AskHistorians

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How obvious and well-coordinated were volleys of fire in 17th century warfare? Could well-trained troops reliably learn to just duck when the other guys all shot at once?	1806
How did the majority of the poor in premodern mega cities (Rome ~200BCE-200CE, 18th century Edo etc) find the means to survive (including feeding themselves and any dependents, keeping a roof over their heads)? Were there really enough jobs popping up for itinerant workers without specialist skills?	46
During Charles V siege of Metz in 1552 the French defenders apparently mocked him with visual and Latin puns on his imperial motif. Is there anything known about the nerds in the French army who put this taunt together?	28
"Cheese-eating surrender monkeys" is a meme that encapsulates -and obfuscates- a turbulent century for France and its army. But did the unfolding of these ups and downs progressively change how one saw the other?	10
Did all the chaos, upheaval, defeat, and "squandered" victory of the armies and governments of France ~1871-1961 have a cumulative negative effect on civil-military relations?	3
Was there ever any regret by US congressmen for passing on the League of Nations after WWII seemed to suggest that'd merely kicked the can of their international involvement down the road, to be picked up at a time not of their choosing?	2
History crossovers! TIL that Greek philosophers travelling with Alexander to India incorporated aspects of Buddhism into their philosophy; do any experts here know of similarly novel and unexpected interactions between cultures, peoples, religions etc. in their areas of expertise? :)	1
Been reading a lot of Saki and Wodehouse lately and got to thinking about all the sex, drugs, and violence that aren't in them; I get why they're not in books for public consumption, but were they also neither seen nor heard in any public spaces frequented by people like Clovis and Bertie?	0

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