/u/TheManTheyCallSven's posts in /r/askhistorians

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I am a soldier in a 13th century German army that is currently besieging a castle. But the defenders have enough supplies to hold out several months before surrendering out of hunger. What does my day to day live look like in these months?

228 upvotes

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Where does the saying "double edged sword" come from? were swords with two edged perceived as particulary dangerous to the user?

163 upvotes

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In the modern days, the military has a lot of non-combat work to do like emergency management in case of natural disasters or virus outbreaks. Was this always the case and what were the first documented cases of an army doing work besides fighting?

25 upvotes

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My friend says, that during medieval times 90% of an army would consist of drafted peasants with no prior fighting experience and sub par equipment (like sharpened pieces of wood as an improvised spear) is this true?

11 upvotes

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Was psychological warfare used in ancient and medieval Sieges?

10 upvotes

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When and why did slingshots fall out of favour?

2 upvotes

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How common were suicidal charges in historical warfare?

1 upvotes

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How powerful and influential was the Hippie movement in the 60s?

0 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
I am a soldier in a 13th century German army that is currently besieging a castle. But the defenders have enough supplies to hold out several months before surrendering out of hunger. What does my day to day live look like in these months?	228
Where does the saying "double edged sword" come from? were swords with two edged perceived as particulary dangerous to the user?	163
In the modern days, the military has a lot of non-combat work to do like emergency management in case of natural disasters or virus outbreaks. Was this always the case and what were the first documented cases of an army doing work besides fighting?	25
My friend says, that during medieval times 90% of an army would consist of drafted peasants with no prior fighting experience and sub par equipment (like sharpened pieces of wood as an improvised spear) is this true?	11
Was psychological warfare used in ancient and medieval Sieges?	10
When and why did slingshots fall out of favour?	2
How common were suicidal charges in historical warfare?	1
How powerful and influential was the Hippie movement in the 60s?	0