Today marks the 60th anniversary of the start of the Algerian War which took place on November 1st, 1954. To mark this occasion, we are now going to do a panel AMA for questions on the French wars of decolonization. No matter if you're interested in the Viet Minh, the battle of Algiers or the less known aspects of these conflicts - you are very welcome to quench your thirst for knowledge here!

The panelists are as follows:

/u/Bernardito will speak about both the Algerian War and the Indochina War with a focus on the military aspect. I will be happy to answer questions on anything military related during this era.

/u/Georgy_K-Zhukov is well-versed in the French post-WWII campaigns in Indochina and Algeria, with particular focus on the role of the French Foreign Legion.

/u/EsotericR will be answering questions on decolonization in French sub-Saharan Africa.

/u/InTheCrosshairs will answer questions on the Viet Minh's role in French decolonization of Vietnam.

/u/b1uepenguin is also around to address questions about French decolonization in the Pacific; the failure to decolonize as well as anti-colonial movements and events in the French Pacific.

All panelists won't be available at the same time and they will be answering questions throughout the day and into tomorrow - so don't be worried if your question doesn't get answered within an hour!

Also, keep in mind that questions pertaining to the political aspect of these conflicts might remain unanswered since I was unable to recruit any experts on French post-war politics (as well as North African, Vietnamese, etc.)

I also want to take the time to do a shameless plug for a new subreddit touching on the subject of the war in Indochina: /r/VietnamWar has recently been cleaned and opened for posts and discussions on the French involvement in Indochina (and beyond).

I've heard vague mentions of "fortified bridges" being constructed in France and Germany to prevent Viking raiders from sailing up rivers and attacking inland areas. How did those work? How were they typically constructed (wood, stone, earthworks, combination)? Have any examples survived? Do we have any contemporary illustrations? How effective were they at resisting and/or deterring upriver raids? Were there any major battles/seiges involving one of these bridges?

Obviously there weren't pads or tampons like we have today and for the most part they pinned rags to their bloomers, but did the more physically active ones (i.e. scullery maids) fashion makeshift tampons out of cotton and/or strips of cloth, or would they not have dared to insert anything vaginally due both to their age and the fear that their "virginity" wouldn't be left intact.

Yeah, That ^ :D

Who was the first person to have international acclaim? To the point where their likeness would be recognized around the globe.

Byzantium was renamed Constantinople when the Romans made it their capital and yet we remember them as the Byzantines. Why is that?

Did Knights if opposing factions avoid fighting each other on the battlefield assuming neither had a distinct advantage? Since Knights needed expensive heavy armor, expensive and well made weapons and we're generally well trained and an extremely valuable asset on the battlefield did they choose to avoid each other or would they not shy away from going face to face with each other or would they actively seek each other out for a battle?

Did it depend on the faction or "commanding officer"?

I was thinking about all the capes for Halloween characters. From Dracula to Superman, the idea of capes must have come from somewhere. Why were they popular, and why did they stop being popular?

In school, I've been taught that stories like Beowulf were possibly based on a historical figure that became embellished over the centuries and finally entered mythical status. Even the story of Achilles being dipped into the river Styx was a later embellishment to the Achilles legends.

In other words, what are the earliest examples of the Greek heroes before they became popular myth?

If this question is too broad, or has been asked before (i checked the wiki, I swear!), please delete this post and accept my apologies!

I find a lot online about fencing schools and dueling with rapiers, but was it ever used effectively (or at all) in regimented battle?

"He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions."

Reading that sentence alone it almost appears our founding fathers had an already established prejudice towards the Natives especially considering they used words such as, "merciless Indian Savages" to describe them. And were they actually considered a clear and present danger to the colonies because, "undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions" also makes it seem like they were domestic insurgents? I understand the colonies had very little understanding of Indian culture and society at the time and you can't fault them for their lack of perception, but I have mixed feelings about all this so I need some real objectivity from you guys in order to gain deeper perspective on this so I know I'm not taking this quote out of context. Thank you.

Which ailments were common among prehistoric humans? Which were peculiar to them? And what evidence (artefacts, pictorial representations, etc.) do we have of the medical techniques and / or rituals used to treat those ailments?

For example, were there individuals we would recognise as maids, butlers, cooks, etc. or did servants fulfil other roles?

Hi, I am researching about the event of KARBALA in islam, i belong to a Shiite muslim family so i know about the event very well, i would like to know about any books Written by western authors unlike historians like tabari or any other which some how have direction connection with muslim history / islam. I want to know about any historians who belong to west and have written about this event to get a completely new and different view point about the matter.

Thank you.