Would the Soviets have been able to attack in the summer of 1941 if the Germans had not? I am curious as to what the intentions and capabilities of the Soviets were during the time.

I was reading the wikipedia page on the Connecticut Panhandle which says it was ceded from New York in part because its residents felt more "Connecticut" than New York.

How? Why? What could possibly make them feel more one way than another? Nicer shoes? How and why did any of these states have distinct identities? Why were they even decentralized into separate states and not just one big British blob?

We have labels like brittons and anglos etc. But who was who? Like the original celtic people, then the people after roman influence.

I've just finished watching the excellent BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall and I was struck by the manner in which almost all the men doffed their hats, by pulling them up from the back. Is this what they did in the 16th century? How do we know? Are there any documents which describe the doffing process?

It seems like the British monarchy is stripped of almost all powers and has a purely ceremonial role. If I understand correct, they have almost no say in the government. Why is the monarchy yet around then? Wouldn't it be fairly frustrating to be a Queen when you actually have no real power? Why do people are the people yet so excited about the Queen?

Title says most of it really; but how would an ancient historian such as Plutarch do his research on say, Julius Caesar? Would he search for an older book in Rome? Was it passed down orally? How would they judge what was real and trustworthy and what was myth and legend?

Thank you.

William Faulkner famously said, "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." Certainly this rings true: my personal circumstances, my city's situation, my state's crises, they're all rooted deeply in the past. One could even make the case that every conflict today can be roughly traced back to WWI and its aftermath.

But if one wanted to understand why the Great Depression was "Great," they'd need to go back at least to the 1860's and the post-Civil War aftermath. And if one wants to understand SCOTUS and their relationship to the Bill of Rights, you'd need to explore the early 1800's and various cases that ruled the Bill of Rights does not apply to the states (not until the 14th when opinion started to change).

I suppose my question could be framed as, how far back do we have to go to pick up the "starting point" for the modern world? Or can we never escape the whole of human history and its impact on us today?

Hey guys, so as the title states my university is having its annual book sale where they clear out a bunch of older titles which may not see a lot of circulation. There's usually a good mix of books on different topics and in different languages. I'm interested in hearing about some titles you guys like regarding history which I could keep my eye out for when I'm browsing.

I'm especially interested in reading about the American Civil War, World War I (especially after that post and thread where my preconceptions about trench warfare and the war in general were debunked), World War II, and the Cold War. Alternatively, are there any authors I should avoid?

Hope you guys can help me out a bit.

So a trend I've noticed a lot of with Roman and Greek leaders is that many of them seem to go through a lot of wives however there is usually not a lot of information mentioned as to why.

Was there any reason for this? Perhaps a lot of childbirth deaths? Maybe political divorces and remarriages?

In particular in the American Revolution. I am studying up on my American Revolutionary War in the South in prep for my next project and I am not a military historian by any means.

For instance, at the battle of Cowpens Lt. Col Tarleton had two 3lb artillery pieces with him.

What purpose would this have served? To my untrained eyes it just seems like it would be two bigger guns firing slowly.

What would the tactical use of these guns be?

This question applies more broadly to the war as a whole. Where lots of little operations are dispatched with one or two guns.

Thanks for the insight. Military history has never been my strong suit.

My roommate recently purchased a Mauser Broomhandle that has a unit stamp for the German 44th Infantry Regiment, 11th company. Him and I have been attempting to find information about that unit, but our Google-fu is not as strong as it could be. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Side question: If there were, did they get pored over and edited the way the bible has? Parts taken out, other parts added?

Did the races slowly faded away in Byzantine period or the Sultan banned them right away?

Looking for a better understanding on how/why this was conducted.