Most Popular
1500 questions
22
votes
5 answers
"More Frenchmen bore arms for the Axis than for the Allies during the Second World War"?
True or false?
This is claimed by Andrew Roberts in The Storm of War. Quote:
As more Frenchmen bore arms for the Axis than for the Allies during the Second World War, it is unsurprising that there is still no official French history of the…
user3521
22
votes
4 answers
Does the number of legs in the air of a horse statue indicate how its rider died?
I have heard that the number of legs a horse has in the air in a statue indicates how the rider died. According to what I have understood:
2 legs in the air: rider died in battle
1 leg in the air: rider died by wounds made in battle
0 legs in the…
santiagozky
- 736
- 2
- 5
- 10
22
votes
2 answers
How did ancient empires account for slow propagation of information e.g. in their legal codes?
Mathematician Alain Connes cites a French legal rule that explicitly accounts for propagation of information at finite speeds substantially below the speed of light:
There was a legal rule according to which a law decreed in Paris on
day J was…
Drux
- 14,438
- 5
- 49
- 109
22
votes
6 answers
What factors enabled Europe to conquer almost the whole world?
As we probably all know, after ancient and medieval times European countries traveled to almost every part of the Globe. Today's heritage are, among many others, Roman law and alphabet, Gregorian Calendar, English as international language, European…
Voitcus
- 7,161
- 6
- 50
- 94
21
votes
2 answers
Did Ancient Roman insulae reach more than 10 storeys?
High-rise apartments flourished in classical antiquity. Ancient Roman insulae there and in other imperial cities reached 10 and more storeys. Beginning with Augustus (r. 30 BCE-14 CE), several emperors attempted to establish limits of 20–25 m for…
Aarão Xisto Salazar
- 1,171
- 11
- 21
21
votes
3 answers
Why did the Native American city of Cahokia die out?
From AD 600-1400, the Mississippian native Americans had a massive city near the present site of St. Louis, MO. It was one of the world's largest cities at the time, and was the largest pre-Columbian city north of the Aztec civilization with a…
Gwen
- 2,888
- 2
- 26
- 43
21
votes
3 answers
Where did the term "Middle Ages" come from?
Where did the term "Middle Ages" come from? Who was the first known person to use that term?
Daniel
- 3,537
- 4
- 30
- 48
21
votes
7 answers
Were slave rowers ever chained to the ship?
UPDATE
I want to know whether there is any evidence that rowers were ever chained to the ships or oars in Ancient Greece and Rome. In my view it could be too expensive to chain people at that time, even if the crew were slaves.
In many historical…
Anixx
- 32,728
- 13
- 90
- 183
21
votes
2 answers
How did people realize that America was a different continent?
American schools teach that the American continents are named after Amerigo Vespucci because he realized that Columbus had not sailed to Asia but rather a new continent. If this story is true, how did Amerigo realize this? If not, who was first to…
ChickenGod
- 573
- 2
- 5
- 11
21
votes
4 answers
Why did Mongolia split in two when they declared independence?
When Mongolia declared independence from the Qing Empire in 1911, part of it stayed under Qing control. This is the part known today as Inner Mongolia. But even before their independence, there were "Outer Mongolia" and "Inner Mongolia."
Is there a…
Orion
- 3,784
- 5
- 29
- 31
21
votes
9 answers
Could the Soviet Union have continued fighting World War II without Caucasus oil?
In 1942, Germany's Fall Blau was initially aimed at capturing or interdicting shipments of oil from the Caucasus to the rest of the Soviet Union. Even though armies were diverted to Stalingrad and even Leningrad, the Germans managed to capture…
Tom Au
- 104,554
- 17
- 253
- 530
21
votes
5 answers
Did Hitler not intend a major war while invading Poland?
A J P Taylor in his book "The Origins of the Second World War" writes,
"Hitler never intended a major war and at most was prepared for only a
limited war against Poland."
"In 1938-39, the last peacetime years, Germany spendt on armaments
about…
fortytwo
- 2,675
- 17
- 33
21
votes
6 answers
How quickly could the Roman legions march? How did it compare to their cavalry?
In the history of Rome there are numerous instances of legions being marched up and down Europe, from Spain to Rome and from Rome to Syria. I'm interested to know how quickly these armies could move? Did it take a half a year to move from the Alps…
Karlth
- 2,209
- 2
- 16
- 29
21
votes
4 answers
Did the poor performance of the Red Army in the Winter War significantly contribute to German underestimation of the USSR's military capacity?
Wikipedia says in the article on the Winter War:
Perhaps more importantly, the very poor performance of the Red Army
encouraged Hitler to think that an attack on the Soviet Union would be
successful.
This statement makes ample sense but it is…
Felix Goldberg
- 25,817
- 6
- 85
- 192
21
votes
4 answers
Why did Chinese use high tin bronze for swords?
Also unique for Chinese bronzes is the consistent use of high tin bronze (17–21% tin) which is very hard and breaks if stressed too far, whereas other cultures preferred lower tin bronze (usually 10%), which bends if stressed too far.…
DVK
- 17,695
- 7
- 77
- 144