The Danish king Nils, who reigned from 1104-1134, had the smallest army ever in the world. It consisted of 7 people - his personal assistants. With this army, he ruled Denmark for 30 years, during which time Denmark also included large parts of Sweden and Norway, as well as some parts of northern Germany.
In England during the time of James I, in order to become a soldier, it was enough to drink a mug of beer at the expense of the king and take an advance payment from a recruiter - one shilling. The recruiters went around the pubs, treated them to beer, and at the bottom of the mug lay the said shilling. After a while, any Briton who was treated to a beer first looked at the mug for a long time in the light.
In 1896, a war broke out between Britain and Zanzibar that lasted exactly 38 minutes.
In 1249, a soldier from Bologna fled to Modena, capturing an old oak tub from which he watered his horse. The authorities of Bologna demanded that they be given not a deserter, but a tub. Having been refused, Bologna began a war against Modena, which lasted 22 years and was accompanied by significant destruction. And the tub still remains in Modena and is stored in one of the towers of the city.
During the Second World War, the Germans in Holland built a model airfield in great secrecy. Planes, hangars, cars, air defense systems - everything was made of wood. But one day an English bomber flew in and dropped a single bomb on the false airfield, after which the construction of the airfield stopped. The bomb was wooden.
During the Franco-Prussian War, the French army already had machine guns.
But, despite the obvious advantages, no one used them, because for reasons of secrecy, the developers did not write instructions for machine gunners !! By the way, Nicholas II did not like automatic weapons. He believed that because of machine guns and machine guns, the army could be left without cartridges.
In Switzerland, pigeon army mail was canceled only a few years ago, and in Britain, only in 1947, the position of a person who was obliged to fire a cannon at the time of Napoleon's invasion of England was canceled.
According to the Hamburg Institute for Security Affairs, over the past half century, the US Air Force has lost 92 atomic bombs, which are located at the bottom of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, during combat exercises, as well as in accidents.
One of the American planes in Vietnam hit itself with its missile.
In the state of Nebraska, you can buy an admiral's degree for $25.
Absolutely real, giving the right to command all warships. True, only in the state. For reference: Nebraska is located in the very center of the United States, and the nearest sea is two thousand kilometers from all sides.
When the writer Arkady Averchenko during the First World War brought a story on a military theme to one of the editorial offices, the censor deleted the phrase from it: "The sky was blue." It turns out that according to these words, enemy spies could have guessed that the matter took place in the south.
Our colonel Yermolov, the future hero of the war of 1812, received the rank of general in a very interesting way. He spoke so impudently with his colleagues, who were higher than his rank, that they begged for him a general's rank. Still, listening to such nasty things from the general is not so insulting.
One Siamese king, retreating, ordered to fire at the enemy from cannons not with cannonballs, but with silver coins. Than disorganized the enemy completely and won the battle.
By the way, do you know how the Greek scout Sinon convinced the Trojans to bring a horse into the city? He lied to them that the Greeks deliberately made the horse so big that the Trojans, God forbid, would not bring it into the city. The Trojans, as you know, even dismantled the wall to spite the enemy.
During the war of 1812, a mass of Russian officers perished for no reason at all. In the dark, soldiers from the common people were guided by French speech, and some Russian officers did not really know any other language (except French), and spoke French clearly and competently.
One of the most effective units in the Russian army 200 years ago was the camel cavalry, which our opponents did not like very much. Firstly, camels are large, and secondly, they spit unpleasantly. It's a shame they had to be abolished.
As you know, war is considered a very expensive affair. So, in November 1923, Germany decided to calculate the amount of military spending in the First World War. It turned out that the war cost the former empire ... 15.4 pfennig - because due to inflation, the Reichsmark had fallen in price by exactly a trillion times by that time!
They say that when Arkady Averchenko brought a story on a military theme to one of the editorial offices during the First World War, the censor deleted the phrase from it: "The sky was blue." It turns out that according to these words, enemy spies could have guessed that the matter took place in the south.
In England during the time of James I, in order to become a soldier, it was enough to drink a mug of beer at the expense of the king and take an advance from the recruiter - one shilling. Recruiters wandered through the beer halls on a public account, treated them to beer, and at the bottom of the mug lay the said shilling. So after a while, any Briton who was treated to a beer first stared at the light for a long time.
