This is an old revision of the document!
Table of Contents
Points of Divergence : Small arms, armour and equipment
Points of divergence dealing with alternate developments of various personal weapons. Entries in all of the POD sections are sorted as chronologically as possible.
General discussions
Weapons used when practical or only when the technology and manufacturing matures ?
Weapon developments without Romans, Byzantines, Chinese and Persians ?
Know of any PODs or POD discussions ? Feel free to add them.
Melee small arms
Metallurgy and Metalworking PODs
WI: Philip of Macedon reforms his troops to use "Manipular" system
Could a Wootz steel sword have inspired Excalibur ?
Challenge: Mandatory sword carrying in public
Challenge: Stop ranged weapons being so dominant on the battlefield
Earlier invention of the bayonet (1)
Earlier invention of the bayonet (2)
Medieval weapons remain in larger scale use into gunpowder age
Challenge: Great global empires created by conquests without guns and explosives
What if Japan's Great Sword Hunt failed ?
Renaissance POD idea, only swords accepted for duelling
Challenge: Carrying a sword still considered acceptable in western world
Challenge: Duelling surviving as a practice (1)
Challenge: Duelling surviving as a practice (2)
Challenge: Duelling surviving as a practice (3)
Challenge: Duelling surviving as a practice (4)
Challenge: Duelling surviving as a practice (5)
Challenge: Duelling surviving as a practice (6)
Challenge: Keep polearms more prevalent in warfare after Napoleonic Wars
Reintroduction of melee weapons in the future
Know of any PODs or POD discussions ? Feel free to add them.
Projectile small arms : Mechanical
Plausibility check: Bows in use by the time humanity starts spreading from Africa
What makes the crossbow so powerful ?
Effects of crossbows on armies if they were around in 250 BC ?
Plausibility check: Romans inventing the repeating crossbow ?
Challenge: Great global empires created by conquests without guns and explosives
High and Late Middle Ages warfare without gunpowder weaponry
Plausibility check: Rifled arrows ?
Impact of early development of the compound bow ?
Plausibility check: European repeating crossbows ?
Plausibility check: Earlier Pike and Shot with crossbows ?
Longest continued use of the longbow possible ?
Was archery abandoned too soon ?
Challenge: The Bow and Arrow survives
Challenge: Timeline with technology where bows remain the preferred projectile weapons
Plausibility check: Performance of heavy repeating crossbows
Military Tactics Without Gunpowder
Challenge: American frontiersmen use longbows as well as muskets/rifles
Longbows in the Peninsular Campaign
Bows and Arrows in the American Civil War
Know of any PODs or POD discussions ? Feel free to add them.
Projectile small arms : Firearms
An alternative technology to guns ?
Plausibility check: Wooden guns
Pluasibility check: Nerf guns in a way that 19th century military technology will be lagging behind
Military Tactics Without Gunpowder
American Civil War with cartridge rifles
Plausibility check/Challenge: A more widespread Gatling Gun, specifically in Europe
WI: The British chose another rifle over the Martini-Henry
Plausibility check: Repeating rifles with pump/slide-action instead of bolt-action ?
Plausibility check: Earliest invention and deployment of a fully-automatic machine gun
WI: No M1911 semi-auto pistol ?
Was the .45 ACP M1911 inevitable ?
Dunlop John, or the British Bazooka
Challenge: A British WWII assault rifle
Post-WWII Czechoslovak arms industry if it remains non-communist
WI: Main battle rifles upgraded and mass-produced to this day
The British adopt the EM-2 assault rifle
WI the US military retains the M-14 rifle ? (1)
WI the US military retains the M-14 rifle ? (2)
WI the US adopted the FN FAL ?
SIG 226 beating out the Beretta 92 as the US service pistol
ASB WI: "Guns of the..." firearm ISOT
Know of any PODs or POD discussions ? Feel free to add them.
Body armour
Challenge: A longer, true age of chivalry (medieval armour developments)
Plausibility check: Are two sword-like knee spikes on armour functional ?
Why no plate armor in the Islamic world ?
Plausibility check: Cast iron armour and mantlets
Armour, muskets and a French Army museum
Personal Armor in 19th century warfare
Plausibility check: Ceramic armour
How would a kevlar vest fare against a .75 caliber flintlock musket ?
Know of any PODs or POD discussions ? Feel free to add them.
See Also
Points of Divergence : Infantry and Cavalry Tech and Tactics
Points of Divergence : Metallurgy and Metalworking
Points of Divergence : Gunpowder
Useful Resources about Military History
Historical (Handheld) Weaponry, Historical Martial Arts and Weapon Wielding Discussion Thread