Questions tagged [military]
Questions pertaining to characteristics of armed forces' structure, manpower, equipment, or expenditures.
880
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3
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72 views
Who normally paid for soldiers in the Tudor period?
In the early medieval period soldiers were provided by feudal dues, but when did a monarch paying for the soldiers in their army instead become the norm? I have a source about Henry VII demanding ...
2
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0answers
156 views
Can you help identify the insignia and the country of origin of this uniform?
Can you help identify the insignia and the country of origin with this uniform?
6
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1answer
427 views
Did the Roman Republic really have 60 legions?
A common claim is that during the last civil war of the republic, the combined legions of Antony and Octavian totaled 60 legions. Another variant is that Octavian alone commanded 60 legions after ...
5
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0answers
325 views
Can you identify the military uniform on the man in this photo?
I found this photo in a box I inherited from my grandmother. The photo is on heavy card-like stock, but there is no writing or any markings on the back. My grandparents were born in Germany, but came ...
2
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1answer
117 views
What engineers chose the locations and oversaw runway construction for the airfields that the Flying Tigers used?
The section of NPR's The Flying Tigers: How a group of Americans ended up fighting for China in WW II includes the following:
Burma was central to keeping China supplied
The AVG's base was in Kunming ...
2
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1answer
173 views
What was the composition of a US Half-Track Unit during the Korean War?
For some reason I remembered a conversation with my grandfather that I had at least 25 years ago. I knew he had been in Korea with the US Army and I asked what every young kid asks at some point: &...
8
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1answer
1k views
What uniform is the man in this mid to late 19th century photo wearing?
This is a photo of my Grt Grdth's brother, George Anderson, born 1856 Kildare, Ireland. I have this studio portrait. What uniform is he wearing? He worked in Sth Africa at times.
1
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1answer
261 views
Why were slave armies used?
I’m aware of several instances where civilizations, mainly Muslim used slave armies. And so far as I’m aware this invariably resulted in the slaves becoming the de facto rulers of whatever people ...
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2answers
204 views
Could Japan have won WW2 without interservice rivalry? [closed]
Interservice Rivalry discusses the rivalry between the Japanese army and navy and I have listened to a video which says that a naval plane landing at a army air base would not be serviced, for example....
5
votes
1answer
198 views
What uniform is General Redvers Henry Buller VC GCB GCMG wearing in this colored photo?
Colored studio photograph circa 1900 of General Redvers Henry Buller VC GCB GCMG in uniform with decorations. Is it that of a General in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps? Confirmation or other ...
0
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3answers
575 views
Which kingdoms were using WWI weapons at the time of the second world war?
Which kingdoms, little dictatorships and all sorts of fiefdom had World War 1 armor (and nothing more modern) at the time of the second war? I bet there was a lot because after the First World War all ...
1
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1answer
108 views
What were the manpower and gunnery levels of the seven gunboats that assisted Grant at Fort Donelson?
Earlier on, I asked a question about General Grant's "true" force level at Fort Donelson. The argument was that Grant had been assisted by gunboats and gunners that were technically not ...
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0answers
70 views
What were the ranks of say, the five crewmen of a Panzer in World War II? [duplicate]
At Normandy, tank ace, Major Michael Wittmann commanded a group of seven tanks. This was probably a unit that had been decimated by casualties. Even so, my understanding is that an officer of Wittmann'...
1
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1answer
169 views
What made Fort Donelson particularly vulnerable to capture?
In February, 1862, Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Donelson in a little over a day.
Most forts hold out for "many" days, especially when the ratio of attacking to defending forces is less ...
2
votes
1answer
417 views
Which superior officer did Princess Elizabeth II report to during her service as a junior officer in WW2?
Prior to her reign, Queen Elizabeth II served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service of the British Army during World War 2. She held the rank of a junior officer (with a promotion to a Junior Commander ...
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2answers
212 views
Initial Japanese success in WWII? [closed]
We all know about Pearl Harbor. But I’m curious how Imperial Japan managed to take Guam, Wake, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and China. The only reason I can think of to explain these conquests were ...
0
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0answers
144 views
Can anyone identify this 19th century US military uniform?
