History of Warfare Discussion.

we drive on the left as it means your sword hands meet in the middle when you draw weapons. And Napolean made the continent drive on the right as he said there was no need for weapons as it was united under his rule.

well according to the Cornwell books, the Baker rifles used then already contained the seven spiralled grooves that 'gripped' the bullet and made it far more accurate than a smoothbore musket.


Arrows also have a longer range, and when fired en masse, would be virtually impossible to dodge, and would have a demoralising effect on the enemy. Although it is also mentions that longbowmen needed to be trained from young - 6-8 years old to be a good archer.

When were percussion caps (enabling guns to be fired in wet weather) introduced, and how did they work?

Spartans were not really inventive in their ways of fighting. My classic teacher taught me that once the Greeks leart that it could add an extra row on the right hand side of the phalanx, it beat the spartans easily, as the phalanx would always turn to the left, and staright into the calvary.

The Spartans fought 3 times, but lost in each battle due to the new tactic.

Also their children would be taught to steal/kill from a young age as to harden them up. A few sheep/farmers would not go amiss in those days.

well according to the Cornwell books, the Baker rifles used then already contained the seven spiralled grooves that 'gripped' the bullet and made it far more accurate than a smoothbore musket.


Arrows also have a longer range, and when fired en masse, would be virtually impossible to dodge, and would have a demoralising effect on the enemy. Although it is also mentions that longbowmen needed to be trained from young - 6-8 years old to be a good archer.

When were percussion caps (enabling guns to be fired in wet weather) introduced, and how did they work?

There's some truth in that, but not completely, according to this site... Driving on the left/right

While you're all here.
Blitzkrieg - Lightning War.
Invented by the British for use on the Germans in WW1
Forgotten by the British between the wars.
Used by the Germans in WW2 to great effect.

Why was it forgotten? Why did it take an Australian to fully appreciate the weaknesses of Blitzkrieg in 1941, nearly two years after the beginning of hostilities? What the hell happened? I've always been curious as to why someone didn't think 'hey ole chap, doesn't that look mighty familiar to you?'

While you're all here.
Blitzkrieg - Lightning War.
Invented by the British for use on the Germans in WW1
Forgotten by the British between the wars.
Used by the Germans in WW2 to great effect.

Why was it forgotten? Why did it take an Australian to fully appreciate the weaknesses of Blitzkrieg in 1941, nearly two years after the beginning of hostilities? What the hell happened? I've always been curious as to why someone didn't think 'hey ole chap, doesn't that look mighty familiar to you?'

well we used blitzkrieg to attempt to break a stalemate whereas the germans used it without warning. There are some parallels, but remember a lot of people died in the 1st world war, so maybe everyoine had forgotten . What was the name of the Australian and what did he think its weaknesses were.

The Australian was the commander in charge of the Tobruk garrison in 1941. Tobruk wasn't taken until 1942, by which time it was vastly under strength and if Rommel hadn't taken it, many people would have been surprised. The trick was to realise that once the tanks had broken through did not mean the battle was lost. Tanks can become caught behind lines quite easily, it is the infantry coming up after the tanks that matter. Also tanks, at least back then without night vision etc, were very susceptible to attack at night.

so in that case, was the propoganda machine another foreign invention that Rudolf Hess successfully adopted?

The Australian was the commander in charge of the Tobruk garrison in 1941. Tobruk wasn't taken until 1942, by which time it was vastly under strength and if Rommel hadn't taken it, many people would have been surprised. The trick was to realise that once the tanks had broken through did not mean the battle was lost. Tanks can become caught behind lines quite easily, it is the infantry coming up after the tanks that matter. Also tanks, at least back then without night vision etc, were very susceptible to attack at night.

propaganda is as old as the hills, though I'd love to know where it actually originated. I know that Xerxes of Persia used it by burying all by 1000 of his fallen men after Thermopylae. This was to trick people into believing he hadn't lost such an extraordinary number. It failed though, and when it became common knowledge, it certainly didn't serve him well.

Which reminded me of the Russian "surprise" weapon. It was dogs strapped with anti tank bombs. They fed the dogs underneath a tank, as to acclimatise it with the thought of food and can find it underneath a tank.

Unlickuly the Germans used petrol and the Russians used diesel. Guess which one the dogs went for? after one battle, the dog kamikzae patrol was abolished.

tobruk - that was with rommel in africa, and the siege in which they used anti aircraft guns against the tanks and the Royal Navy evacuated part or something. Well blitzkrieg also has parachutes and other fast forms of attacks. The wierdest thing i found out, was that at its peak only about 50% of the german army was motorised. Tanks also had less armour on the back.

Which reminded me of the Russian "surprise" weapon. It was dogs strapped with anti tank bombs. They fed the dogs underneath a tank, as to acclimatise it with the thought of food and can find it underneath a tank.

Unlickuly the Germans used petrol and the Russians used diesel. Guess which one the dogs went for? after one battle, the dog kamikzae patrol was abolished.

Quite right. Not sure if it even reached 50% to be honest. Parachute regiments weren't used all that often in Blitzkrieg though, yet when these 'fallschirmjager' did drop, they were usualy devastatingly effective.

I've never heard of that actually, sounds like something they would have done though. Love the end result. Poor pups though.

or the human mine clearers,

ah yes. that was punishment detail usually wasn't it. If you lived through it once, you only had to do it another 19 times or something. I like what the Russians did to some pilots. They all had to do a certain number of missions before getting leave, but punishment was being forced to fly from dawn to dusk, averaging some 6-7 missions/sorties per day until their 20 was up, and to make it better, this didn't count to their official total for leave qualification. nasty but effective.