askhistorians

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Why were squad or platoon leaders usually issued sub-machine guns in WWII instead of rifles?	1306
Let's say I'm an average person living in England (outside of London) circa 1200. Do I consider myself "English" first? Or do such concepts not even really apply? When would I start to become more "English" as opposed to X Region-er?	163
Bismarck specifically excluded and alienated Austria from German confederation and unification. The victorious allied powers of WWI forbade unification of Germany and Austria in the post-war treaties. Why the effort from various parties to prevent Austria joining any sort of greater Germany?	126
In the film "The Patriot", the protagonist makes a statement along the lines of "Why should I trade one tyrant 3,000 miles away for 3,000 tyrants one mile away?". Was there ever any real widespread concern about unrestrained bureaucracy during the early days of the American Revolution?	111
I am a healthy male English peasant working the land for a minor Baron circa 1100 AD. One day the Baron comes and says the King has asked him to raise an army. Who is responsible for arming, armoring, and training me? If I have money saved up can I buy better equipment? Who decides?	73
Some of The British Empire's dominions/colonies became strong liberal democracies, while others were/are plagued with constant infighting and political instability. What are the reasons for the drastic differences?	71
In World War II, with army groups being reorganized and moved from theater to theater, how likely would it would be for an average soldier to experience combat in several continents? i.e. A British soldier being at Dunkirk, then Africa, then Caen, etc.	62
Since most of our physical and visual perceptions of hell come from Dante or later works, what did earlier medieval European Christians associate hell with in a visual or physical sense?	35
So I'm a King or other high-ranking feudal lord, I know if I want to raise an army (other than mercs) I need to call my subject lords to raise levies from their lands. Are there any troops that can be levied directly by me?	32
I am an absolutely normal and benign British citizen circa 1960, and for whatever reason, I like taking multiple holidays a year to Leningrad. How likely am I to become "of interest" to either nation's intelligence agencies?	22

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