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Tree Bucket posted:A question- how do submariners avoid going insane? How do navies decide which people will be able to cope with hours crammed inside a boat designed to sink, and do they ever get it wrong...? They give you a shrink test and put you in a closet for 15 minutes.
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Aug 2, 2016 14:27
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JcDent posted:Was there a year at the start when nobody was working against the emperor? Cos the graph makes it look like that. I think the first year or so was putting down a revolt in Bohemia, which isn't on that list because it was put down very thoroughly and so becomes part of the Empire. (Under Wallenstein, eventually, so there is some debate as to whether it was against the empire or for him by the end).
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Aug 2, 2016 14:44
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HEY GAL posted:a setup like that, but with a hook gun because you can't get great distance out of a black powder gun without a big bore too, is probably what killed that one king of sweden, not a jacket button fired by one of his own men Don't be ridiculous, he had spells to protect him from snipers. The spells don't work against a piece of your own clothing. All this talk of shitter-shooting reminds me an amusing story I heard about a Slovenian guy who was fighting the Ottomans. They had him cornered in a castle and they were besieging it, but without much luck because it was built on a network of caves letting his men go out and get supplies from the locals. Eventually, the Turks caught one of the foragers, and he agreed to turn his coat in exchange for his life. He waited until his boss went into the room "where even the sultan goes alone" and then lowered a red flag down the side of the wall to about where the potty was... allowing the Turks to blast it with their cannon. sullat fucked around with this message at 04:55 on Aug 8, 2016 |
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Aug 8, 2016 04:38
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ArchangeI posted:Plus the Russian Steamroller had been a staple of European thinking for almost a century by that point. If nothing else, it was a convenient explanation for the German generals as to how they could have possibly lost the war (seeing how they had excellent soldiers, outstanding tanks and the objectively best generals in the world). Also, Russian hordes pouring through the Fulda gap makes a good argument for why the military's budget needs to be raised, again.
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Aug 13, 2016 05:40
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Grand Prize Winner posted:So which one is it? I legit can't tell. 1915, it is a Barthas anecdote. In fairness, he did acquire it from a dead German, it's not like he paid for them. Heck, he wasn't even the guy who looted them in the first place.
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Aug 15, 2016 04:26
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Nude Bog Lurker posted:I realise this is a broader question than just matters military, but I'd be interested in your thoughts anyway. Not a chance. There is no way the Hannoverian dynasty would have anything like popular support. Maybe if it had been 1066 and they could have killed of most of the North like William did, but that poo poo don't fly in 1745. Besides, can you imagine how the reconciliation of 77 with the colonies would have gone with a German in charge? Just, lol.
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Aug 28, 2016 03:20
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Mycroft Holmes posted:Could you recommend some books on the Iran-Iraq War? I heard it was one of the only modern instances of trench warfare. Wasn't the recent Eritrean-Ethiopian war full of trench warfare, too? Don't know too much about it, since war in Africa barely makes the front page of the international section, but what little I read indicated that it stalemated very quickly.
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Sep 6, 2016 12:06
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Firstscion posted:Just a quick question but why was the battle of Yorktown the decisive battle of the American revolution? Before Yorktown, if the British got in trouble, they would fall back to the coast and be supplied/picked up by the Navy. So Cornwallis was doing just that. But the French navy chased away the British force sent to supply Cornwallis, so all of a sudden he was stuck in a swamp with no way out. It took another 2-3 years before the British were willing to talk peace, but there weren't any other major land campaigns in the US because they'd just lost their main army.
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Sep 9, 2016 20:23
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Nebakenezzer posted:In the event that the US invaded Canada, they would be mightily aided by the fact that most of Canada's population/industrial infrastructure/etc is in a thick 100 KM or so belt across the US/Canada border. In the Prairies west of Winnipeg Saskatoon and Edmonton are much further north, but that is an outlier. Why would you need to go into those places? Seize Vancouver in the west, shut down the St. Lawrence seaway, and Canada can no longer export wheat to Britain. The rest you just acquire in the peace treaties.