In Nebraska, you can buy an Admiral's degree for $25. Absolutely real and giving the right to command all warships, however, only in the state. Yes, in general, and it’s not a pity - Nebraska is located in the very center of the United States and two thousand kilometers from all sides to the nearest sea.
Colonel Yermolov, the future hero of the war of 1812, received the rank of general in a very interesting way - he spoke so boldly with his colleagues, who were higher than his rank, that they asked for a general rank for him - after all, listening to such nasty things from the general is not so offensive.
During the Franco-Prussian War, the French army already had machine guns. But, despite the obvious advantages, no one used them, because, for reasons of secrecy, the developers did not write instructions for machine gunners! Our Nicholas II did not like automatic weapons very much: they believed that because of machine guns and machine guns, the army could be left without cartridges.
One Siamese king, retreating, ordered to fire at the enemy from cannons not with cannonballs, but with silver coins. Than disorganized the enemy completely and won the battle.
Do you know how the Greek scout Sinon convinced the Trojans to bring a horse into the city? He lied to them that the Greeks deliberately made the horse so big that the Trojans, God forbid, would not bring it into the city. The Trojans, as you know, even dismantled the wall to spite the enemy.
During the war of 1812, a lot of Russian officers died for no reason: in the dark, soldiers (from the common people) were guided by French speech, and - it just so happened - some Russian officers didn’t really know a language other than French .
In Switzerland, pigeon army mail was canceled only two years ago.
In Britain, only in 1947 was the post of a person obliged to fire a cannon at the time of Napoleon's invasion of England canceled.
In November 1923, Germany decided to calculate the amount of military spending in the First World War. It turned out that the war cost the former empire ... 15.4 pfennig - because due to inflation, the Reichsmark had fallen in price by exactly a trillion times by that time!
1. About buttons
One of the decrees of Peter I introduced a special style of soldier's uniforms. According to this decree, buttons were to be sewn on the sleeves on the front side. The reason for the introduction of such a "luxurious" style was not at all the desire for ostentatious brilliance, it was much more prosaic. Most of the soldiers were former peasants, with an ingrained habit of wiping their mouths with their sleeves after dinner. Here the buttons were supposed to help keep the cloth intact.
2. About the kilt and underwear
In principle, a kilt can be worn as you like, with or without underwear. But according to tradition, soldiers are required to wear this uniform only on their naked bodies. In the army units, reviews were even held before, at which an officer with a special mirror inspected the correctness of wearing a “skirt” and, if underwear was found, he immediately demanded to get rid of it.
3. About the color of the Nazi uniform
With color, everything turned out to be simple. In warehouses in Germany, there were a lot of field uniforms for the army in the African colonies, which were lost by Germany after the First World War. It was this uniform at the cheapest price that the National Socialist Party bought for its units.
4. Pentagon and toilets
As you know, in the US Army, racial segregation persisted until 1948. Naturally, there could be no talk of any mixed detachments in the army. Therefore, during the construction of the Pentagon, separate toilets were provided for whites and for everyone else. As a result, the building has twice the number of toilets required. By the way, it was planned to hang appropriate signs on them, but they did not hang them by order of Roosevelt.
5. Weapons and religion
1857 turned out to be the most unfortunate year for the British colonial troops in India. This year, the most new long-range rifles were delivered to arm the Indian army. But to lubricate the Anfields, animal fat was used, which was also impregnated with cardboard cartridges. And at the same time, the British did not at all take into account the interesting fact that for Hindus a cow is a sacred animal, and for Muslims it is a terrible sin to touch a pig.
Adherents of both religions formed the backbone of the army, and each group decided that this was a special insult just for them. As a result, they all united and raised an uprising, which entailed massive casualties among the military and civilians of the British.
6. Victory and acrobatics
The battle at Zarabulak originally began in 1868. Approaching the gun shot, the Bukhara soldiers fell on their hands, and the comrades began to shake them by the legs ... It turned out that in this way they tried to attract good luck to their side.
