Or maybe just cool strategies? No era/area in particular.

I just started really getting into history lately, I mean, ive always liked it with what few books I've read on hannibal and mongols and of course guns germs and steel. Not a big nonfiction guy.

Bigigger the better. I read books like weak jawed dogs chew bones.

*Oops, imeant 'warfare'

The other day an Asian friend of mine and I got on a bus, and sat in the front row. As he joke, he said, "Are you sure we can sit here? This is where the white people sit". I pointed out that I am white, but I have no idea where he would have had to sit.

The internet only gave a bunch of people throwing out their thoughts on the matter. Anyone have any historical documents or knowledgeable conjecture?

Thanks!

It seems like a staple asian restuarant theme now but how exactly did this start? Sushi and Curry isn't exactly the most obvious of combinations.

Edit: Region I'm asking for is America, sorry for being vague.

I read stories all the time of how lucky German soldiers were not to be captured by the Russians, but at the same time I'm unable to find why they were so "lucky." Why did Germans fear being captured by the soviets?

I am a volunteer at my town's Historical Society and we have been puzzled by a number of photographs from around 1890-1900 which show large wooden poles near some of the taller buildings in the village center (church, school, tavern, etc.) One photo shows a pole that's taller than the steeple of the church that's fifty feet away.

More than twice the height and diameter of ordinary telephone poles which appear in later photos, each of these mystery poles has a metal ball at its top and numerous small spikes sticking out of the pole at regular intervals; more spikes than would be needed for climbing the pole.

Someone theorized that these poles were used for lightning protection, and the spikes helped disperse any electrical charge. I haven't found any proof of this interesting theory. Our village is in southern New Hampshire... perhaps there was a very convincing lightning rod salesman?

• I am assuming at this point that everyone has seen "Lars Anderson: A New Level Of Archery" on Youtube (For those who haven't, youtube him!) *

*EDIT: This is not so much a discussion of the video. It piqued my curiosity in areas of archery as I am more than familiar with the English Longbow. This is mainly about the strength of bows/archery before Medieval times and the tactical usage of archers in battle.

Watching this youtube clip he makes claims about the different historical methods of shooting arrows and how certain methods are 'better' or more effective than others.

Yet he never gives any credence to the draw weight or the actual tactical usage of archers by the armies of each period. It's a lot of trick shots and jumping around with a light draw bow demonstrating what is feasibly possible instead of actually what was applied in battle.

I am therefore curious as to whether there is information on the draw weights on archery bows throughout history and the tactical application of archers in armies throughout history?

I am talking along the lines of for example (In case my phrasing is poor!)

"Ancient Egyptians used a very light draw bow and archers were primarily individuals who would skirmish ahead of the main force"

or

"English longbowmen were regimented into solid blocks of men who would fire volley fire en masse at the enemy".

(Any suggestions of literature to read would be greatly appreciated.)

First, I'm sorry if this is the wrong place for this; I just wasn't sure who else to ask. I figured you guys could point me in the right direction...

Are there any documentaries about WWII from the Axis powers point of view? Does anybody know of any WWII documentaries made in Japan, about Japanese soldiers and battles I could watch? Any good books, etc...

We hear a lot about WII, but we only ever hear about our soldiers... I want to hear the brave tales of the enemy, out of respect.

Can you guys tell me stories... point me to wiki articles, documentaries, books, etc?

I've been playing a bit of Crusader Kings 2 and while accurate in some ways I've always found how mercenaries worked sort of odd. Basically you pay a bunch of money and an army far larger than anything you can levy suddenly appears at your capital.

Where would these troops stay? How did they store their equipment? How would local rulers react to what was essentially a small private army marching through their territory to another kingdom?

Is there a term for historical texts that instead of answering question about events that actually happened, investigate what would have been required for events that didn't happen to take place. For example,"what would it have taken for African Americans to retain the vote after reconstruction". Are there any respected works that answer this sort of question?

When was the old, Aristocracy-Merchant-Laborer paradigm was replaced with the modern, Capitalist-Professional-Laborer idea of Upper-Middle-Lower class? What were the historical forces involved in this? How long did it take for this paradigm to become the dominant usage?

Mr.Midshipman Hornblower includes a fight with a Spanish galley around 1793. Wikipedia implies those ships were not used that late. Washington Post states the books are historically accurate. The author, C.S. Forester implies only a few were left at this time. Is this historically reasonable for around 1793 or did the author want to include the drama of the galley slaves in the story? The book says the Spanish galleys were well maintained, hence their existence at this date.

Also, what are the best theories for explaining why this happened?

To further expand, I'm wondering what time the Great Wall became no longer as useful as it once was.

Talking with my brothers girlfriend last night, who is Russian. Her Russian history book basically gives about a paragraph of attention to the D-Day invasion. Something along the lines of, "After the Russians had won the war against Hitler, the Americans quickly invaded from the West to capture what territory of Western Europe they could."

I know that there is obviously propaganda on both sides of the story but I am left with these questions:

• Was one of the victories more critical than the other, in terms of defeating the Nazis?
• Could the Nazis have retained control over Western Europe against the Russians after Stalingrad?
• Would Russia have been interested in/capable of invading Western Europe if the West hadn't?
• What other information will help me understand this situation better?