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Sep 22, 2016 23:08
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Nenonen posted:Democracy wins and peace reigns forever! Spoiler that poo poo please! And hats off to Trin, it was a good read. Learned more about the Armenian genocide than before, grim stuff. Gets glossed over in most Anglo-centric treatments of the war.
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Oct 5, 2016 04:59
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Rodrigo Diaz posted:You are seriously misunderstanding the story. The miracle is that a stone launched from a sling killed a seemingly invincible giant. Goliath's armament (helmet, armor, sword, spear, and javelin) are used to contrast markedly with David's meager sling and stone. There is no suggestion that hitting Goliath in the forehead was a difficult shot. quote:So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. So they said he had no sword in his hand, but that he killed him with his sword? And did he throw the rock, or sling it? Who was on the nearby grassy knoll? Was there a second slinger?
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Oct 7, 2016 04:24
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Fangz posted:Yeah, you can still buy exported Tsingtao beer at your local Chinese restaurant. QED, War is awesome! Technically, that would have been from the colonization, not the war. Granted, the annexation of Tsingtao wasn't entirely peaceful, but it was more due to the colonists setting up a brewery to celebrate.
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Nov 10, 2016 16:47
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Nebakenezzer posted:This might get me banned, but sometimes I think Palpatine had the right idea. The Republic was garbage: it had no standing military (and let a weird religious order basically fight its civil war for it so actual citizens wouldn't be bothered) it was corrupt as gently caress, and frequently would rather fiddle while the outer rim burned because "oh we made this a monopoly and let these weird clannish aliens run a crucial part of the economy a couple hundred years ago, no lets let them blackmail us now in our existential crisis and do nothing" sorta deal that happened like 50 times in the clone wars. And it's not like the Jedi were all that ethical either, by the end, Yoda, Kidd Fisto, that creepy snake guy, all the heavies, were giving up padawans as sacrificial goats whenever the corrupt, bullshit senate got pissy about something. Maybe you should read other sources than the 'official Imperial histiography'? Like, when all those paroled Imperial officers wrote their memoirs after the wars, let's just say they had every interest to portray the Republic as some sort of incompetent corrupt mess, and Palpatine's coup as some sort of necessary evil to save the Republic from the Senate. I know it's difficult to find other sources than official propaganda, given the years of total censorship, but the Space-wages of Destruction really tries to peel back the 'official story' to examine the true state of things during the final years of the First Republic.
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Nov 13, 2016 02:24
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P-Mack posted:Everyone poasting "star wars as milhist" owes it to themselves to check out Legend of Galactic Heroes. I did, thanks to this thread's recommendation! But the references aren't as universal as Star Wars. If I said "Reuenthal did nothing wrong!" only a few nerds would understand, but if I say "Palpatine did nothing wrong!" all of them would.
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Nov 13, 2016 05:57
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Elyv posted:You mean "Oberstein did nothing wrong", right Nope.
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Nov 13, 2016 16:28
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BattleMoose posted:Its not particularly uncommon for soldiers to "waste resources" ot put their lives at risk for gimmicks. During WW 1 the Germans were able to tap into unsecured British telephone networks in the trenches, and they used the info gained from this to put up insulting messages to the soldiers opposite them. Not the best use of an intel source, but the Brits didn't cotton on to what had happened for a while, so I guess it worked out.
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Nov 23, 2016 16:36
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Mammoth-based explanations for everything, too.
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Nov 25, 2016 19:56
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Well What Now posted:Patton would've totally skullfucked Trump if they ever met. Really? Trump is a homeless veteran?
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Nov 25, 2016 21:29
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Well What Now posted:Patton was on his staff at the time and, IIRC, was pretty "uhhh..." about the whole thing. He was there, too. MacArthur, Patton and Eisenhower v. the Bonus army.
