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Interesting facts of military history

Discussion in 'Military History' started by Kai-Petri, Dec 12, 2003.

  1. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    "The Yellow Turban Rebellion, also translated as Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt that broke out in 184 AD in China during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. The rebellion, which got its name from the colour of the scarves that the rebels wore on their heads, marked an important point in the history of Taoism due to the rebels' association with secret Taoist societies. The revolt was also used as the opening event in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
    Yellow Turban Rebellion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
  2. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    "The Military Revolution refers to a radical change in military strategy and tactics with resulting major changes in government. The concept was introduced by Michael Roberts in the 1950s as he focused on Sweden 1550-1660 searching for major changes in the European way of war caused by introduction of portable firearms. Roberts linked military technology with larger historical consequences, arguing that innovations in tactics, drill and doctrine by the Dutch and Swedes 1560–1660, which maximized the utility of firearms, led to a need for more trained troops and thus for permanent forces. These changes in turn had major political consequences in the level of administrative support and the supply of money, men and provisions, producing new financial demands and the creation of new governmental institutions. "Thus, argued Roberts, the modern art of war made possible — and necessary — the creation of the modern state."
    The concept was further expanded by Geoffrey Parker in Parker (1976) and Parker (1996) to cover the trace italienne capable of withstanding the new siege artillery, the growing Spanish army, and such naval innovations as capital ships firing broadsides. Parker also stressed the worldwide implications, linking the Military Revolution inside Europe to the rise of the West to global dominance.
    Parker also highlighted the significant part William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg played in the Infantry Revolution of the 16th - 17th Centuries. In a letter to his cousin Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange dated December 8, 1594 William Louis set out (from reading the Tactica by Aelianus Tacitus) an argument around the use of ranks by soldiers of Imperial Rome as discussed in Aelian's Tactica. Aelian was discussing the use of the counter march in the context of the Roman sword the gladius and spear the pilum. William Louis in a 'crucial leap' realized that the same technique could work for men with firearms." I have discovered ex evolutionibus [a term that would eventually be translated as "drill"] a method of getting the musketeers and others with guns not only to practice firing but to keep on doing so in a very effective battle order (that is to say, they do not fire at will or from behind a barrier....). Just as soon as the first rank has fired, then by the drill [they have learned] they will march to the back. The second rank either marching forward or standing still, will then fire just like the first. After that the third and following ranks will do the same. When the last rank has fired, the first will have reloaded, as the following diagram shows:..
    Other historians, like Christopher Duffy and Jeremy Black, have criticised the concept of a military revolution in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as exaggerated, misleading or simplistic."
    Military Revolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
  3. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    "In the 1862 American Civil War battle of Iuka, an acoustic shadow, believed to have been enhanced by a northeast wind, kept two divisions of Union soldiers out of the battle, because they could not hear the sounds of battle only 10 km (six miles) downwind."
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_sound#Mach_number
     
  4. lwd

    lwd Ace

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    I remember reading something a few years ago where someone was doing a study of a number of ACW battles and a number of hard to explain reactions became much easier to understand when they looked at how the sounds of the battle would propagate.
     
  5. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    It's not something I've ever thought about actually, it's an interesting concept.
     
  6. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    "The Battle of Chimborazo was among the first confrontations in the War of the two brothers, a struggle between Huáscar and Atahualpafor power over the Inca Empire. Atahualpa won, having the more capable generals; he drove Huáscar back onto the defensive.
    The war resulted from a dispute over dynastic succession. In 1527, Huayna Capac died, leaving a large and powerful empire. He bequeathed the major part of his domain to Huáscar, who in 1531 invaded his brother Atahualpa's smaller share, the Northern Inca Empire.[SUP][citation needed][/SUP] The capital Cajamarca was occupied, Tumebamba defected, and Atahualpa was captured. However, Atahualpa escaped with the aid of a small girl and united himself with Huayna Capac's generals Quizquiz and Chalicuchima, both skillful, and together they attacked Huáscar near Chimborazo. Although superior in numbers, Huáscar was defeated and forced to retreat. The foundations of Huáscar's power were shaken by the defeat, and in the next year, all Cusco dominance came to an end at Quipaipan.
    Atoc was reportedly captured in the battle and suffered a most gruesome death at the hands of Chalkuchimac. Some sources suggest his head was used as a golden cup, others that he was left on the battlefield with his eyes torned out. Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa claims he and second-in command Hango were flayed and their skins used as drums. Ullco Colla, lord of the defected Tumipampa tribe, died in battle and his city captured shortly after, but reportedly spared by Atahualpa."
    Battle of Chimborazo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Inca Civil War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
  7. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    Giuseppe Marco Fieschi (December 13, 1790 – February 19, 1836) and hell machine...