I found this among our family photos and am trying to figure out who it might be.
4
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2answers
348 views
When did armies seriously consider tank-vs-tank warfare to be possible?
It is a known fact that there was one significant confrontation between tanks during the First World War (at the Second battle of villers-bretonneux) between British and German armour, but in the ...
2
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0answers
107 views
Can you identify this dress uniform (Lucknow, India, around 1911)?
My husband’s grandmother, born illegitimate, did not know her father. She was told that this is him. She was conceived in India in November 1911. I would like to identify the dress uniform. I know it’...
0
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2answers
179 views
What is the source of this quote about hope and POWs?
I seem to recall someone who was a POW, possibly held by Japanese, saying something like that the people that survived were the ones that gave up hope of getting out and the people that died were the ...
1
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0answers
78 views
Did any army try speed volley fire by passing pre-loaded muskets to the front line? [duplicate]
Early 16th to 18th century muskets had 2 big disadvantages. Musketeers needed minimum 20-30 seconds to reload them and they were very inaccurate, because projectile (usually small lead ball) was much ...
0
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0answers
121 views
What is this uniform (circa 1900, probably NE USA)?
I'm trying to identify this uniform. The glass negative image is of boys wearing the uniform and the date is 1900-1910 The image is from a glass photo negative circa 1900. It appears to be a boy's ...
3
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1answer
254 views
Can anyone identify this European ?naval uniform from photograph and likely date (belle époque)?)
Possibly late 1800s, early 1900s. Almost certainly from the UK. Epaulettes may indicate Naval?
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0answers
151 views
What percentage of troops in the Wehrmacht were front-line combat troops?
As with every army, a given percentage of the troops are dedicated to the logistics and transport of supplies to support that army’s campaigns. The Wehrmacht of World War Two required a great deal of ...
5
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2answers
735 views
What is the reasoning behind these huge numbers for participants in the Battle of Grunwald 1410?
I was reading about the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) in 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War and I found this strange excerpt from current Wikispeedia, (which is based on an old Wikipedia ...
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1answer
344 views
How many battles could a Napoleonic war or ACW infantryman expect to survive?
In battles such as those of the Napoleonic wars or the American Civil War that involved infantry marching across open ground whilst being pummeled by artillery and facing volleys of musket or rifle ...
2
votes
1answer
133 views
Did Kampfgeschwader 6 operate Me-262s and Bf-109s from the same airfield? If so, which one?
I know that Kampfgeschwader 6 operated both Me-262 and Bf-109s, because they were retraining the extra bomber crew for fighter rolls, and that this was done from several airfields in Czechoslovakia: ...
3
votes
1answer
221 views
Can anyone help identify this uniform /person?
We have found this old photograph among some family records but have no idea who it is of. Can anyone identify the uniform .... We would love to know who the person is but doubt will be that lucky in ...
1
vote
1answer
101 views
What paramilitary group was Nikola Jorgić in?
"Nikola Jorgić (1946 – 8 June 2014) was a Bosnian Serb from the Doboj region who was a soldier of a paramilitary group located in his native area.1 On 26 September 1997, he was convicted of ...
3
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2answers
162 views
Can anyone tell me what military uniform this is?
This is my great grandfather and on the back of the picture it states "France 1913", I am restoring the picture, adding color, and need help identifying the uniform so I can make add the ...
2
votes
1answer
160 views
Can you identify this uniform? Is it military?
This is a wedding photograph,taken by a photographer in Belfast who was in business between 1919 and 1933. I don't think it is a British or Irish uniform but happy to be corrected on that.
1
vote
2answers
258 views
What ship is this in Sasebo, Japan Harbor, Korean War Era?
Identification of Ship in Sasebo, Japan Harbor, Korean War Era from my Flickr page
https://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibrarian/51241341355/in/dateposted-public/
4
votes
1answer
282 views
Can you help me identify this Italian Royal Army Uniform?
1These are three silver gelatin photograph, each measuring 9 x 6 3/4 inches. I have a total of five photos: three different images, two are repeats. In two of the images, the subject is posing with a ...