The source of the behavior was the battle that happened a month before in the war between Russia and the Emirate of Bukhara. Then the Russians under the command of General Golovachev crossed the Zeravshan River. The infantry managed to overcome the barrier with difficulty, it was necessary to go almost chest-deep in water, but this most unexpected maneuver made it possible to take the height of Chapan-Ata in a swift bayonet attack.
I had to act so quickly that there was even no time to pour the water out of my boots, so I had to literally shake it out. So the enemy considered these strange actions to be a kind of magical ritual that calls for good luck.
7 Elite Squads And Homosexuals
In Greece, homosexuality was treated as commonplace, in Thebes they even formed an elite military detachment of 300 warriors, which they called the Sacred Detachment from Thebes. The most interesting thing is that the entire detachment completely died in the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. e., while no one retreated, according to Plutarch, preferring to die next to his beloved, and not dishonor himself by flight.
8. Army and lots
Decimation was one of the most severe punishments in the Roman army. At the same time, the entire unit was divided into dozens, and it is interesting that there were no exceptions either by age, or by experience or merit. Lots were cast among each ten, and the other nine colleagues killed the one who pulled it out.
9. Nazis and Muslims
Among the units of the Nazi army there were several completely exotic ones. For example, the ‘Free India’ (‘Freies Indien’) squad consisted of Muslims from East India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. These "volunteers" were captured by the German troops in North Africa. 
10. Military satellites and telephone
In Brazil, it is a popular business to reconfigure civilian radios in the 144-148 MHz band to use the satellites of the FLTSATCOM group. These satellites belong to the US Navy and are used by the Brazilians for free phone calls.
Usually, to use satellite communications, you need only $ 50, which will be used to purchase a modified conventional trucker's walkie-talkie, and they can also be used to make emergency phone repairs, such as replacing the glass of a samsung galaxy s3. The key to the success of this operation is the availability of good craftsmen and prompt deliveries of branded components. In this case, the repaired phone will not be inferior to the new one.
11. Paratroopers and Indians
Watching American action films, you can hear a strange scream during the jumps of paratroopers. The history of this call is as follows. In the 2nd half of the 19th century, the Indian Geronimo with a small group of comrades was a big problem for the armies of the United States and Mexico, he was well remembered for his elusiveness and courage.
In 1939, a film was made about the elusive Indian, in one of the episodes of which the hero jumps into the river from a steep cliff with his name on his lips. After the film, the paratroopers also began to shout “Geronimo!” while jumping, so the tradition took root and exists today.
12. Bayonet and Geneva Convention
In 1864, the First Geneva Convention was drawn up, one of the points of which was the prohibition of bayonet strikes in the stomach during hostilities. First of all, this concerned the Russian army, but as an alternative, interestingly, it was proposed to beat with bayonets in the chest.
When a grandfather gets into a certain mood and starts telling old war stories, sometimes it's impossible to predict what kind of reaction they might evoke. Often these are tears and some absolutely amazing feeling of touching, which you don’t expect from yourself ...And although the war is mostly filled with special cruelty and a lot of not-so-pleasant twists and turns, there are also completely charming and touching stories that are not at all typical for this troubled time.
The U.S. Air Force bombed Berlin with… candy
For a while, Germany was having a hard time. In 1948, after the country was divided among the victors, Russia decided to cut off all transport routes to Berlin in the hope that food deprivation would convince the democratic part of the city of all the charms of communism; a turning point that nearly led to another war. The US and other allied nations remembered that they had planes by launching Operation Small Provisions, also known as the Berlin Airlift, when warplanes dropped sweet democracy in the form of food into the city for about a year.
Berlin got everything they needed, except for one important thing - candy ...
An American transport pilot from Utah, Gail Hellvorsen, was so shocked by the sight of the Berlin kids who were left without sweets that he gave them a pack of chewing gum, promising to return the next day with sweets that they could eat. Helvorsen began dropping chocolates with handkerchiefs like little parachutes. To make the children recognize his plane, he waved his wings, for which he was nicknamed "Uncle Wiggly Wings", "Uncle Wiggly Wings". Everything was like in a children's book.
Of course, such “magic from a children's book” was not legal, and Helvorsen was ordered to stop amateur activities until his superiors realized how much Germany liked it. The Air Force then deployed several aircraft whose only mission was to shower East Berlin with tons of candy donated by the American Confectionery Association.
