Both France and Germany (Prussia) had observers placed with the US and Confederate Armies during the US civil war, where observation balloons, quick-firing rifl

Both France and Germany (Prussia) had observers placed with the US and Confederate Armies during the US civil war, where observation balloons, quick-firing rifles (lever-actions), rail artillery, and other innovations were created. They went back home, wrote reports, and were ignored by their leadership. Dooming the first several years of fighting in The Great War to be a repeat of all the other wars, with astronomical casualty counts on both sides. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_repeating_rifle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_repeating_rifle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussia_and_the_American_Civil_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussia_and_the_American_Civil...