The history of mankind is in one way or another connected with military conflicts. They have always been present and have affected virtually every country. Because of the wars, many states disappeared, others appeared on the world maps. All conflicts have been meticulously studied and described, but not all the facts ended up in textbooks or historical research papers. There were interesting and even curious cases, which are not usually mentioned in historical works. Here are only those that seemed to us the most interesting and entertaining.
John of Luxembourg
In the Middle Ages there lived a Czech king, John of Luxembourg. This man was simply obsessed with wars. He was so captivated by this occupation that his army participated in any foreign war to which this king could be invited. He was not at all concerned with the affairs of his state, but was constantly at war. Eventually he became completely blind, but even that did not stop him from fighting. At his order, the king’s horse was tied to the horses of the other two riders, and so they entered the battlefield. Alas, that battle was the last for the monarch.
Did Britain fear the resurrection of Napoleon?
During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain introduced a special position. It was to fire a shot from a cannon if a single soldier of Napoleon’s army set foot on British soil. This position was abolished only in 1947. Perhaps the British thought that the treacherous French dictator could be sneakily resurrected, and for this they reassured themselves for so long.
The War of 1812: speaking French was deadly
During the Patriotic War of 1812, the fashionable habit of the time of speaking French cost many Russian officers their lives. As a rule, common soldiers in the past were dark peasants. And if they heard French speech in the dark, they shot to kill without delay. By the way, there were no penalties for such a thing.
England: into the army for a mug of beer
In England, the reign of James I was marked by the fact that a mug of beer could get you into the army. And the deal was this. A recruiter would enter an inn, select a victim and offer a free mug of beer. The greedy boozer would get caught and accept the offering. Once the mug was emptied, there was a one shilling coin at the bottom. This meant that the man was accepting a deposit from the king for his service. Thus, without wishing to do so, the man became a hostage to the situation. For a long time after this the beer houses of the kingdom were suspicious of those who wished to buy someone a freebie.
World War II: hit a wooden airfield with wooden bombs
During World War II, in order to fool the British, the Nazis began to build an airfield in Holland. The catch was that this airfield was fake. All the structures and even the model airplanes were wooden. Everything took place in extreme secrecy. But one day a British bomber flew over the wooden airfield and bombed the airfield with wooden bombs. It is hard to say what the Germans thought, but further work was urgently curtailed.
Thailand owes its tourist popularity to U.S. soldiers
Who would have thought that the world-famous country that has become a Mecca for tourists, Thailand owes its popularity to American soldiers. During the Vietnam War Thailand was a staging post for the U.S. Army and a place where soldiers used to spend their vacations and leave. Thanks to their stories, ordinary vacationers were drawn there. Accordingly, the Thai government did not miss such a great opportunity and prepared the country to receive a huge number of tourists.
The Philippines has a special flag for war
One very interesting fact is that the Philippines officially has two flags. These flags are very similar, with two stripes – red and blue. So, depending on what state the country is in, that’s the flag it has for that period. If there’s a war, the red stripe is on top; if there’s peace, the blue stripe is on top.
Nagasaki might not have been affected by the atomic bomb
Had it not been for poor visibility, the second city on which the atomic bomb was dropped could have been the city of Kokura. But the weather made a change, and the pilot had to go to a contingency plan. That plan was Nagasaki City.
Siam: victory at the cost of a silver salvo
One Siamese monarch took a very cunning approach to the problem of his own retreat: when it was clear that the enemy was about to be defeated, the monarch ordered the barrels of the cannons to be stuffed with coins made of pure silver. After such a volley of money, the enemy stopped attacking and the soldiers rushed to collect the treasure. This served them poorly, and in the meantime the Siams regrouped and began a counterattack. Naturally, the next salvo of weapons was buckshot.
Nuclear warheads at the bottom of the ocean
It may seem wild, but there are at least 90 nuclear warheads at the bottom of the oceans. That’s the number of warheads the Americans have lost in their nuclear history. There has long been a debate as to whether to look for them or leave them as they are.
Victory Parade for Julbars
For any Russian citizen, the Victory Parade in Red Square is an epochal event. But not many people know that, in addition to the soldiers and equipment, a unit of dogs marched through the square and distinguished themselves by discovering a huge number of mines.
Surprisingly, one of the dogs was carried in their arms. It was a legendary dog named Julbars. This brave dog discovered more than 7.5 thousand mines. Shortly before the parade it was wounded and could not fully recover for the holiday. Then Zhukov ordered the dog to be carried across the square in his arms and gave his overcoat for this purpose.