    Giuseppe Fieschi was the chief conspirator in an attempt on the life of King Louis-Philippe of France in July 1835. He made the "infernal machine" consisting of twenty gun barrels, to be fired simultaneously. The king was only slightly injured but 18 people in his company were killed. Fieschi and his accomplices were executed.

    Giuseppe Marco Fieschi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
  8. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    I'm sensing inspiration behind that post.;)
     
  9. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    "The Agacher Strip is a 100-mile (160 km)-long strip of land located in northeastern Burkina Faso. The area, thought to contain considerable amounts of natural gas and mineral resources, was the center of a long running border dispute between Upper Volta (renamed Burkina Faso in 1984) and Mali which erupted into armed conflict on two occasions (1974 and 1985).
    The area was thought to contain substantial natural resources. Both sides hoped that the exploitation of these resources would help improve the dire economic situations in their respective countries.Reasons behind the conflict.
    Some observers believe that the dispute may have been deliberately provoked to divert attention from domestic problems brought on by the return to military rule in Upper Volta and the growing unpopularity of Moussa Traoré's military regime in Mali."
    Agacher Strip War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Burkina Faso and Mali, Agacher Strip War, 1985
     
  10. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    WW1 and arms race

    It also, crucially, tasked the Manchester-based chemist Chaim Weizmann with producing large quantities of acetone from readily available raw materials. It had previously been made chiefly from the dry distillation of wood; hence most of Britain's acetone was imported from timber-growing countries like the United States.

    In May 1915, after Weizmann had demonstrated to the Admiralty that he could use an anaerobic fermentation process to convert 100 tons of grain to 12 tons of acetone, the government commandeered brewing and distillery equipment, and built factories to utilise the new process at Holton Heath in Dorset and King's Lynn in Norfolk.

    Together, they produced more than 90,000 gallons of acetone a year, enough to feed the war's seemingly insatiable demand for cordite. As a result, shell production rose from 500,000 in the first five months of the war to 16.4 million in 1915.

    By 1917, thanks to the new munitions factories and the women that worked in them, the British Empire was supplying more than 50 million shells a year. By the end of the war, the British Army alone had fired 170 million shells.

    BBC News - How Germany lost the WWI arms race
     
  11. muscogeemike

    muscogeemike Member

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    The Ferguson Rifle, a breech loader, was used by the Brit’s in the American Revolution; in the War of 1812 it was used by both sides (the Americans using rifles captured during the Revolution).
     
  12. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    The Battle of Siddim, or Battle of the Vale of Siddim refers to an event in the Hebrew Bible book of Genesis 14:1-12 that occurred in the days of Abram and Lot. The Vale of Siddim was the battleground for the cities of the Jordan Plain revolting against the Elamite empire and its Mesopotamian allies.
    According to the Bible, in the days of Lot, before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, The Elamite empire occupied the Land of Canaan which included all of the Jordan River Plain and many surrounding tribes and cities. The occupation was under the rule of King Chedorlaomer for twelve years. In the thirteenth year, five kings of the cities of the Jordan plain revolted against Elamite rule. According to Jewish tradition, the revolt started with refusing to pay tribute to the Elamite empire. This triggered Chedorlaomer to assemble forces from the four main directions of Mesopotamia. Chedorlaomer's campaign to the Jordan plains began w​ith sacking and looting every city along the way.(Genesis 14:1–7).
     
