/u/Nexlon's posts in /r/AskHistorians
Philippe Pétain went from the Lion of Verdun and Savior of France in WWI to head of the Vichy government and Nazi collaborator in WWII. What led to him betray his own country and support the Axis powers instead?
725 upvotes
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Many criminal organizations (the American Mob, the Camorra in Italy, ect) either helped allied causes or fought against Fascist forces in WW2. However, a large chunk of the criminal element in France collaborated with the Nazis against the French Resistance. Why is that?
50 upvotes
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How did peoples and empires that specialized in archery (Persians, Mongols, Scythians, Ect) produce such massive amounts of arrows?
23 upvotes
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During the War of 1812, President Madison's Secretary of War John Armstrong Jr. was so absolutely convinced that the British would not attack D.C. that he, against orders, refused to consider preparing any sort of defense for the Capitol. Do we have any idea why he believed this so strongly?
7 upvotes
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Zone Rouge, an area near Verdun 460 square miles long in France, is still off-limits today due to a huge amount of unexploded ordnance left over from WW1. What happened to zones like this during WW2? Are there any records of soldiers injured or killed from buried Great War shells and explosives?
5 upvotes
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