An Analytical Viewpoint

Adolf Hitler 1933 - Wikimedia commons What if this would be mass murderer had died in his cradle or a World War 1 trench or had been assassinated in the early days of fascism? This type of question is common for anyone speculating whether the second global conflict could have been averted.  Another question is whether or not Germany would have fallen if their leader had died in the early stages of the war.             It is almost certain that a second global conflict would have occurred because of several factors.  Germany was a changed and traumatised country after the First World War.  Many felt that the terms of the Versailles treaty were too harsh to be imposed on a country impoverished by a major war.  Along with the Versailles treaty came a poisonous notion: the stabbed in the back myth.             This myth posited that the German armed forc...

Gandhi's salt march Non-violent civil resistance is a wonderful idea whose utility cannot be underestimated.  In theory and practice, the authority which does not lead by consent will naturally lose its foundation.  If the non-violent civil resisters are brutalised , then the authority loses all vestiges of legitimacy since legitimacy stems from honorable action and popular consent. However, it is not a principle that can work universally.  Non-violent civil resistance worked well in India for a number of reasons. The first is the population in India outnumbered the British expatriate class and administration by over a thousand to one.  Secondly, the vast geographical expanse between India and England was a further deterrent to keeping India.  Keeping India could only be justified (from an economic perspective) if the risks and losses from such a distance could be mitigated or exceeded by the resources gained from ruling.  Furthermore, the adminis...

Bows have seen active service in armies for thousands of years prior to the introduction of gunpowder.  When Blackpowder weapons became prevalent, they quickly superseded and eventually replaced the bow as the missile infantry weapon.  How did this occur and why? Were there any battles in which the bow and musket competed against each other? Bowvsmusket.com is specifically dedicated to this topic, detailing the unnamed blogger’s views on why the bow was completely inadequate compared to the musket.  He cites battles, opinions by gunpowder era figures and uses these to form his conclusions on the matter.  The two myths that he declares busted are: ·        That bows outranged muskets significantly ·        That muskets replaced bows because they were easier to train with The first has reasonable credibility, within a certain context, while the second has no rational basis. Range of Muskets ...

Andean sling - Img source Wikimedia commons This is a question that crops up in forums and discussions about ancient combat.  Slingers were described by the ancients in very positive terms.  Suddenly they were no longer present.  There are scanty records of sling combat post-antiquity and many explanations have been postulated for their demise. The first is that slings were replaced by bows.   Bows became predominant simply because they were better, more precise, farther reaching etc. The problem with this theory is that while both slings and bows are biodegradable, the oldest discovered bows (Holmegaarde, 6000 BC) predate the oldest sling discovered (2500 BC, Lovelock cave) by thousands of years.   The theory also discounts all written evidence concerning the sling.   Slings were crude but powerful weapons which could project missiles much further than an archer could shoot an arrow.   Long range throwing also depended on the type of ammun...

Tutankhamun embraces Osiris Ancient Egypt is in dispute. Although we can now more accurately devise the racial profile of ancient Egyptians, it seems as if many believe it is still up for grabs, with multiple supremacist groups claiming to be direct descendants.   The motives behind the claims are obvious.  Egypt has a long, sophisticated history dating back to the late Sumerian period.  The pyramids are numerous and constructed with precision. Great Pyramid of Giza   They made early contributions to mathematics and technology and were one of the first states in history.  All racist beliefs (and many nationalist ones) have a sense of superiority and uniqueness ingrained in their narratives and this is where the trouble lies.  To support many claims, researchers have looked at head shapes of statues and mummies and the skin tones of people on paintings and frescos.  But how valid are any of these methods of determination? The...

Seventeen young faces flash across the screen. Once again, a community is in mourning over lives tragically taken. American mass shootings have been in the news a lot lately.  The nature of them has changed over time, but today such shootings take the form of delinquents on a shooting spree, lone wolf terrorism and isolated estranged members of society running amok. Let's take a look at of some of the worst mass shootings for the sake of brevity and how regulations could have prevented them.  Gun regulation relies on knowledge to be effective.  The government must know who has what firearm and where they are.  They must be able to search and find an individual’s record to determine whether he or she should be able to own a firearm. To do this, the firearm must be acquired, purchased legally and have a serial number.  This is how firearms are tracked. To do an assessment on whether regulation could be effective, several things must be established: 1. ...

Roman republican legionary at Carrhae by Amelianvs - Deviantart Rome suffered many military disasters throughout its history.  Some, like Cannae and Arausio, stand out as the very worst.  The battle of Teutoburg forest was probably the worst, most humiliating defeat of the Principate period (27 BC to 284 AD).  In fact, the battle of Cannae in the Punic wars is one of the most studied battles in history.  The formations and tactics can be roughly imitated with line infantry, tanks and other military means.  It is standard curriculum in most military colleges today. The battle of Carrhae has received far less attention.  It deserves more. Rome had almost reached its territorial zenith by the end of the reign of Augustus.  Up until Trajan, the empire expanded no further.  Rome was far more aggressive during the republican era than in the Principate.  Crassus, the Roman leader at Carrhae, was very much part of the expansionist Republica...