  13. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    "The Battle of Siddim, or Battle of the Vale of Siddim refers to an event in the Hebrew Bible book of Genesis 14:1-12 that occurred in the days of Abram and Lot. The Vale of Siddim was the battleground for the cities of the Jordan Plain revolting against the Elamite empire and its Mesopotamian allies.
    According to the Bible, in the days of Lot, before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, The Elamite empire occupied the Land of Canaan which included all of the Jordan River Plain and many surrounding tribes and cities. The occupation was under the rule of King Chedorlaomer for twelve years. In the thirteenth year, five kings of the cities of the Jordan plain revolted against Elamite rule. According to Jewish tradition, the revolt started with refusing to pay tribute to the Elamite empire. This triggered Chedorlaomer to assemble forces from the four main directions of Mesopotamia. Chedorlaomer's campaign to the Jordan plains began w​ith sacking and looting every city along the way.(Genesis 14:1–7)."
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Siddim
     
  14. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    Röchling shells were bunker-busting artillery shells, developed by German engineer August Cönders during World War II, based on the theory of increasing sectional density to improve penetration.
    These shells were tested in 1942 and 1943 against the Belgian Fort d'Aubin-Neufchâteau. The shells were able to penetrate more than 4 metres (13 ft) of reinforced concrete, but had low muzzle velocity, and as such were very inaccurate: 36 m (118 ft) on 1,000 m (3,300 ft) range. As a result, they saw very limited use during World War II; only about 200 shells were ever fired.

    Röchling shell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
  15. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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    "Prior to the Revolution, the French Army was composed of three-battalion regiments. One of the early results of the revolution was the influx of enthusiastic but inexperienced volunteers, all determined to fight for their ideals. It was quickly realised that these new volunteer units would be ineffective without some sort of experienced core to help the new troops. Just prior to the battle of Valmy (1792), it was decided to form demi-brigades, each made up of one regular battalion from a pre-revolutionary regiment combined with two battalions of volunteers.
    By 1793, many of the volunteers had disappeared, while the increasingly radical revolution had alienated many officers, including General Dumouriez ( the French commander at Valmy) to the extent that they deserted the cause. The formation of the First Coalition meant that the French army was now massively outnumbered. The immediate response was to call a levee en mass, in August 1793 making all men between the ages of 18 and 25 liable for military service (an early form of conscription)."
    Demi-Brigade
     
  16. Totenkopf

    Totenkopf אוּרִיאֵל

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    This is something I had never heard of before, quite literally in my own back yard in a small province like mine.

    The Welsford-Parker Monument (also known as the Crimean War monument or Sevastopol Monument) is a triumphal arch that is located in the Old Burial Ground, Halifax, Nova Scotia,Canada. This is the oldest war monument in Canada and the only monument to the Crimean War in North America. The arch and lion were built in 1860 by stone sculptor George Lang to commemorate British victory in the Crimean war and the Nova Scotians who had fought in the war.

    Welsford-Parker Monument - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
     
  17. GRW

    GRW Pillboxologist WW2|ORG Editor

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  18. lwd

    lwd Ace

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  19. Campin' Carl

    Campin' Carl New Member

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    RAAF Ace Harry Cobby partook in both world wars. During WWI, he had a total of 29 victories in less that a year of flying. He was recognised as a national hero and stayed with the Air Force until 1946.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Cobby
    Fun fact: My Year 10 Humanities teacher happens to be related to Harry Cobby. He was her great uncle.

    During the American Civil War Battle of Saratoga, British General Simon Fraser, while planning a counter-attack, was taken out by from 300 yards by a rifleman called Timothy Murphy. His death was instrumental to Britains defeat.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73wqN41Ns-w
     
  20. urqh

    urqh Tea drinking surrender monkey

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    Ahh...Timothy...the black sheep of our Murphy Family....But like all Murphy's a bugger with a rifle....
     

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