Questions tagged [military]
Questions pertaining to characteristics of armed forces' structure, manpower, equipment, or expenditures.
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Why would high-ranking officers wear a helmet exhibiting their rank near the enemy?
Buckner had arrived with his standard three stars showing on the front of his steel helmet and a nearby Marine outpost sent a signal to Buckner's position stating that they could clearly see the ...
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0answers
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Why were general and flag officers allowed to fly aircraft in combat?
LTG Frank M Andrews and Maj Gen Robert Worley both died while piloting combat aircraft in a war.
I'm assuming that generals and admirals are less skilled or prepared to pilot aircraft, as their ...
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8answers
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Operation Vengeance and Individual Targeting of Enemy Commanders
Operation Vengeance (1943) was a US military operation aimed specifically to kill Japanese Admiral Yamamoto.
It looks like something weird in contemporary era: are there any similar military ...
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1answer
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Did firing trials of pre-WW1 British dreadnoughts involve actually firing at them?
On the Wikipedia page of HMS Dreadnought it is mentioned that during firing trials against HMS Hero there were some vulnerabilities of its fire control systems revealed: namely, wiring and voice tubes ...
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What was the function of the walls of Jericho?
The walls of old Jericho have been dated to around 8000bc. This is thousands of years before the nascent civilisations of Babylon and Egypt built similar fortifications and thousands of years before ...
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3answers
330 views
Was it possible to organize a women's uprising or feminist movement in the Middle Ages? [closed]
Women in Europe endured thousands of years of gender inequality, culminating in the Middle Ages. Women in the Middle Ages had few rights and were treated like minors and properties, yet they did very ...
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2answers
170 views
How were the Roman Triarii trained?
Unlike the Hastati and Principe, the Triarii were spear based and they also the oldest veteran elite troops. So did they initially fight with the sword and then go to the spear (and if so why) or were ...
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3answers
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Have revolutions been won without the military establishment?
Various historical and political theorists (for instance, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita) have asserted that the support, or, at most, the abstention of a country's military is necessary for a successful ...
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At the start of the Second Punic War, why didn't Hannibal engage Publius Scipio in Hispania, but crossed the alps instead? edited [duplicate]
Sorry, I forgot exactly where I remember this from but as Hannibal moved towards the Alps with around 50,000 troops, he was pursued by Scipio with fewer troops (actually, if anyone can find a source ...
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1answer
101 views
Revolutions: which side does the nation's military join? [closed]
Historically, when there has been a notably significant revolution to overthrow the standing government, does the military typically defend the government or join the revolutionists?
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1answer
228 views
How large were Victorian British military forces?
I was wondering roughly how many people were members of military services in Britain during the later Victorian era, and had no luck finding any information on the subject online, apart from the ...
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1answer
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Did 20th century militaries have their own fire-fighter units?
I tried googling this but fire-fighter is too similar to fire-fight (as in gun fight or shootout) so I keep getting the wrong results. I'm asking about fire-fighting as in containing and extinguishing ...
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2answers
362 views
At the start of the Second Punic War, why didn't Hannibal engage Publius Scipio in Hispania, but crossed the alps instead?
Sorry, I forgot exactly where I remember this from but as Hannibal moved towards the Alps with around 50,000 troops, he was pursued by Scipio with fewer troops (actually, if anyone can find a source ...
2
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1answer
124 views
Please help identify this medal… German military?
Found this in my late father's possessions. Probably belonged to his father or grandfather. Prussian? German? war related? I have no idea...
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1answer
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What is a WW1 water detail?
Looking at my grandfathers files from Canadian military archives WW 1.
He was in the medical corps as a stretcher bearer. One of his tasks was
to be put on water detail. Would anyone know what being ...
2
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1answer
80 views
Is there a location to find the personnel roster of the No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron during WW2?
I'm working on a research project and I am looking to confirm that certain individuals were part of the No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron during WW2.
Is there a place online or offline where one could ...
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1answer
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What ship is this and which military campaign?
On back of card, Army Transport USS Maricu - life on board - nothing to do. I can not find any information on this ship. Is it WWI or WWII?
