Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however bad this might seem, seems so insginificant to drop a bomb on when Tokyo, being the capitol, would have had a greater impact?

I am, and will always remain fully condemnful towards the bombing of Naga and Hiro. But why didnt they go "all in" per se, when they had a chance?

An add-on to the question: How did armor develop and change throughout antiquity in the Greco Roman world?

I am not close to finishing the book, but Orwell has a chapter on the political dimension of the war near the end of the first fifth of the book that I found rather interesting to read and wanted to know if his view on that aspect of the war is accurate. I am paraphrasing here what he describes in a long chapter:

Basically, Orwell states that the defense against Franco's military coup was not so much a defense of democracy but rather a revolution. Outside of Spain no one knew about this revolution, everyone assumed the brave citizens of Spain were just defending their Republic's status quo against Franco while everyone in Spain at the time was fully aware that this was a socialist/anarchist revolution. He also states that the USSR as the biggest supporter (Mexico to a much lesser degree) of the government did not actually want a socialist revolution and thus attached terms to their continued support like "this is not a socialist revolution, just defeat Franco and go back to the way things were". Orwell says the USSR thought it was too early for Spain to have a socialist revolution, but he doesn't go into detail as to why they would think that. Because the government needed USSR weapons and gear they faded out and excluded the more leftist organisations (anarchists / lef-wing socialists) from their workings.

So, is all of this correct? If so, I am especially interested as to the reasons why the USSR didn't want Spain to become fully socialist.

For example, I know that Silesia used to have (and apparently now has again) vineyards. I'm asking about "actual" vineyards of several hectares, not tiny private hobby projects like on Tynningö, Sweden or Loddin, Germany.

Hi there

I'm currently working on a RPG campaign centered around a colony whose main export is timber/wood. Transport of it to the coast I know how it was done (floated on rivers) but the next step leaves me wondering - How to get it back home for final processing? So why not go for historical accuracy?

My questions:

1. In what state were it transported? Raw logs? Planks?
2. I assume it was transported in the hulls of the ships. Were there any special ships used?
3. Anything else regarding wood trade during 1600-1800 (approximately) I should know?

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I just finished reading "Inside the Third Reich" last night and found it to be one of the most fascinating books I've ever read. Speer is an enthralling writer, yet also at times an unreliable narrator.

Some burning questions after reading it are:

1 - Is there any evidence he planned to assassinate Hitler?

Personally it read to me that even if he had managed to acquire some gas for his plot and all the conditions had been correct, he never would have been able to bring himself to do it.

2 - Has any evidence been brought that Speer knew about the holocaust or other atrocities, and if so how involved was he?

It seems very hard to believe he didn't know, considering how much he was in control of and how on top of things he seemed.

3 - What did he leave out, are there any stories about Speer that portray him in a different light as to how he portrayed himself?

I know Holocaust Denial is a thing, but I've never really been able to wrap my head around how it works. I mean, how does one deny the deaths of that many people? Can someone explain it?

Edit: sorry for sticking ELI5 in the title! I posted this on the wrong sub by accident, but thank you for answering my questions so thoroughly, and for not downvoting my mistake into oblivion!

For context: Dien Bien Phu was a battle between France and the Viet Minh. It was the decisive battle of the First Indochina War. During the battle, the French established a base of operations around an airstrip built on a valley floor. The Viet Minh occupied the heights around the French, and then shelled the French into oblivion.

It just seems like the terrain is so obviously vulnerable. Surely the French would have been wise on that, right? Why would the french not occupy find a more defensible position?

Asking since this topic rarely seems to come up when discussing Soviet history and its differences with "The West" during the Cold War. Was there an drug scene equivalent to the one in the US and UK during this time or afterward? What was the Soviet state's stance on, for instance, possession of marijuana or LSD? Did citizens' drugs of choice differ from those of their counterparts in the US? How obtainable were illegal drugs? The era I'd like to know about would basically encompass the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Not every question I asked has to be answered. - these would just be details that might illuminate whatever info a historian might provide.

Not a big expert on the Soviets but I'd like to know more. Any info (on this particular subject and any others that might provide some context) would be appreciated. Thanks!

How did congress ever vote for prohibition? Who was actually for it? Why was it not immediately reversed due to outrage?

Were they sent back to Japan, executed, tried for war crimes, or what? Were they traded for Chinese POWs?

In the movie, a few soldiers open the hatch of the commander's cupola and shoot him. They proceed to drop a grenade in the tank before being killed. Had this we occur in ww2? Didn't hatches have locks on them?

I'm reading an old North Carolina newspaper from 1764 and it says that people in Wilmington burnt over 9,000 shillings worth of "Proclamation Money and Notes" from "the Sinking Fund" in front of both the House and Assembly of Wilmington. What does this mean? Is this an act of protest against Great Britain?

I recently learnt to my suprise that Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president and led the Republican North against the Democrat South in the civil war. In the time between then and now how on earth did the two parties make such a geographic 180?