Questions pertaining to characteristics of armed forces' structure, manpower, equipment, or expenditures.
30
votes
2answers
1k views
How did Israel win the Six-Day War?
Considering Israel fought several Arab countries, which had troops largely outnumbering the Israeli, how did they manage to win the war decisively, with much fewer casualties than the Arab countries?
...
21
votes
2answers
1k views
What was with the “poofy” pants found in various military uniforms?
I've often wondered why do various uniforms have those "poofs" on the outsides of the legs just above the knee? Was there a particular purpose to this, or a practical reason, or was it just the result ...
17
votes
6answers
1k views
Why wasn't the Republic of Ireland invaded (by either side) in WW2?
Ireland was neutral in WW2, however it was never invaded (by either side). How come? Why wasn't Ireland invaded by the UK to prevent the Germans invading? Why didn't germany invade ireland? It would ...
16
votes
2answers
457 views
How did Medieval Armies survive the use of mail armor in the deserts of the Middle East?
Something that has long puzzled me is the use of full mail hauberks and the like in the Crusades. How did Crusaders and their various enemies avoid cooking inside their armor? I know many of them did ...
15
votes
1answer
322 views
Military brothels in WW2
Did any of the other belligerents of WW2 besides Japan and Germany provide their troops with authorised military brothels?
14
votes
1answer
514 views
What is this military patch with the silhouette of a pegasus on it?
I found this patch among my grandfather's things. I know it's a military patch of some sort because it was with his war memorabilia. He served in the European theater during WWII, if that helps at ...
14
votes
2answers
312 views
When people use spears to fight cavalry do infantry stab the horse or the rider?
I am just curious. In most games spear infantry is a "counter" against cavalry. How does that really work anyway?
Any clips on actual cavalry fighting infantry that's historically accurate would be ...
14
votes
3answers
312 views
How severe were the casualties in ancient/medieval battles?
I've heard that in most battles prior to the introduction of gunpowder weapons, the casualties were usually very low (around 5% even in long battles) prior to the moment when someone's formation was ...
14
votes
1answer
366 views
Any notable battles fought with steel vs. bronze weapons?
In answering the question Was the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age violent I found out a few facts that I hadn't expected. Namely, that the early iron weapons weren't necessarily much ...
13
votes
5answers
1k views
Why weren't aircraft carriers utilized during D-day?
Why were aircraft carriers not used during and following D-Day? They could have added a great deal of range to the air support operations.
13
votes
3answers
507 views
Was the US Navy larger in 1917, and if so, why?
Following the recent discussion in the third US Presidental Debate about the size of the Navy, there actually seemed to be a good discussion buried in there.
How does the US Navy compare to its ...
13
votes
5answers
504 views
Why did Civil War officers tell their men to “aim low”?
I'm listening to Gettysburg by Stephen W. Sears and the officers on both sides seem to always exhort their men to "aim low". For instance, General John Gibbon told his 2nd Division infantry:
Do ...
13
votes
4answers
658 views
Why doesn't Russia maintain significant numbers of Aircraft carriers?
The United States has 11 aircraft carriers in total. Russia has only one. We saw in the past that the USSR also didn't put much importance on constructing aircraft carriers and putting them into ...
13
votes
3answers
365 views
Does the number of legs in the air of a horse statue indicate how its rider died?
I have heard that the number of legs a horse has in the air in a statue indicates how the rider died. According to what I have understood:
2 legs in the air: rider died in battle
1 leg in the air: ...
12
votes
5answers
765 views
What's the advantage of the infantry column formation in the Napoleonic Wars?
In movies/books set in the Napoleonic Wars, the British are normally deployed into lines and the French into columns. The columns are usually the advancing ones, charging into the line as the line ...
12
votes
2answers
334 views
Why was the Western Front so static in World War I?
Once the German advance was halted, neither side could seriously advance for two years. This seems like an extraordinarily long time. Why didn't anyone succeed at going around the trenches or striking ...
12
votes
8answers
1k views
What was the ratio of German to Soviet losses on eastern front during different stages of the war?
I've read somewhere that the ratio of Soviet to German casualties on the eastern front was 1.4 for the whole war. But what about data for different stages of the war? (this ratio wasn't constant after ...
