What was the impetus for this? I am having trouble finding anything on this subject other than the fact that there were rumors that this idea was why he was assassinated in 668. It seems like this would have had profound consequences for the remainder of the empire.

This is something that always bothered me while watching movies about Americans vs Red Coats, or French vs British etc, where you'd see lines of men facing each other in battle. Now the tactic obviously is a very effective one when it comes to facing a disorganised army, but when facing an army using the exact same tactics, it seems stupid and even a crazy way to fight. I can imagine being in those front lines asking myself "why the f**k are we marching forward like this without protection again?".

Seems to me that it would be very easy to invent something like a mobile shield wall. Basically a metal plate on wheels, perhaps with holes in it so you could fire at the enemy through them. And they'd have no way (other than canons) to get at you. Especially if you were a disorganised army like perhaps the early Scots, that sounds like something any sane person would come up with as a countermeasure.

So why wasn't it? It seems like it was either digging in and shooting at each other, or that crazy marching at each other tactic :-)

Question says it all.

Patton was seen as the first to use a mounted machine gun in a motorized attack in America. When did the European's begin equipping their vehicles? And would they have been armored vehicles or just smaller jeeps? I ask because Battlefield 1 has released some art and they are fully armored vehicles with machine gun ports and a completely closed cabin in many of the pictures.

In 1861, Russian Tsar Alexander II signed a bill to liberate the serfs, ending centuries of near-slavery. Previous tsars had made the nod towards their emancipation, but this was always opposed by the nobles. Why was Alexander II able to free the serfs without significant opposition by the boyar?

I know Edward Teach had a settlement in North Carolina, but what was the furthest North pirates during the Golden Age managed to set up some sort of a settlement? I've tried searching for an answer, but my searches have yielded no results.

Thanks!!

I guess I should also add: What happened when one is a reluctant warrior or just a frail, weak, and overall shitty warrior? How can they justify being in the warrior caste?

The Star Spangled Banner became official as the national anthem in 1931, but after doing some searching, and finding a lot on when it became popular at sporting events, I can't find any mention of when it became common to sing it in public schools. Does it have anything to do with America's red scare and the Cold War?

[deleted]

Ive heard this idea being tossed around a lot. Would love to hear some more experienced users talk about it, because personally I just get a mind blank when it comes to this topic...

I've always wondered if the Allies ever thought of heavily arming & armouring Destroyers or Cruisers, then deliberately beaching them (or at least taking them in very close to shore) to act as forts more or less to support the beach landings.

To me it seems like a good idea (Granted I wouldn't have to man one of those ships, they would become a huge magnet for German fire). You could put allot of bunker busting firepower and armour on a ship.

Was this sort of thing ever considered? Maybe there were heavily armed and armoured small craft or landing craft I am not aware of.

I had this thought today. The farthest back I can go with my own personal knowledge is the 1800s with Bell Labs and the electrical stuff.

So...according to your own knowledge, at what point did science become a personal-profit motive and completely void of the basic curiosity and survival focus that earlier scientists and protoscientists had?

The book is one of the Time Life Great Ages if Man series, African Kingdoms. As a side question, does the aforementioned series, with 21 topics such as Age of Progress, The Reformation, and Classical Greece, and written between 1965 - 1968, still hold up or are they hopelessly out of date? I've been reading them and beyond the few mentions of stuff like "the negroe man" or "oriental" as outdated phrasing I've loved reading them, full of information and color pictures and maps, I'm having a field day.

AFAIK, the languages of Hakka, Cantonese etc. in South China are the descendants of Old (Middle?) Chinese, after various dynasties expanded from the traditionally Chinese North.

As they expanded South, what languages/peoples did they replace? Do any of those indigenous languages survive? Are there any examples of words in South Chinese languages which come from the indigenous languages?

I am a sixth grade teacher looking to help a student. My kids are doing a project on a civilization of their choosing, and despite a lot of effort we cannot find any info on the written language of Mali. I'm assuming Arabic, I know it was a linguistically diverse empire but I don't know if the other languages were written at that point.

Crucifixion is one of the most powerful symbols of Christianity, so when the Roman Empire's official state religion was changed to Christianity, did they still use crucifixion as a method of execution?

Didn't the two nations have a protection pact with Poland? I understand that the Axis seemed like the more immediate threat, but wasn't the USSR violating it to even if they weren't allied with Germany?

EDIT: I'm not saying they should have or trying to defend the Nazis in any way, I'm just curious.