I was reading that most places in western Europe during the middle ages had no standing, professional armies most of the time, and that soldiers were called up only during times of war. Which led me to wonder, how did the average peasant feel about being conscripted into an army? If they were paid well for the time they spent fighting, they probably were somewhat ok with it, as they probably didnt make much farming. So how much did the average soldier get paid for his services? If he, for example, fought for 6 months, how would his compensation compare to 6 months of working a farm? Thanks!

I’ve always been blown away with the amount of death in these bombings, and have always wondered what would’ve made me give the order.

An entire crew missing with their belongings undisturbed seems like may have been an insurance scheme or something, but I've also seen wilder theories like alcohol fumes driving people mad

Looking at the map, Thailand, Cambodia and south part of Vietnam have connected flat plains. I would assume it is easy to go around these places but the plain is divided into 3 separate countries. Why is this the case?

When you look at South America every country except Brazil is a Spanish speaking country. How did this come to be?

Further question. How common were archers in Medieval Armies of say the 12th century?

I'm thinking specifically civil war era when you hear about how someone would get drunk and grit their teeth while someone saws away a limb. It seems like a guillotine would be faster and less painful.

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I'm really interested in Native American History.

I've started 'The Great Courses: Native Peoples of North America.' but it is completely full of biased language with examples like " the clever Indians played lacrosse until the British were lulled into apathy and then 'accidentally' threw a ball over the wall and masterfully took over they fort. The British responded with deviousness and treachery..."

Can anyone please give me a source for native history that doesn't spend too much time arguing with other historians and attempts to convey as much information as possible?

I've looked at the book list, and they only have something for the American campaign.

I understand Rome put the city to the sword and burned it to the ground, but are there truly no remains of anything related to their military or cultural life?

As an aussie I hear a lot that during ww2 we were considered to be the elite of the elite and that during the start of ww1 we weren't regarded as well until we proved ourselves, is this just aussie/kiwi propaganda? Were we really that good and did the world really regard us as such?

Hello! To introduce myself: I'm a Roman history enthusiast, in particular the history of the late Roman Empire/the Dominate period of the Empire. Unfortunately, sources detailing what happened back then are scarce, and if I find one I'm not sure if they are accurate or not so I'd like to ask a few questions, hoping knowledgeable people here can provide answers to. My questions:

• Afaik, there were four troop grades: limitanei, comitatenses, palatini and scholares. I read a bit from "The complete Roman army" by Adrian Goldsworthy and noted (from the Notitia Dignitatum) that there were quite some "combinations": legio comitatenses, vexillatio palatina, auxilia palatina,...and so on, but I don't see any mention of "auxilia comitatenses". Did this kind of unit exist?

• To continue from the "auxilia palatina", does the "auxilia" part carry the same meaning as in "auxiliary" troops of earlier times?

• Also from the same book, reference to the Notitia Dignitatum showed that there were 7 scholares in the East but none of these in the West. Did Western emperors employ some sort of personal guard equivalent to the scholares?

• I'd like to read more about this period, mostly about the military and administration, aside from Adrian Goldsworthy's works, where can I start?

Lastly, I'm not sure if this is the right sub to post these question so if this post cause inconveniences, my apologies.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: for this question I was thinking of European medieval archers but if you have an answer for say east asian or middle eastern archers then I'd be happy to hear learn about that as well.

When I listened to sabatons song "En livstid i krig" I was wondering if the soldiers had any chance to leave the army and return home. Was there an official way, or did many desert. How realistic would desertion and returning home be. Did the army have a way of communicating back, through letters. Do we know of accounts of soldiers who lived through the whole war and returned after 30 years?

I know that after a while the majority of the army consisted of mercenaries, but were new soldiers still drafted in sweden and basically sent to their certain death.

If there is information for the imperial side, this would be interessting as well.