12
votes
2answers
291 views
What did squires do in the middle of a medieval battle?
According to wikipedia, a normal squire daily job included:
Carrying the knight's armour, shield, sword,
Holding any prisoners the knight takes,
Rescuing the knight should the knight be ...
12
votes
2answers
704 views
Why did the Moors invade the Iberian peninsula?
Almost all of the information that I can find with regards to the Moorish invasion of the Iberian Peninsula simply states when the Moors invaded. There seems to be very little on what the motivation ...
11
votes
8answers
265 views
Is there a confirmed historic record of using “non-standard” live animals for military purposes?
Is there a confirmed historic record of using "non-standard" live animals for military purposes?
To clarify, the following doesn't count due to either being standard or non-military:
"Standard" ...
11
votes
5answers
1k views
How did the US/South Vietnam lose the Vietnam war?
South Vietnam was helped by US. Even when the US was gone, they had a 1 million army.
So why did they lose?
Even without US support, South Vietnam had about the same manpower, higher technology, and ...
11
votes
2answers
168 views
In which situation is the broadside more preferable than every gun firing on their own time?
Mathematically, a ship should be able to fire more shots if each of the cannons fire at their fastest speed, instead of waiting for everyone to be ready, but it seems that a broadside is sometimes ...
10
votes
6answers
2k views
Why did Nazi soldiers do Hitler's bidding?
The atrocities committed by Nazi soldiers during World War II are well known. I'd like to know what motivated these soldiers to do Hitler's bidding? Were they brain-washed? Did they believe they were ...
10
votes
3answers
168 views
Was there any separation between hunting bow technology and weapon bows?
Was there a clear trend throughout early history (say, before 1300 for Europe) to have (or ot have) separate technologies/materials for bows and arrows for hunting purposes, and same-period ...
10
votes
2answers
267 views
Why did the Monitor and Merrimac (aka Virginia) have such radically different designs?
This is something that's always baffled me. You have one ship that appears to sit just above the water with one little canon on a turret (the Monitor) and a second that sits high and is brimming with ...
10
votes
2answers
424 views
Did the U.S. and Soviet Union have a submarine battle in 1968?
There are books and articles about the Soviet submarine K-129 and the USS Scorpion in 1968, with various stories of attempted nuclear attacks and reprisals. Is there a factual narrative about these ...
10
votes
2answers
114 views
Was the Napoleonic era cavalry armour effective against firearms?
During the Napoleonic wars in Europe, many heavy cavalry units still retain the use of armours, for example, French Carabiniers-Ã -Cheval below,
How effective were these to protect the cavalryman ...
10
votes
1answer
523 views
“Musketeer” beard, mustache and hairdress - where did they originate?
This is a portrait of typical French musketeer, with typical triangle beard, mustache and long wavy hairs.
I wonder where this fashion originates from? Is not it the Byzantine Empire where such ...
10
votes
1answer
138 views
Are there examples of well known medieval battles with very little archaeological evidence?
When I was researching the history of The Battle of Kulikovo (битва на Куликовом поле), I was struck by the seemingly complete dearth of available archaeological evidence at the site of the battle ...
10
votes
0answers
78 views
Are photos of WWII US Navy damage reports available online?
I have located a PDF of the USS Marblehead's Bomb Damage Report from 4 Feb 1942. The report lists plates of photographs which are not included in the report I have found.
Do copies of this report ...
9
votes
5answers
316 views
Why have officers in the U.S. army tended to “top out” at the level of Major?
In the U.S. army, something like 75%-80% of newly-commissioned Second Lieutenants are promoted to First Lieutenant (around age 25), perhaps 75%-80% of First Lieutenants are promoted to Captain (ages ...
9
votes
7answers
338 views
Has there ever been an attempted military takeover of a democracy in the western world?
Ignoring the Spanish 1981 and Greek 1967 coups. Are there any other examples of the military attempting (or even managing) to overthrow an elected government in an advanced democracy in the western ...
9
votes
5answers
448 views
Military intervention in government in India and Pakistan
Although India and Pakistan became independent states simultaneously, they have been travelling in different paths after that. Many believe that democracy is a major reason for the difference in ...
9
votes
4answers
481 views
What new technology/tactics allowed the breakthrough of the trenches in WW I western front?
