100 Interesting War Facts

Pyrrhus of Epirus, an ancient Greek General, died while fighting an enemy soldier in the streets of Sparta. The soldier's mother, who was watching their battle from a rooftop, threw a tile that hit Pyrrhus in the head and paralyzed him, sealing his fate.

52. The Toyota War was the end phase of the Libyan-Chadian war where the Chadian army and its Toyota pickups destroyed 92 T-55 battle tanks, 33 BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, and 784 soldiers while only losing 18 men and three trucks.

53. Theodore Roosevelt's son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr, was the only General involved in the initial assault on D-Day, after insisting to his superiors that he be one of the first ones off the boats. He survived the battle but died of a heart attack one month later.

54. King Henry V was struck in the face by an arrow in his first battle leading soldiers. Rather than leave the field, he reportedly stated that "he would rather die than stain his soldierly reputation by flight." He was sixteen at the time.

55. Melvin E. Biddle, for his actions during the Battle of the Bulge, earned the Medal of Honor on October 30, 1945, by President Truman. When presenting the medal, Truman whispered: "People don't believe me when I tell them that I'd rather have one of these than be President."

25 Russian soldiers under the command of Yakov Pavlov defended a building during the Battle of Stalingrad so well that it never fell. Vasily Chuikov, general of the Soviet forces in Stalingrad, later joked that the Germans lost more men trying to take "Pavlov's house" than they did taking Paris.

57. In early feudal Japan, there was a class of female Samurai called Onna-Bugeisha who commonly engaged in battle alongside the men and were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honor in times of war.

58. Despite the Russian fleet signaling surrender in the Battle of Tsushima, the Japanese navy didn't get the message and continued firing because they did not have surrender in their codebooks.

59. According to moderate estimates, the Romans possibly lost over 40,000 men in a single day at the Battle of Cannae (216 BC), which may have accounted for somewhere between 5 to 10 percent of the total Roman male population during the late 3rd century BC period.

60. Battle of Brisbane, a 2-night riot between US military & Aussie military & civilians. Afterward, US Sergeant Bill Bentson said: "It sort of settled down & you go into a pub & an Aussie would come & up & slap me on the back."Oh, wasn't that a good ruckus we had the other night? Have a beer on me.

The Lakota People have been trying to claim independence in the longest legal battle in history (more than 160 years) with the United States

62. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, Hospital Corpsman John Willis was treating a fallen Marine in a mortar crater when a grenade landed at his feet. He returned the grenade, followed by 7 others thrown by the enemy in rapid succession, all while administering blood plasma. The 9th grenade killed him.

63. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was the first time when all four divisions of Canada's army fought together. They had captured more ground, more prisoners, and more guns than any previous Allied offensive in the two and a half years of war up to that point.

64. In WW2 the Polish had enlisted a bear on their side who enjoyed drinking, wrestling, cigarettes and even slept in tents. He would carry heavy ammunition crates to soldiers on the battlefield and never once dropped a shell.

65. The Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) saw the only confirmed air-to-air helicopter battles in history.

When the Comanche shaman White Eagle's magic failed to protect his warriors in battle, they renamed him Coyote Vagina

67. The last great tank battle of the 20th century took place in the middle of nowhere in the Iraqi desert. Since there were no nearby towns or landmarks, the Battle of 73 Easting had to be named after its map coordinates.

68. In Spartan society, the only people granted marked headstones were warriors who died in battle and women who died in childbirth

69. Cambyses II of Persia used cats to fight a battle. Against the Egyptians, in the battle of Pelusium in 525 BC he ordered his men to paint cats on their shields and brought 100's of cats to his front lines. The Egyptian archers refused to fire on the cats as injuring one was punishable by death.

70. After Hawaiian King Kamehameha was hit in the head with a paddle by a frightened fisherman during a battle, he not only spared the man's life but decreed a "Law of the Splintered Oar" protecting civilians in the war that's still part of Hawaii law in the State constitution.

US Army medic Desmond T. Doss, a conscientious objector who refused to bear arms, yet was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Truman for single-handedly saving the lives of over 75 of his comrades while under constant enemy fire during the Battle of Okinawa

72. An Irishman called Peter Lacy is considered one of Russia's greatest generals his tactics helped to defeat the Swedes at Poltava and he managed to cross The Crimea to battle the Turks when others had failed due to his knowledge of weather and tidal patterns

73. Renée Bordereau was a French woman who disguised herself as a man and fought as a Royalist cavalier and is reported to have killed 20 soldiers in one battle. She was dangerous enough for Napoleon to set a 40,000 francs bounty on her.

74. During a five-day battle against mercenaries in the Congo, the besieged Irish Army radioed back to HQ "We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey".

75. An elite French Cavalry Unit was surrounded by the Russians who ordered them to Surrender at the Battle of Eylau in 1806. A french colonel retorted "Have a look at my men and tell me if they look like ones who want to surrender!". They then Charged and hacked their way back to the French lines.