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a travelling HEGEL posted:Edit: I am reading about this and the French had only thirty guns. They're just Asian colonials, it's not a big deal. Plus, we're kind of tired of real war anyway.
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Dec 23, 2013 18:13
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why would you do this
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a travelling HEGEL posted:Northern Italy, early 1500s, when they start getting short, mathy, and filled with dirt. I think Siena's the first. It was a gradual movement of features being introduced as fortifications were introduced. IIRC Siena was one of the first to have the combination of the major features...and is also famous for going completely bankrupt by a massive spending spree to update basically every fortification in the city-state. Gonzaga did a much better job, focusing on Mantua and Casale, and survived Charles V's rampage toward Rome. Fake edit: Just double checked, and Siena tried to super-fortify SEVENTEEN cities.
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Dec 24, 2013 04:03
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EvanSchenck posted:Niall Ferguson's deal is that he is very talented, educated at the very best institutions, and wrote very good work early in his career, but rather than continuing to do serious history he chose to work his way into a position as court historian and pet intellectual for British and American conservatism. Pankaj Mishra's fierce takedown of Ferguson in the Guardian is a great read and a good explanation of why Carlin's citation of The Pity of War turned me right off. He's basically a Tory piece of poo poo who writes books about how we'd all be better off if stuffed shirt Brit aristocrats had ruled the world forever. Can't blame a guy for figuring out how to turn history into money. AATREK CURES KIDS posted:There are methods of comparing baseball players across different eras, and it turns out that even Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig would only be about as good as an average modern major-league player. You didn't really pick the best examples, but your point is accurate. Ruth's record was only broken in very recent years and remains far beyond what the average modern star achieves...defensively he'd be average at best. Gehrig's greatness was not just in his reliability (he's still [url=#2[/url] and in no danger of being passed again), but his offensive production which remains near the top of MLB production records. The average player doesn't hit 100 RBIs per year for over a decade (his record of 13 was only broken in 2010), or every rack up a season with a .373 batting average. I guess you could make the argument they wouldn't have been so successful against modern players, because the average really is so much better than it was back then. Godholio fucked around with this message at 16:55 on Dec 27, 2013 |
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Dec 27, 2013 16:45
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a travelling HEGEL posted:I have no problem with mercenaries, my problem is with incompetents. I'd liken it to what's happened to national news...or basically, the plot of Anchorman 2. Edit: Also, that book is now on my wish list. I've already got a stack to get through, though.
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Dec 27, 2013 16:57
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They didn't drive poo poo. This is the McDonalds boiling coffee lawsuit all over again.
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Dec 30, 2013 03:13
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I lived in England for a few years growing up. The historical things that I still remember are the HMS Belfast (museum ship docked in London), the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Framlingham Castle near Ipswich. Also in that area is Sutton Hoo, which is also amazing. My list of places to visit would also include Warwick Castle (built by William the Conqueror near Birmingham), Bodiam Castle (closer to London, but south), Lincoln Castle (probably too far for your trip, but another of William's castles built over a Roman fort), Arundel Castle (south), Dover Castle (also involved in WWII), and probably a bunch more. I'd need a fair amount of time to knock out everything I want to see. For WWII, the Imperial War Museum would be a must.
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Dec 31, 2013 19:18
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Fangz posted:Counterinsurgency is an important aspect for colonialists if the native population fights back with guerilla tactics, but it's not colonialism itself. Consider the case of America for example, where the particular insurgency was that of the colonialists *themselves*. Top-tier power fighting insurgents who are also fighting insurgents. Levels of COIN, man. 
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Jan 2, 2014 22:05
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veekie posted:More likely a combination of the two. Increased use of automation and remote control with cyberwarfare is just asking for control hijack hijinks. You don't even have to hijack it. Jamming is much easier and still denies the enemy their objective.
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Jan 3, 2014 17:33
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The Entire Universe posted:I always thought that it was a case of arms briefly outstripping some quotient of armor and mobility, in the case of WWI. Why operate in the open field or in thinly-armored cars when the enemy has machine guns in a static, fortified position? gently caress it, just dig in and use your artillery to work them over before finishing off with an infantry charge. That's...exactly what they were trying. Turns out artillery usually wasn't as effective as expected, so the defenders were still there waiting for you. Except they probably know you're on your way because your artillery fire is diminishing.
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Jan 10, 2014 16:37
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wdarkk posted:Another fun thing was dealing with people who had escaped from the POW camps after the war ended. Remember that it's a duty of a soldier to try to escape when captured, so you can't charge them with any crime for escaping. I'm still catching up so this may have been addressed, but you can't charge them for escaping but you can charge them for crimes committed while escaping. Theft, assault, that sort of thing.
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Jan 20, 2014 16:06
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meatbag posted:I'm not saying they were the Keystone Kaptains, but not having to fight an actual war for almost a century sure didn't lend itself to producing an efficient force. I think this is the best post to follow with this: Starship Troopers is highly popular and recommended among US military officers. It's been on recommended reading lists, etc.
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Jan 25, 2014 22:14
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King Arthur stories are generally parables.
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Jan 25, 2014 22:52
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Rabhadh posted:In fairness though, who really wants to read about the realities or war? (except us) It's intended as a lesson in military leadership. These aren't lists of entertaining books, they're books intended to impart knowledge, technique, or other insight.
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Jan 25, 2014 23:45
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Bacarruda posted:1st Special Service Brigade was a joint US-Canadian force, so its not unrealistic. Canadians get US decorations all the time. A Canadian major I used to work for joked that thanks to being assigned to a USAF base, he had more medals than the Chief of the Defense Staff. 
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Mar 9, 2014 23:32
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