Reading the answers to this question about WW1 Western Front, it appears that breaking through the trenches was a very difficult task to do. How did the Allies finally make it? Was it the invention of ...
9
votes
2answers
404 views
How does the amount of equipment carried by various historical infantries compare?
I've heard many statements amount the weight of supplies and munition carried by soldiers of various historical forces. In particular, I've heard many comments about the amount that the British ...
9
votes
3answers
368 views
What Are the Dynamics of A “Forced March?”
In the "Art of War," Sun Tzu opined that if you put your army on a forced march of a certain speed, you will lose one-third of your troops along the way. A rough rule of thumb was that an army would ...
9
votes
1answer
395 views
Did the Soviet Union know when DEFCON levels changed?
The US military uses a scale of alert readiness called DEFCON, with DEFCON 5 being the lowest alert level and DEFCON 1 being the highest, preparing for imminent nuclear war. At least once during the ...
9
votes
2answers
171 views
Was any significant percentage of Mongol army infantry?
Mongols of Khan's time are generally considered to be a cavalry army, which makes sense logistically, given the width and speed of their military maneuvers.
But is there historical evidence of Khan's ...
9
votes
1answer
192 views
Could the Russians Have Done Better at the Battle of Tsushima Straits Than They Actually Did?
In 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War, a Russian fleet sailing all the way from the Baltic was annihilated by the Japanese fleet in the Tsushima Straits. The Russian fleet was larger, with thirteen ...
9
votes
2answers
279 views
Wiliam Wallace vs. Robert Bruce: Why Did One Win and One Lose?
At the battle of Falkirk in 1298, William Wallace (aka "Brave Heart") abandoned the guerrilla tactics that served him so well at Stirling Bridge, and adopted a strong, but "conventional" defensive ...
9
votes
4answers
171 views
Were there bows employed by tribes living in the desert, and if so, what were they made of?
For tribes that inhabited desert areas (e.g. Arabian Peninsula, Sahara, etc...), there seems to have been a problem: a good bow would likely require materials that would be hard to come by in the ...
9
votes
1answer
137 views
World War 1 Indian propaganda posters
In World War 1, because war broke out between the triple entente and the central powers (and they happened to have a lot of foreign colonies), the allies made posters to recruit soldiers from all ...
9
votes
1answer
79 views
Identification of a treacherous general of 17th century China
My aunt is part of an informal discussion group interested in the history of China. Apparently, during the Ming dynasty in the 1600s, there was a general whose treachery (I the charge was he was ...
8
votes
4answers
706 views
How did a besieged city/castle defend itself vs. catapulting diseased dead bodies into it?
I was a bit shocked to read that diseased dead bodies/animals where catapulted into besieged castles/towns. Biological warfare in the middle ages. But this "method" of warfare had probably alot ...
8
votes
6answers
285 views
What advantages have motorized infantry enjoyed over standard infantry besides speed?
My understanding is that motorized infantry have greater combat value than "standard" infantry (foot soldiers armed with rifles, or perhaps machine guns), over and above their greater mobility.
Do ...
8
votes
4answers
408 views
At the end of WWII, were nazis working on any other super weapon besides V-2?
At the end of WWII, were nazis working on anything else besides V-2? If so, what was it, how close was it to completion, and could it potentially turn the events around for them?
8
votes
2answers
325 views
How was Israel able to build a powerful military within days of the formation of the state?
The State of Israel was formed in May 14, 1948.
I guess the first Arab-Israel war broke out in the same month of the same year.
Israel won the war decisively.
The question is not "How did they win ...
8
votes
1answer
126 views
Gengkhis Khan armor secret
Gengkhis Khan the king of the Mongolian Empire used a specific kind of cloth material for his military fatigues. This cloth material worked as an armor and was an advantage for his soldiers to win ...
8
votes
1answer
339 views
In WW2, which midget submarine program was the most successful?
In WW2, which midget submarine program was the most successful? I know at least Great Britain and Japan had midget submarines and used them during the course of the conflict. Which WW2 combatant had ...
8
votes
3answers
170 views
At the Battle of Zama, was the Roman army more “native” than the Carthaginian?
At the battle of Zama, which army had a higher proportion of native troops? Within the context of this question consider troops to be either "native" or "mercenary". Native troops serve out of ...
