AskHistorians

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Why didn't the Germans immediatly seize the French Fleet? And would it have been enough to make Sealion a more realistic possibility?	9
Why is Stalingrad seen as the large turning point of the war? From what I know, with the failure of Operation Barbarossa, the Wehrmacht was already incapable of truly defeating Russia and it was just a matter of time until they would lose the war.	9
The sabotage of a heavy water plant in Norway by Norwegian and British commandos is often mentioned when speaking about the Norwegian participation in WW2. But how important was that plant for the German development of an atomic bomb really and how close were they to getting one?	9
What caused the decentralisation after the fall of the Roman Empire and the subsequent centralisation of many european states starting in the Renaissance? Or: What causes centralisation and decentralisation and what is the history behind it?	8
In what eras is military history divided up? For example there is the era of "Pike and Shot". But what are others I don't know about?	8
Superfiring turrets and an all centerline armament make so much sense, yet it took designers years to come up with those things. Why? Additionally, why did it take until the battle of Tsushima for designers to accept that fewer, heavier guns are better than lots of smaller ones?	8
What were the common unit branches (things like Musketeers, Hussars, etc) used in the Napoleonic Wars and what were their origin and role in battle?	8
Lenin and Trotsky (and many other revolutionaries) came from wealthy middle-class backgrounds. So why did they become Marxists and supporters of the working class then? Why did they want to overthrow the autocratic regime when they fared pretty well under it?	8
Could an unfree peasant in Medieval Europe rise up the social ladder? (More details in the text body)	8
Why did the Wehrmacht (and I think many other armies too?) use seemingly completely random number designations for regiments, divisions, armies, etc...?	8

« < > »