askhistorians

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The Praetorian Guard is famous for its betrayals and failures, but what about successes? Were there any instances of the Praetorian Guard successfully saving their emperor?	2008
Why were cavalry forces (seemingly) always so small in Classical Greek armies? Wouldn't the inflexible hoplite phalanx be incredibly vulnerable to flanking movements from cavalry?	1095
What did it really mean to be released from a Gulag? Where would one be "dropped off" after serving their time in a camp?	492
Did members of the Africa Corps commit any notable war crimes during the course of the North Africa campaign? What about the Allies?	298
What were were battles of the Early Middle Ages like in Western Europe? What differences in troop composition, organization, and tactics would be present when comparing, say, a 5th century "barbarian" army with one in the 8th century?	155
Did something similar to eminent domain exist in the Roman Empire? If someone's property stood in the way of road construction, would soldiers simply demolish the property to continue their work?	128
During the Cold War, both the US and the Soviets were eager to examine the wreckages of shot down planes to learn about the technology of the other side. Could/did this ever happen with ground equipment such as tanks?	94
How much social mobility was there in the Late Roman Republic? What could a city dwelling plebeian do to improve his station?	91
Why did the crossbow fall out of use during the Early Middle Ages? How widespread was its use in Late Roman Army?	58
In the Late Roman Army, when talking about troops recruited from within the empire's borders, what was the common background of those recruits?	55

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