60
votes
Why did the United States drop a uranium bomb instead of a plutonium bomb on Hiroshima?
Details below on why a U-235 bomb was used at all. As to why that was the first bomb; because it was ready first and departed the continental U.S. only hours after the Trinity test for Fat Man.
The ...
- 70.2k
27
votes
What are the grenades and artillery cited in this testimony?
Both weapons are AA guns
The answer has nothing to do with what different languages mean by "grenade." The testimony is just a very bad translation.
Wikipedia cites a Voice of Russia article ...
- 6,004
7
votes
Is Snyder's claim about Soviet-German friendship propaganda posters (1939‒41) supportable?
Short answer:
I have only read half of Snyder's books, but I think that OP's skepticism is misguided.
The OP is in error interpreting "posters" as propaganda items for mass-distribution, and ...
- 1,910
4
votes
Accepted
How well were early WW2 naval tactics and strategy accounting for the importance of aircraft carriers?
The answer to the assumptions you make in your question, as hypothesis, is no: Were navies built around the use, and defense, of carriers from the start of the war?
About some weapons being more ...
- 5,893
4
votes
What was the true extent of German losses at Prokhorovka?
Losses
Wikipedia has a whole section dedicated to Casualties and losses which is quite reasonable (43–80 German tanks vs 300–400 Soviet tanks).
One needs to pay attention to Wehrmacht's methodology ...
- 26.6k
3
votes
After World War 2, why did European farmers switch from crop cultivation to grazing?
There are many reasons why a farmer could opt for grazing instead of growing crops post-war.
Soil quality. There are areas that just are not suited for crops. Others pretty much require heavy use of ...
- 12.3k
2
votes
What was the true extent of German losses at Prokhorovka?
When talking about losses of only four tanks on the german side, I guess Töppel is talking about the narrower picture of the actual attack at the anti-tank ditch at Prokhorovka against the II./Pz.Rgt....
- 121
1
vote
What are the grenades and artillery cited in this testimony?
During WWII, "grenade" in Russian meant mostly a hand grenade. Both Germans and Soviets had hand-launched anti-tank grenades.
- 38.1k
1
vote
Why did the Germans not encircle and besiege Stalingrad?
If I could attempt to summarize in a few bullets what seems to have occurred, (Death by Powerpoint!), I see it like this;
Nobody in their right mind (at least in modern warfare) attacks a major city ...
- 11
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