100 Interesting War Facts

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76US soldiers

US soldiers

Soldiers in the U.S. military's psychological warfare department (PSYOPS) used loudspeakers to tempt enemy fighters in Afghanistan into battles they couldn't win by calling them," lady men" and "cowardly dogs".


77. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker who, during the Civil War, stood on the Union front lines for nearly two years, including the wake of the bloody Battle of Chickamauga. She is the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor.


78. An 18-year-old marine singlehandedly persuaded 1,500 soldiers at the battle of Saipan to surrender. He was only able to do this because his Japanese foster parents had taken him in off the streets when he was 12 and taught him their language.


79. There are scrolls from the Edo period of Japan that suggest fart battles took place. These drawings show men blasting farts at other men, women, and even a cat.


80. Castner's Cutthroats, a platoon of Army scouts who served in the Aleutian Islands Campaign of WW2. The group was composed of trappers, hunters, miners and Native Alaskans. They seldom used ranks and never wore uniforms. In addition to recon missions, they fought in the bloody Battle of Attu.


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81Snowball battle

Snowball battle

In February of 1863, there was a snowball battle amongst rival divisions of Confederate troops in which approximately 10,000 Confederate soldiers participated. It was later described by a participant as "one of the most memorable combats of the war."


82. El Cid, a military leader in the middle ages, was so feared that, after his death, his embalmed body was placed on a horse and sent into battle causing the enemy to flee.


83. The youngest American serviceman in World War Two was 12-year-old Calvin Graham, U.S. Navy. He was wounded during the battle of Guadalcanal and given a Dishonorable Discharge for lying about his age to enlist. His veterans benefits were later restored by an act of Congress.


84. In the 1941 Battle of Raseiniai, a single Russian KV tank stopped an entire German Division for a full day until it finally ran out of ammunition


85. At the time of the Battle of Britain (1940) several nations had functioning radar systems (inc. Germany) but it was the British 'Dowding system' that allowed positions of enemy planes to be relayed to fighters in the air, resulting in interception rates of >90% and turning the tide of the war.


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86Largest hanging in N. America

Largest hanging in N. America

When the U.S. invaded Mexico the Irish fought alongside Mexico until the last battle, when they ran out of ammo, tore down the white flag, and continued fighting with bayonets until 85 were captured and put to torturous deaths by the U.S. Today it is known as the largest hanging in N. America.


87. Two mines detonated on the first day of the Battle of the Somme were apparently so loud that the blasts were heard in London, nearly 200 miles away.


88. When the battle of Stalingrad seemed lost for the Germans, Hitler expected his General, F. Paulus, to commit suicide. His response was: "I have no intention of shooting myself for this Bohemian corporal". Paulus surrendered on Feb 2, 1943.


89. In 1795 French Hussars captured the Dutch fleet in a cavalry charge. A frozen bay immobilized the Dutch ships and allowed horsemen to ride out and force a surrender. The Battle of Texel is the only documented occurrence of a “naval” skirmish between warships and cavalry.


90. As a war correspondent during WWII, Ernest Hemingway took off his non-combatant insignia and posed as a colonel in order to lead a group of french militia into battle against the Nazis


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91Sergeant Stubby

Sergeant Stubby

A war dog during WWI was promoted to sergeant through combat, participated in 17 battles on the Western Front, saved his regiment from surprise mustard gas attacks, and once caught a German soldier by the seat of his pants, holding him there until American soldiers found him.


92. Pope Julius was a military man who led the papal armies to battle frequently. When he saw Michelangelo carving his statue with a bible in hand he exclaimed "What do I know of Bibles? I am a warlord, give me a sword instead"


93. Henry Paget, Cavalry commander at the Battle of Waterloo had his leg blown off by a cannonball. When it happened he shouted to the Duke of Wellington "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!" — to which Wellington replied, "By God, sir, so you have!"


94. During the first battle of the American Civil War, hundreds of civilians from Washington DC brought picnic baskets and came to watch the battle, sure the Union would easily win. The Union lost, and the civilians were caught in the retreat of the Northern army.


95. The Battle of San Jacinto, the defining moment in the Texas Revolution that led to the Mexican surrender, lasted just 18 minutes


96Polish Exiles

Polish Exiles

Polish exiles were not only the best-performing RAF pilots in the Battle of Britain but also very successful with women; "they always have a girl on each arm. They say the girls cannot resist the Poles, nor the Poles the girls".


97. A Marine horse named "Reckless" carried 9000lbs of ammo on her own during one battle in Korea, received 2 purple hearts, and was promoted to Staff Sergeant with a 19 gun salute.


98. In Edward "Blackbeard" Teach's final battle, the notorious pirate captain was shot 5 times and cut or stabbed by a cutlass over 20 times before being killed.


99. Switzerland swore eternal neutrality in 1515 after losing the Battle of Marignano


100. Major Digby Tatham-Warter, who led a bayonet charge at the Battle of Arnhem while wearing a bowler hat and carrying an umbrella. He later used his umbrella to disable an armored car.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. We need another major war. Not a full blown world war but maybe a smaller scale. Maybe between China vs USA and other western powers. We don’t want China to be let off scot-free for starting a full blown worldwide pandemic. War is the only thing which will bring the world out of the financial depression caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic. This is the only thing which will force the US manufacturers out of China and reestablish their base in USA.

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  2. War! what is it good for,abosolutly nothing! Say it,say it again! War what is it good for………. Edwin Starr late 1960’s protest song. Still true today! U.S.Navy Vet.

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  3. “Genghis Khan then made him one of his troops”

    You mean soldiers. “Troops” is what U.S. media started using because “soldier” sounded too warlike, just like they didn’t call the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq invasions, or call the occupations what they were. A serious war historian would know this. Then again, this list has plenty of inaccuracies. Like “40,000” Danes and Swedes dying in a battle, at a time when that was probably the entire population and London had about 200 inhabitants.

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  4. You’ve got a big problem with the story of a Chinese-American Marine Officer confusing Chinese troops during the Inchon Landing in Korea. The Inchon landing was in mid-September 1950. Chinese “volunteers” did not begin entering Korea until October 1950 and did not engage with UN troops until Late November 1950. How could someone issuing orders in Chinese confuse Chinese soldiers since there were no Chinese soldiers at the battle of Inchon.

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