Even after the end of the air bridge in 1949, when the Soviets finally gave up, today's Berlin kids have not forgotten Uncle Swinging Wings. Helvorsen is still known throughout Germany for the candy landing, and several schools were even named after him. And so began the legend of Santa...
George Washington returned the dog of the British general
If George Washington had his own nemesis, it would certainly be British General William Howe. During the American Revolutionary War, Howe's forces defeated Washington several times, forcing the future president to retreat from New York to New Jersey and then to Delaware.
In October 1777, Washington and Howe met again in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Both sides fought diligently, but Howe, who led the British and Hessian troops, annihilated Washington's forces, killing 100 and capturing over 400 prisoners, thus winning the battle.
But, despite the losses, the Americans still managed to take a prisoner ... a dog ... To be more precise, General Howe's terrier escaped during the battle and landed in the rebel camp. For two whole days, Howe was worried about what these barbarians could do to his pet.
But, two days later, the dog ran out of the forest with a note attached and straight to General Howe. The note said: “Best wishes to General Howe from General Washington. He is pleased to personally return the dog, which accidentally fell into his hands, and, judging by the inscription on the collar, belongs to General Howe.
The fact is that Washington was a great dog lover, and although Howe killed hundreds of his people, he did not have the courage to take advantage of the situation. Washington even ceased fire to bring the dog back in a touching moment of love for man's best friend. Then everyone continued to kill each other.
England saved a dog by recruiting her into the navy
Just Nuisance, or Trouble, is a Great Dane who lived on a British naval base in South Africa during World War II. He received this nickname because of his habit of lying on narrow bridges between ships and piers, where it was not so easy to get around him.
The sailors loved him anyway and took him on the local trains. Sometimes Trouble would lead them to the base when they were drunk, or interfere in a fight between them. The problem was, the local workers on the trains didn't share the sailors' love for a big, noisy bag of fleas. The sailors usually tried to get him onto the train unnoticed, but apparently it would have been easier to carry a torpedo there.
Despite the advice of passengers to simply pay for the dog, the train workers categorically demanded that the horse be removed. It got to the point where they threatened to put him to sleep if he was caught again.
To solve this problem, the Royal Navy simply recruited him as a man. This meant that the train workers not only could not kill one of His Majesty's sailors, but also gave him the right to free travel as a member of the service. Trouble even "signed" the contract with his paw, passed the honey. inspection, and slept in a sailor's bed.
Later, during the Falklands War, he served as an admiral and was buried with full military honors.
The US Navy opened an ice cream fleet
In 1945, the US Navy in the South Pacific faced three big challenges: a hot climate, unstable morale, and Japanese soldiers trying to kill them every day. It was then that US Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal found a solution to the first and second problems. That solution was free ice cream. Literally tons of free ice cream.
Forrestal was well aware of the importance of these calories. He once said, "In my opinion, ice cream is one of the most neglected morale boosters" (after pornographic magazines and alcohol). It was so important to the course of the war that Forrestal somehow managed to convince the government to allocate $1 million for ice cream.
By designing the barge, the navy practically made a floating ice cream parlor with huge cold stores on board, ready to go anywhere in the South Pacific. The servicemen ate all 40 liters produced every 7 seconds. It became so successful that there was soon a fleet of ice cream in the Pacific, like a fast food chain.
The cat received a medal for the extermination of communist rats
Simon, a taxi-colored cat, lived aboard the English warship Amethyst, a Royal Navy frigate, after the Second World War. Simon was adopted by a kind ship's captain, who lets him sleep on his cap when it wasn't on his head.
But then something terrible happened. On April 20, 1949, a ship was sailing along the Yangtze River in Asia, suddenly finding herself in the middle of a Chinese civil war. Communist shells penetrated the frame, killing 22 people, including the captain. The Amethyst ran aground without the possibility of retreat under communist fire. The survivors were trapped for more than three months.
In addition to all this, the ship saw an invasion of rats when it landed on the shore. The little bastards spread very quickly throughout the ship, trying to eat all the supplies that they had. This was a really big problem.