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Nov 25, 2016 22:12
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Nebakenezzer posted:If you want to read a blog post where I rant about Amerika Bombers and other bombers, I've written a thing. Derbies are a type of hat, debris is the residue of a riot.
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Nov 26, 2016 04:06
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PittTheElder posted:It's also no accident that it's like that. The whole point of the security council is so that if push comes to shove, the UN can never seriously oppose the actions of one of the established powers. And also France.
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Nov 27, 2016 05:43
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OwlFancier posted:"Lost surprise attack against unarmed merchant ship by shooting self in own periscope with torpedo" has to be the most embarrassing way to die to be honest. With a defective torpedo.
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Nov 28, 2016 01:03
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Cyrano4747 posted:"totally routed" might be a bit strong as the units in play weren't exactly heavy hitters, but the retreat to Pusan was pretty undignified. The retreat from the Yalu was pretty chaotic. Certainly elements of the army could be described as 'routed', but IIRC, the Marines did a credible job of holding the line to allow for a more orderly retreat. Still, casualties were pretty bad and there was a ton of lost equipment.
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Nov 30, 2016 03:34
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weak wrists big dick posted:What are some lesser known "proxy wars"/conflicts from the Cold War? Well, there was a pretty vicious proxy war in the Congo/Zaire. The US backed guy eventually won, although he was overthrown in the 90s by a dude who had survived a CIA assassination attempt.
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Dec 1, 2016 21:57
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Phanatic posted:Or maybe because historically speaking the Republicans have been the party opposed to involuntary servitude. CCC wasn't "involuntary", unless you think that all work is involuntary under the capitalist system where you have to work or starve.
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Dec 2, 2016 21:45
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The Sumerians really liked their accounting, but also their bragging.
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Dec 2, 2016 23:59
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Well What Now posted:They also didn't seem to understand what the word "destroyed" means. Basically, the way it worked for the Sumerians was that there were a bunch of feuding city-states. Even though they were very similar culturally & linguistically, they were perpetually at odds. Each city-state ruled itself and the farmlands around it. The land and government in theory was controlled by the temples, although in practice there were certainly quasi-hereditary positions and powerful families interested in expanding their own influence within the state. Anyway, each city-state could call upon its own citizens for labor, both for civilian projects and for military adventures. Most of these military adventures involved rolling up to the neighboring city-states and demanding tribute; if they refused you got to fight them (or just steal their crops if they declined to fight). The winner would demand tribute, usually in the form of grain, silver, or labor. Also sometimes, slaves. Then everyone went home. The next year, you demanded tribute from the losers you beat up the previous year... sometimes they paid up to avoid a fight, sometimes you had to fight for it again. Actually storming a city seems to have been fairly rare, although it certainly happened on occasion; Lagash did it to Umma under Ea-nnatum (Vulture Stele guy), while Umma returned the favor a few decades later under Lugal-Zaggesi. Sometimes you got to install a friendly ruler in a conquered city, but once your army returned home they were on their own. So when they say they say 'destroyed' in that year list, they probably just mean that they beat the city's army and forced them to pay tribute. As far as whether the soldiers were 'standing armies', I would say no. They would have to go home for the harvest. Although while in service they were paid with rations and goods. The rank and file seem to have used spears and shields in the classic shield wall formation, while officers used axes and rode primitive chariots (where we got the vulture warriors of civ 4 and war-carts of civ 6). Bows were used, as were slings; large hoards of clay 'bullets' have been found. Towards the end of the Sumerian era, there are references to permanent military offices... Sargon appears to have been a junior officer before staging his coup, and later he boasted of being able to feed his army year-round. sullat fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Dec 3, 2016 |
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Dec 3, 2016 04:31
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xthetenth posted:It's worth remembering that part of the reason Cinco de Mayo is as big a deal in the US as it is is because it's celebrating a battle that had an impact on how likely the Union thought intervention in the Civil War was. Really? I thought it was a holiday promoted by Mexican-Americans to give themselves their own holiday, since celebrating another country's independence day is poor form. Much like St. Paddy's day.
