors. confirmed by the role he played in the war of 1870 in defeating the French (Photo from 'The Arms of Krupp') At around the same time in Germany, Alfred Krupp was engaged in attempting to outdo the * Lt M Japhet. BSc (Hans) (Bristol University) is at present a National Serviceman at Documentation Service. This is a reprint of Pointer No Engl ish who dominated the steel industry. He l.a + b. which is also distributed by Documentation Service. 13 Scientia Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies, Vol 9, Nr 4, 1979. http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za His selling methods did not differ materiallyfrom impunity in that governments could disassociate those employed today in that he was prepared to themselves from their activities to avoid any sell to anybody provided he was not formally potential embarrassment. This of course is not as prevented from doing so. He achieved this via valid today with the United Nations concept worldwide network of agents, usually nationals of forcing governments to answer for the actions of their own country, who came to provide him with their private enterprise. Nevertheless the role of a great deal of power. In 1911 an American the private firm as of the private arms dealer pacifist correspondent wrote of it: continues to be an extremely important one. King Krupp of Essen has ambassadors of his In Britain the arms industry had hardly own in every great capital of the world, from progressed after the ending of the Napoleonic Tokyo to Constantinople, and from St wars in 1815 up until the Crimean War in 1854. Petersburg to Buenos Aires. He has even in This fact stirred an enterprising Newcastle Sofia a representative who knows more about lawyer, William Armstrong, to invent the local politics and has a larger acquaintance 'Armstrong' gun in 1858 which represented a with politicians than all the legations put significant departure from the existing guns. It together1 was breech-loaded and fired an elongated projectile down a rifled barrel. However after In 1913 Krupp's was involved in a major scandal claims by the government that Armstrong was with the German government that must have overcharging, the contract with Armstrong's given some people a deja vu feeling when the company was terminated. Once again foreign Lockheed scandals emerged. The Social - sales had to come to the rescue of an arms Democrat opposition uncovered an extensive company: as Armstrong said of his Elswick system of bribery of naval officers by Krupps, in Company afterwards: return for secret information on government projects and correspondence. In the proceed- It had no alternative but to commence a new ings that followed the dilemma that faces all career based on foreign support, and it was governments to this day was brought to Iight. This by that support and not by government was the recognition that the German government patronage - thaj the Elswick Ordnance was dependent upon private enterprise to Works was established. 2 provide armaments that she herself could only do with massive subsidies in the absence of the Armstrong did not do this easily, since he had foreign sales that private enterprise enjoyed. The been knighted for his work and had been well debate continues over the relative merits and paid by the government. However his partner's demerits of national isation of the armaments brother, Stuart, (later Lord), Rendel argued that industry. In the United States and Britain what is 'his first patriotic duty was to maintain prestige of essentially a compromise has been reached. the system he had induced the Government to Private firms exist alongside public ones, the adopt and in which he still believed: that the former having sufficient government projects manufacture of arms for foreign powers was far channeled their way for them to continue to from an unpatriotic act, for the country was survive whi 1stproviding the initiative and drive to benefited to the extent to which its experience the industry in general that is characteristic of and power of production was increased, whereas private enterprise. In the United States the mix is foreign countries were disadvantaged to the far more private enterprise-orientated, with extent to which they were dependent on us for government agencies largely being involved in their munitions of war ..3 research and development, whereas in Britain this is largely the other way around. As is well This argument has been used over and over known, the epi-centre of the French armaments again in subsequent years and largely explains industry is the Dassault aircraft company. the current policy adopted by the Western Though in this field as in others there are many world's armaments manufacturers, whether government firms private enterprise has more privately - or government - owned. The rate of then justified its position via the substantial change of technology and the sharply escalating exports that Dassault has achieved with their research and development costs associated with aircraft. new projects has served to give further impetus to this argument. Furthermore, there appears to As the Germans recognised in 1913, private be a convenient approach adopted by arms companies could export with relative political salesmen that their product is no different to any 14 Scientia Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies, Vol 9, Nr 4, 1979. http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za other commercial product and therefore should This same period, that of the 19th century, be sold under the same conditions as other spawned perhaps the most infamous arms products. Fortunately some control over arms dealer of all time, largely because he was the first sales does exist, though not all that effectively to real ise the awful potential arms sales had, both but this will be dealt with in a separate section. politically and economically. His name was Basil, (later Sir Basil), Zaharoff. His career Armstrong was to go on to become the world's commenced in 1877 as a salesmen for the largest supplier of warships despite lack of Swedish company, Nordenfelt, which was then support from the British government.