The reverse of the card is shown below:
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1answer
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What is the name and meaning of a World War 2 CCC Medal with both the Polish Eagle and British Statant Gardant Lion?
While looking through a collection of World War 2 medals, I came across this one (picture attached) and have been unable to identify it.
It is in the form of a shield, appears to have a Polish eagle ...
3
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1answer
156 views
Youngest age for the militia in the middle ages
I know it probably differed from village to village, town to town, city to city, but what was the standard bare minimum age for anyone to join the local militia or receive any sort of combat/survival ...
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0answers
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What is the latest case of employment of Cretan archers in Antiquity?
It is known that Cretan archers were widely used (presumably as mercenaries) across Mediterranean by Greek armies and were occasionally included in Roman armies of Republic and of Imperial period. I ...
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0answers
85 views
For the French Army under Jean Martinet (d1672) how and why were cavalry used instead of infantry?
For France's army of the period of Jean Martinet (d1672) in the Early modern, how and why were cavalry used instead of infantry?
In European warfare the default company is the infantry company. This ...
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1answer
260 views
When was the last time that the U.S. as a country, state, or city was occupied by foreign troops?
Of recent wars (1900 to today) I can only think of instances of the U.S. sending offensive troops to occupy other nations.
I understand that we've been attacked by the likes of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 ...
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0answers
123 views
How does one return “war booty” to their rightful original owners? [closed]
I honestly don't know where to ask this question, so here goes.
My grandfather served on the Communist side during the Vietnam War. He shot down an F-104 (or an F-4) and removed a piece of flight ...
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2answers
280 views
Did Soviet Union really consider using atomic bomb against US aircraft battlegroup?
In this video youtube narrator says that:
"During Cold War Soviet Union considered American battle-group such a dire threat that they predicted the only way to defend against them would be by use ...
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2answers
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Why did only Anglo-Saxon kings wear helmets?
According to this article on the BBC news website only Anglo-Saxon kings wore helmets. Here is the full quote:
"Only Anglo-Saxon kings wore helmets and this is one of a very small number ever to be ...
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1answer
201 views
What were the differences between mortars and other artilleries in world war I?
Artillery just means missiles today.
In WWI did artillery and mortars worked the same way only difference being the angle its being fired at, and how big the projectile is.
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1answer
84 views
Where can I find primary sources on mortars/artillery in world war one?
I need primary sources for artillery from ww1. I have looked everywhere such as the database of the World War I Document Archive, Proquest and archive.org but with no luck. So I am asking here as a ...
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1answer
209 views
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1answer
5k views
What type of plane is this wreck?
I have found this picture on MSN, with the claim that it is a P-38 somewhere at the French Riviera. However the P-38 Lightning is a twin-engined fighter, while this wreck has most probably four. What ...
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0answers
80 views
What was the troop ratio between the red and white army in the Russian revolution?
I am making a game over the Russian Revolution for English class. I want to make this game a somewhat accurate representation of the Russian Revolution. I have been able find the answers to all of my ...
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0answers
71 views
Hussars Elite force [closed]
I wanted to write about a group of Hussars light cavalry that wore black feathers head to toe. I saw a book from Poland with a drawing on the inside cover, but I have not been able to find out ...
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2answers
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What Roman legions were present in London (UK)?
I have just come across an interesting article about the Romans in London (UK):
Roman eagle found by archaeologists in City of London
a Picture from the above article (just to have an idea):
My ...
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1answer
2k views
In WWI, which countries used prisoners as soldiers?
What happened to prisoners incarcerated for domestic crimes (not war) before and during the outbreak of the Great War?
Using a UK report, in 1914 the prison population dropped around 5000, but 11,000 ...
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1answer
175 views
What mesoamerican culture used long, “pike-like” spears?
A while back, I read about some Mesoamerican tribe or culture that armed many of its warriors with extremely long spears, that either the Spanish invaders or the article I read itself compared to the ...
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1answer
134 views
Is this a US Civil War uniform?
