I'm writing a book set in the late 1800s/early 1900s and two characters need to get from Germany to America. Where would they go to do that, because if I recall Germany is landlocked, meaning no harbors. Where would the nearest port be for them to get to?

Did they all fled and left? If so, to where? Did a lot convert to Islam and assimilated to Turkish culture? Or something else?

[deleted]

Hello everyone,

I am currently translating (from French to English) a story that takes place in Canada between 1896 and 1904-5. The original text has people addressing local lawmen as Sheriffs. However, I'm worried this might be an 'americanism'...

As the main character is a Mountie, I'm aware of the North West Mounted Police, later RCMP. There's some fudging in the dates concerning its jurisdiction over the various territories, but there's little I can do about that. Everything takes place West of Lake Manitoba, and the NWMP appears to have jurisdiction - within this story. I'm also aware that there were municipal constabularies (in large cities) and Provincial Police Forces (although some of those were not yet established at the time).

But surely there would also have been local lawmen, elected or appointed, in smaller rural communities or small towns? The NWMP couldn't be everywhere, even where it had jurisdiction. Small towns were bound to have a copper or two... So, what were they called? Were they Sheriffs, as they were south of the border? Did they have sheriff's offices, or a police station...?

I'd appreciate any help you can provide, please!

[deleted]

It seems counter productive to have them attached to your sides equipment, almost like saying drop your bombs here.

Most sources I read say Mustard Gas was first used by the Germans on July 12 near Ypres against British and Canadian troops. Hence it even got the name Yperite apparently.

According to a reference on Wikipedia, J.E. Edmonds says in "Military Operations France and Belgium 1917: 7 June – 10 November. Messines and Third Ypres (Passchendaele). History of the Great War Based on Official Documents by Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence. II (Imperial War Museum & Battery Press ed.)" it was used on July 10 near Nieuwpoort during Unternehmen Strandfest (in combination with blue cross gas shells).

Do we know who is right here?

Unternehmen Strandfest was a smaller operation and the gas seemed to be used for counter artillery fire. It was also "near Ypres", so there is room for error in both versions.

Some questions people have just don't require depth. This thread is a recurring feature intended to provide a space for those simple, straight forward questions that are otherwise unsuited for the format of the subreddit.

Here are the ground rules:

• Top Level Posts should be questions in their own right.
• Questions should be clear and specific in the information that they are asking for.

• Questions which ask about broader concepts may be removed at the discretion of the Mod Team and redirected to post as a standalone question.
• We realize that in some cases, users may pose questions that they don't realize are more complicated than they think. In these cases, we will suggest reposting as a stand-alone question.

• Answers MUST be properly sourced to respectable literature. Unlike regular questions in the sub where sources are only required upon request, the lack of a source will result in removal of the answer.

• Academic secondary sources are prefered. Tertiary sources are acceptable if they are of academic rigor (such as a book from the 'Oxford Companion' series, or a reference work from an academic press).

• The only rule being relaxed here is with regard to depth, insofar as the anticipated questions are ones which do not require it. All other rules of the subreddit are in force.

In light of recent events, I am wondering when the last major conflict was involving states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia and what its lasting remnants have been. I really have little knowledge of the area prior to the gulf war and don't know where the best place is to start my research. Thanks!

Edit: Thanks /u/ivymikey and /u/hillsonghoods!

I was in Ottawa recently, and saw some of the tulips they plant there yearly. I was told it had to do something with WW2, but I'd really like to understand two things: 1) What Canada did to make this type of impression on the Netherlands, and 2) why does the Netherlands' gesture involve tulip bulbs?

[deleted]

On a recent trip to Spain, as we were touring sites I asked our tour guide if we'd be seeing anything from the Visigothic Kingdom. He said no, because the Moors destroyed all the Visigothic buildings.

That didn't seem right to me, because : a) the Moors have a reputation for being a pretty tolerant bunch, and b) we saw a bunch of Roman stuff, and I don't know why the Moors would destroy all the Visigothic buildings but leave the Roman buildings alone.

I've tried to find information to support or refute what our tour guide told us but I'm not finding anything. My instinct tells me that the absence of surviving Visigothic structures may have to do with the materials that the Visigoths used, but that's just a guess. Anyone have any answers?

I started wondering about this question after the recent attacks in London. I know it is a delicate topic, but I think its worth asking because, while we often hear about terror attacks, only rarely do people talk about their causes. So, again, what caused the birth of Islamic Terrorism?

I read in Tony Judt's Postwar: A history of Europe since 1945 that 'They Berlin airlift lasted until May 12th 1949. Over those eleven months the Western allies shipped some 2.3 million tons of food on 277,500 flights, at the cost of the lives of 73 Allied airmen.' How did these airmen die? By accident rather than direct Soviet confrontation, I am assuming?

Also, a somewhat related question, do we know how many people would have lived in reccopolis at its hight? How would that city have compared to contemporary cities like Toledo or Rome?

[deleted]

[deleted]