26
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3answers
5k views
Can anyone identify the military branch and rank of the man in the front row? This is from Germany @1932
I assume the boy on the right is in a Hitler youth uniform but I don't know the uniform of the man in front, maybe a Prussian uniform? They were from the eastern part of Germany (now Poland) - Silesia....
0
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0answers
140 views
Are these British cavalry uniforms?
Photo either taken in Durban (Port Natal) or Cornwall, perhaps World War 1
Would a military unit wear jackets that didn't match the jodhpurs?
There is no accompanying information for this photo of my ...
19
votes
2answers
5k views
Was a bomb or shell ever dropped directly down the funnel of a warship?
I was surprised to learn in this awesome video about the USS New Jersey that the funnel on an Iowa-class battleship is not a straight line, there's a bit of a zig-zag in it. The idea was that, unlike ...
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0answers
187 views
Can anyone help to identify this picture of a relative wearing a possibly Polish/Russian/Prussian uniform?
I found this photo and tried to match to uniforms of the time around 1911. Can’t find one with similar pockets or stripes. Can you help to identify? My sister says person on left is grandfather. They ...
0
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0answers
185 views
Can you identify this uniform?
Photo was found in a trunk belonging to my great grandmother, grandparents, passed on to uncle.
0
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0answers
58 views
Who Was The Last Head Of State To Participate In Battle While In Office? [duplicate]
Many historical heads of state, e.g., Charlemagne (ca. 800 CE), Henry V (ca. 1413-1422 CE), George Washington (as head of state during the Revolutionary War ca. 1776 CE), and Napoleon (late 18th and ...
1
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1answer
128 views
Post WWII Munich- U.S.occupation
Is there any way to find out which unit of the US army of occupation took control of US HQ in Munich after April 30th, 1945?
4
votes
1answer
276 views
When did military leaders in the field start to put units or ships as tokens onto a map and to move them around?
I've seen many TV documentaries on historical conflicts where actors representing the leaders would gravely look at a map with tokens for military units, reminiscent of WWII air defense situation ...
0
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0answers
45 views
How effectively did Romans rotate/relieve lines with the cohort system? [duplicate]
There is a similar question on Reddit and the original poster of the question uses a YouTube video to demonstrate the point. That video showcases a rotation of Roman infantry in a cohort.
According to ...
1
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1answer
220 views
Why didn't the Austrian Empire have Household troops?
In Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket the historian Richard Holmes writes on p. 103:
Most European armies maintained bodies of Household troops - Austria
was a notable ...
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1answer
208 views
Why were the allies so aggressive at the end of WW2? Battle of Berlin, Iwo Jima, Okinawa etc [closed]
Why were the allies so aggressive at the end of WW2? I'm referring to the Battles of Berlin (≈ 350 000 Russian casualties), Iwo Jima (≈ 25 000 US casualties), Okinawa (≈ 60 000 US casualties) etc.
In ...
0
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1answer
229 views
Can anyone tell me anything about the markings on these shell casings?
These shell casings have been passed down. Can anyone tell me anything about the markings?
2
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0answers
130 views
Can anyone identify these (possibly WW1 Polish) uniforms?
The only hint I have is that the gentlemen in the picture were Polish and it was reputed to have been taken in 1917. So far I suspect that they may be cavalry?
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3answers
190 views
Looking for 3 examples of prisoners of war being incorporated into the conquering army
When POWs were captured, they were either executed, exchanged, put into slavery or sometimes incorporated into the enemy army. I'm trying to find a few examples (3 would do) of the last category. ...
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1answer
240 views
What are some examples of rulers immediately incorporating conquered population's army into their own? [closed]
I can vaguely remember reading about armies conquering a land, and then fortifying their own numbers by the armies of conquered populations, but I can't remember specific instances. Would love to know ...
1
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1answer
159 views
Did US soldiers typically keep an official journal or log during the Civil War era?
During the Civil War, or time in US history thereabouts the end of the 19th Century, into the Indian Wars west of the Mississippi, would it be common practice for a member of a group of soldiers to ...
-1
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1answer
128 views
Which operation came last in World War 2? [closed]
Which operation came last in World War 2?
I know that the Kwantung Army was defeated on the 2nd of September 1945 during the Soviet Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation (9th of August - 2nd of ...