Image is a photo of an original tin type (photographic method introduced in 1856, in popular production until roughly 1867), hat appears to be U.S. Civil War - Union, "X" patch on right front breast ...
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1answer
412 views
Why do foreign dignitaries inspect guards of honour upon arrival?
I've been watching videos of various dignitaries (heads of state, heads of government, important officials, etc.) arriving for state visits in foreign countries. I noticed that upon disembarking from ...
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2answers
449 views
What is this war machine shown on Trajan's column?
The most comprehensive visual evidence about Roman army of I-II centuries is the Trajan column. It shows in great detail cloths, weapons, ships, military machines and other equipment of the Roman army....
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1answer
166 views
How to decode / read US Veterans Bureau Form 7202?
In doing some family background research, I came across an old military service record which says it is a "Form 7202 - Rev. Sept., 1927". I would like to decipher the meanings of the various codes to ...
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2answers
205 views
Besides the US in 1958, has there been a post-WWII show of force by any military in the Taiwan Strait (excluding Taiwan and China)?
CNN's article US Vice President Pence set to inflame China tensions: 'We will not be intimidated' describes an upcoming speech by US VP Pence and the existence of a proposed military exercise in ...
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1answer
213 views
How effective were archers/ slingers / skirmishers in Greek, Roman and Medieval Period?
So it seemed that from the accounts of Thermopelea, Roman military strategy of waiting out an arrow storm, and Knights holding out for hours behind a shield wall during the first crusade it ...
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3answers
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Which air minister said (before or during WW2) that parachute troops are just a circus?
In Chapter 32, Airborne Forces of Liddell Hart (ed), The Soviet Army, Kurt Student says, after noting the abscence of paratroop involvment in the invasion of Poland (p. 378), that
`Parachute troops ...
2
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1answer
137 views
How frequently did the KMT use telegrams to communicate; from where (roughly) and to whom?
This answer to the Chinese Language SE question Historical: How was Chinese written in telegrams and early computers? says (in part):
Following is a telegram code "dictionary" used by Japan ...
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2answers
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What was the fastest military draft in the United States?
In the United States, men aged 18-25 are required to register for a possible military draft. The original argument was that the country would need large numbers of troops in a hurry, and (back then) ...
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0answers
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How did succession work in the modern Argentine military dictatorships?
For example, it says on the wikipedia page for Alfredo Oscar Saint Jean, an Argentine president and general: "Saint-Jean's brief period as President in June and July 1982 ended when he was succeeded ...
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1answer
252 views
Under Catherine the Great were all officers appointed for five years?
I noticed that the chief commandants of Kamchatka seemed to serve terms of about five years (Koselev 1802-1807, Petrovskii 1807-1813, Rudakov 1813-1817). These seem to have been Majors-General (rank ...
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2answers
535 views
Which Allied aircraft scored the most air-to-air kills against the Me 262 in WWII?
Backgound:
The Schwalbe (German: "Swallow") fighter version of the Messerschmitt Me 262 was the first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, with the first test unit having been formed on 19 April,...
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3answers
411 views
Why can't people on the back of the phalanx “reorient” their shield?
What do men in the middle of a phalanx contribute?
says that phalanx are vulnerable from behind
So what does people in phalanx formation when they get smacked from behind? They just keep pointing ...
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3answers
601 views
How can a skilled battle commander like Napoleon Bonaparte lose to Prussians at Waterloo (Belgium) as such?
According to this website Napoleon Bonaparte lost the battle at Waterloo to Prussians because(Chronologically):
1. The failure of Grouchy keeping the Prussians away from the Battlefield.
2. The ...
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2answers
223 views
Trying to identify a military uniform, ca. WWI
I've recently come into a a large group of dry glass plate negatives, and this is one of the first images I've come across. Most of the the other slides I've seen, so far, are likely from the early ...
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2answers
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When did SHAEF / Eisenhower move HQ from London to France during WWII?
SHAEF meeting in London 1944
Two different reputable sources indicate two different time frames for SHAEF's move from London to Versailles:
The Military Agency Records of the National Archives ...
