During the 2nd day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Sickles' moved his III Corps away from the rest of the Union line on the Cemetery Ridge. The reason for this unauthorized move by Sickles was just due to his unhappiness of the slightly higher ground in front of him on the Cemetery Ridge -line. So, Sickles marched his III Corps nearly a mile away from the rest of the Union line. General Meade corrected Sickles of this foolhardy, or unwise move and explained that Sickles'... Read more ..read more

So, i was reading some other forum thread, about WW II after USSR is defeated (in 1942, say). Yes, original, i know. Also a dumpster fire thread, so no link. But! One thing made me think - what could allies do to lose the war (or change the course in a big way). Western allies, that is, not Soviets. A decision that is impactful yet realistic in at least some way. And i only can think of one thing (no, no ll does not lose it, imo) - operation Pike going ahead (uh, i meant bombing Baku in... Read more ..read more

This is a topic I've been interested in for a very long time, and I've been spending some time recently refreshing my understanding. While I was getting my master's degree, I researched the topic of slavery in Khazaria in which the topic of the conversion was largely unimportant so I didn't look into it too much. The short version of this history goes like this: At some point in the 9th or 10th centuries, the Khazar leadership converted to Judaism. It isn't known exactly why they did so... Read more ..read more

The optical aiming systems installed on German, Allied, and Soviet tanks varied significantly in their design and quality.Among these, German tanks stood out with multiple advantages in their gun sights.With meticulous design and unparalleled quality, German gun sights boasted advantages that set them apart from their counterparts. From wider fields of view to superior magnification, these optical marvels offered tank-crews a crucial edge on the battlefield. Designed by... Read more ..read more

Split from the OT's Ukraine thread. tl;dr : @Yakman posted a picture likening Hadrian's Wall with Trump's. I argued it's (one of) the worst and most counter-productive analogies one can raise to oppose Trump's wall and general immigration policies, given the fate of Britain after Rome left (a brutal "great replacement" if there was any in history, even if it came from across the sea and not the wall). Yakman disagrees and argues the Picts weren't a threat, that Rome was afraid of... Read more ..read more

I do understand that camels were excellent support animals, and that they played a critical role in a number of battles (Such as when the Persians used them against the Lydians during the the early Persian conquests). However, camels always seem to have been on the periphery of mounted warfare, with few groups using them as their principle mounted arm. Despite horses being actively afraid of camels, they remained at the centre of mounted warfare pretty much everywhere, while camels were more... Read more ..read more

I thought this was very interesting. Lady knows her stuff ..read more

One of the many What If's of WW2 is what would happen if Germany had finished the GZ. Many of those arguments end with "not much" as the GZ had many deficiencies, the Germans lacked experience with carriers etc. That made me wonder, why the Germans began with what amounts to a full fleet cariier? Why not begin with something smaller, like escort carrier (essentially converted merchant ships), or lighter carriers, to gain some basic experience - and ships that could be built fast ..read more

Split off from the OT US politics thread to prevent further derail and put this in the proper nerd reservation, the History forum. I took the liberty of quoting everyone who was involved in previous thread: pheonicia said: I've already got all the response you need right here. "You hear what they're doing to Alexander? The Great he's called because he made the West great, just like we're trying to make America Great again! But he's under attack, this great man, under attack by the gay agenda trying... Click to expand... Read more ..read more

As an offshoot of Alexander of the Many Alexandrias discussion: I have always wondered what actually happened when a history book mentions "XYZ founded the City Of Blabla". Cities, even small ones, are organizationally, physically, and structurally complex systems, and they don't spring out of the ground. Assuming you are funding the city in a new spot, you need: 1, Roads, or a river for communication and transport 2, Need to clear the forest/overgrowth within about a days walk or more to... Read more ..read more