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Now, I don't know how many of you have read Francis Spufford's book, 'Red Plenty', but I have been recently. And, whilst I didn't really understand all of it (due in large part to my reading of it over a period of several months, resulting in great gaps in my understanding), the basic background...

According to Sanders (EDIT: actually Saunders), English lost 85% of its Germanic vocabulary after the Old English era. This is due to it borrowing foreign words, rather than continuing to add compounds and affixes to original words, German style. He also cites a sort of alternate history style...

For some reason, there seem to be a few Mongol threads coming up again, which raised this question in my mind. What would it take for Western Europe to adopt Horse Archers using Mongol style tactics in the Ancient/Medieval period? I'm presuming that men at arms, Roman Legionaries etc all...

In my (very small) thread about Joan of Arc attacking the Hussites, everyone mentions how powerful the Hussite War Wagons were. I knew that they were effective; but if they were so good, why weren't they adopted more widely? Could they be more widely adopted in the Late Middle Ages?

I read on wikipedia (bear with me, please) that Joan of Arc wrote a letter to the Hussites, demanding that they return to Catholicism, or she would attack them. They, of course, remained Hussites; but Joan was captured before she could attack them. What would have happened if she had escaped...

One of those PODs that keeps cropping up is: what if America keeps out of WWII/ D Day fails? One of the usual answers is that the Iron Curtain is raised on the Rhine, and that all of Germany falls under communist control. My question is this. How will the Cold War progress if this happens...

Something came up in the "Worst Historical States ever" thread. Alright, it was brought up by me. In the event of a Nazi victory in WWII-lets say that they manage to hold European Russia, force Stalin to a peace, subdue Britain through U Boating, and somehow keep the US out (very unlikely, I...

Can anyone reccomend any good books on this? I need to do some research for teaching about some local history!

Could someone suggest for me an informative book on the London Blitz? I'd like to know in particular about the types of aircraft used by the Germans, as well as the sorts of bombs they used. (Dimensions would be useful for both aircraft and bombs.)

Can anyone give me some advice on a good book for university essay purposes to use about this? (The Royal Navy's success on the Western Front in WW1. Granted, it's a very poorly phrased question, but generally about the Royal Navy in the First World War.) I was considering "Castles of Steel"...

Having started studying the British Empire at university, I just thought of this question. What would it have taken for the British to fight better against the Boers? Because, looking at their record, the redcoats really, really didn't cover themselves with glory in their South African...

From "Prince of Princes: Life of Potemkin" by Simon Seabag Montefiore: "Across the Mediterranean, Potemkin's officers tried to recruit more men, particularly from Greece and Turkey:" ((to fight in the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792)) "for example, on the island of Corsica, it is said that a...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinandea I only just learned about this. Anyway, it got me thinking: what if, through some act of geology (I know little about it), it remained above water today, without erupting too violently or anything?

The year is 1930. Emperor Haile Selassie, long may he reign, is concerned at the apparent Italian sabre rattling; particularly, the fort they are building at Wawal. He is concerned that this could lead to open war: a war which, for all their bravery, he believes his badly outgunned armed forces...

I got it for Christmas, and an enjoying it immensely. It's a bit educational, and frankly epic. Does anyone else have this? I've been trying out a British Blitzkrieg recently, inspired by my military history coursework (which included a bit about Liddell-Hart and JFC Fuller, but mostly cranked...

Right. This forum has done generals, tanks, aircraft, general contributions, and more or less everything else. But what about music? Which country had the best tunes to go with the War? This means anything used widely (so "The British Grenadiers", say, would count) by that country, even if it...

It's me again, asking for help. Can anyone reccomend any easy to digest primary sources about Blitzkrieg in the Second World War?

Last night I was watching a Christmas present of mine: a DVD of "Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain". (Which I would reccomend, by the way.) In episode 1 ("Advance Britannica"-basically dealing with Atlee and Churchill's governments after the Second World War), it was saying how Ol' Clem...

I'm doing an essay about cavalry and armoured warfare, and it needs something about Blitzkrieg. Preferably to do with theorists, what it is, and an example of Blitzkrieg in action. Could you reccomend any titles? It will not be a very long essay, but an important one.

Now, you and I know that France has consistently produced armed forces as great as any in the world. They won the 100 Years War, defended themselves in the Revolutionary Wars from most of Europe, unleashed Napoleon, beat the Russians in the Crimean War (with the help of the British, Turks, et...