And then Simon stepped in. Despite severe gunshot wounds (his entire body covered in burns and shrapnel wounds), the death of his friend, and the fact that the new captain unceremoniously evicted him from the main cabin, Simon recovered and began to tirelessly destroy all the rats on the ship.
Between the extermination of rodents and the company while the new captain was ill, Simon saved the ship's crew from starvation and won the favor of an impregnable man.
The captain wrote that Simon "was on top" and raised morale. On the recommendation of the captain, Simon was awarded the Maria Deakin Medal (it's something like the Medal of Honor for animals) and became a celebrity.
Gunner learning to be an air siren
In 1942, Australia could almost feel Japan's gaze across the Pacific. In February of this year, Japanese troops began bombing the Australian city of Darwin.When the Japanese first bombed the city, Gunner, the dog of the lead airman, Percy Leslie Westcott, was injured by one of the explosions, which greatly affected the dog. But no one even suspected that this explosion could give the animal super strength, just like in the comics.
One day, Gunner went berserk for no apparent reason, trying to get Westcott to go into hiding with him. On duty, Westcott couldn't just drop everything and take a break until the Japanese showed up and started bombing again. The same thing happened a few days later. Gunner began to go crazy for no reason, just like the last time, and soon Japanese planes were again appearing overhead, dropping bombs.
That's when Westcott understood. Gunner heard the approach of the Japanese planes about 20 minutes before they could be detected by instruments. It would be impressive if the dog didn't live in the middle of an airbase. Ganner had an exceptionally sensitive ear that did not react at all to non-enemy planes scurrying back and forth. Or the rascal had some kind of psychic powers.
Convinced of the dog's abilities, Westcott told his superiors about them. Gunner proved his skill and Westcott was given a portable warning system that he had to activate when the dog spoke, saving many lives.
In this section you can get acquainted with information about various types of military equipment. We will talk about the main trends in the development of world military equipment, as well as interesting facts about the legendary military equipment of the past.
Long gone are the days when the soldiers of the opposing sides converged on the battlefield face to face and found out which of them is stronger in hand-to-hand combat. The twentieth century was the era of the development of military technology: the first tanks appeared on the battlefields, and combat aircraft soared into the sky.
The development of new types of weapons was rapid, almost every year samples of new military equipment appeared, and every decade designers came up with fundamentally new models of mechanisms for the destruction of their own kind. Today, the power of the armed forces of any state largely depends on the perfection and efficiency of military equipment that it has.
Domestic military equipment has always been considered one of the best. In Soviet times, huge funds were allocated for the needs of the military-industrial complex, a huge backlog was created, which is why Russian military equipment today is not inferior to the best foreign analogues.
The strongest military power in the modern world is the United States. A developed military-industrial complex is one of the foundations of American power. In this section you can find materials about the best examples of US military equipment.
Tanks are one of the main types of military equipment that appeared at the beginning of the last century and radically changed the way war was waged. These machines, at first bulky and clumsy, eventually turned into a formidable weapon, becoming the main striking force in ground operations. Other types of armored vehicles were gradually developed, the number of which today already goes to dozens.
We invite you to get acquainted with the latest Russian and foreign tanks and learn interesting facts about the legendary vehicles of the past.
Another revolution in military affairs that took place in the last century was the emergence of combat aviation. The first aircraft took part in the hostilities during the First World War, aviation developed rapidly and soon became a significant force, largely determining the outcome of a military conflict. Today, the fate of any armed confrontation is largely determined by the conquest of air supremacy.
Almost immediately after the appearance of the first aircraft, means of combating them began to be developed. Today, air defense troops are an important part of the armed forces of any country.
The types of military equipment used by the modern army are very numerous and varied. You can list them for a long time. These are artillery systems, and multiple launch rocket systems, combat and transport helicopters, various types of vehicles.
Almost constantly there is information about the creation of new types of military equipment or the modernization of old machines, which significantly increase their efficiency and combat power. Design bureaus develop types of military equipment based on new physical principles. It is very likely that in twenty years the armed forces will be radically different from modern armies.
Today, automatic systems of military equipment are being developed especially actively, which are controlled remotely or fully automatic. It is possible that drones will soon become the most common type of military equipment both in the air and on the ground.