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Dec 6, 2016 04:30
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TerminalSaint posted:Up north it's just an excuse for white people to drink frozen margaritas. Right; up until the 80s or so, it was a regional holiday in Puebla. Starting in the 80s, Mexican-Americans started using it as a Mexican holiday, an excuse for them to have a party. Gradually everyone else picked it up because, hey, any excuse for a Margarita, amirite? I don't think there was a sense of "OK, the US is tangentally involved in the fight against Maxmillian, so let's celebrate here as well", but, "Hey, we need a holiday that's not Mexican independence day to celebrate, this one seems cool" and then it was picked up by everyone else.
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Dec 6, 2016 05:58
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bewbies posted:I want this thread's take: Gilgamesh. One third divine, all the prima noctis he wanted, told the gods to gently caress off, and then kicked their bull when they complained. Also beat up dragons and built a wall. Not sure if he made the Martu pay for it, though. sullat fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Dec 7, 2016 |
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Dec 7, 2016 03:16
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A civil war that kills of half* your tax base certainly messes up your finances. *estimate based on Tang census figures
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Dec 7, 2016 19:28
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JaucheCharly posted:Isn't Russia famous for people getting hillariously lost in the woods? Yes, but modern Russians have access to far more potent booze than their ancestors did.
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Dec 9, 2016 01:01
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Jobbo_Fett posted:History records the worst loss of human life in a single day when Constantinople ceased to be. Are you sure? What about the sack of Baghdad, or the fall of Chang-an? The conquest of Tenochtitlan? The Romans estimated over 100,000 died during the capture of Jerusalem, while Constantinople only had 50,000 inhabitants during the Ottoman siege. And those are just examples from contemporary events; the bombing campaigns in Japan were exceptionally deadly, thanks in part to the number-crunching skills of McNamara. sullat fucked around with this message at 03:16 on Dec 9, 2016 |
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Dec 9, 2016 03:14
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Jobbo_Fett posted:You see, its a joke about how the city was renamed and thus nobody knew where they lived anymore and all suddenly died because that's what some idiot believes happened to people back in the day. Gotcha. Although they would have been sophisticated urbanites, one supposes, and thus able to find their way around as long as they had their smart phones.
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Dec 9, 2016 03:48
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Modern American farming is mostly done from the comfort of air-conditioned combine harvesters and tractors; the main danger they face is that their ipod's battery runs out before they finish the north 400. Could totally be done naked.
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Dec 9, 2016 17:32
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Fangz posted:Which movies does the thread think have the best, most realistic battle scenes? Dr. Strangelove
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Dec 10, 2016 20:28
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my dad posted:There were goons on the opposing sides of the war in Ukraine. I say "were" because I'm pretty sure the Russian one is dead now. Explains why he stopped posting in the "ask me about invading Ukraine" thread.
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Dec 12, 2016 00:08
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the JJ posted:Ah, but you see, without someone there supervising, the slaves would get out of control! $300 bucks, what a deal!
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Dec 15, 2016 16:44
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Tias posted:They knew what the bomb was, and, must we assume, how difficult to make. When captured Japanese physicists heard about the Nagasaki bombing, they initially did not believe it was possible. That reminds me of a story I heard about a guy who survived both bombings; an engineer that lived in Nagasaki. His engineer buddies didn't believe his story about how the city was destroyed by a single bomb; after all, do you know how big a conventional bomb would have to be to make that big an explosion? They were sitting down with pens and paper trying to figure it out, when out the window he saw another plane flying by...
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Dec 15, 2016 21:13
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Nenonen posted:You're supposed to drink the blood of your enemies from their skulls Maybe if you're an uncultured barbarian, but a cultured barbarian drinks wine from the skulls of his enemies.
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Dec 18, 2016 22:28
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