86 Rare Facts About the Most Brutal Wars The World Has Seen

In Ancient Rome a slave would continuously whisper 'Remember you are mortal' in the ears of victorious generals as they were paraded through the streets after coming home, triumphant, from battle.

2. The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown was heavily damaged after destroying a Japanese aircraft carrier during the first carrier battle in history. After 48 hours of emergency repairs, it ended up helping destroy two more carriers before being sunk and inadvertently saved the other US carriers.

3. During a battle of the Korean War, a mortar section was running out of mortar rounds. Instead of ordering more rounds, they accidentally ordered hundreds of crates of Tootsie Rolls, having not specified that "tootsie rolls" was a slang term for mortar rounds.

4. The French military actually has the best military record in Europe having won 132 of the 185 battles they fought in the last 800 years

5. As the strongest and most imposing members of a company, British Pioneer Sergeants would march with a shovel and axe to clear a path for troops, kill horses wounded in battle, and grow beards for protection while smithing.

The Mad Piper Bill Millin, the only bagpiper to land on the beach in Normandy. While men fell around him, he played his pipes throughout the battle. A group of captured German snipers was asked why they hadn't shot him. They replied that they thought he'd gone insane and felt bad for him.

7. During the Battle of Moscow, despite German forces closing to within 50 kilometers of the city, the Soviet Union still held the annual military parade marking the revolution. Soviet troops who paraded past the Kremlin then marched directly to the front line and into battle.

8. During The Battle of The Bulge, General Patton ordered a chaplain to compose a prayer for good weather that was desperately needed for an advance. The chaplain complied, the weather cleared, and Patton awarded the chaplain a bronze star on the spot.

9. In WW2, US codebreakers could not decipher the Japanese code "AF" but suspected it was Midway, so the base there sent an uncoded message about a water supply problem. The US then caught a Japanese message that AF had water problems, allowing the US pacific fleet to immediately prepare for battle

10. During the WWII naval battle of Leyte Gulf, an American pilot made repeated attack runs against one of the largest battleships in history, Japan's Yamato. After running out of ammunition, the pilot continued attacking, throwing a Coke bottle and other loose cockpit articles at the ship’s bridge

During the Battle of Stalingrad, factories in the city continued to produce tanks. These tanks, unpainted and lacking gunsights, were driven directly from the factory floor to the front line and were often crewed by factory workers.

12. A Canadian soldier named Leo Major made so much noise during a battle in WW2 that he made the German army think that the entire Canadian army was invading

13. Begum Samru (1753-1836), an Indian dancing girl who became the wealthy ruler of her own small principality. She led her troops into battle and was so successful that many believed that she had supernatural powers. After baptism, Samru became India's only Catholic ruler.

14. During the American Revolution, many untrained American soldiers used bayonets to cook meat over fires rather than using them for close combat. After receiving bayonet combat training from a Prussian general, the American Army was able to win an entire battle without firing a shot

15. In one WWII battle, German soldiers fought alongside the Allies to defend an Austrian castle.

A Soviet soldier who went missing after a battle in Afghanistan in 1980 was found alive in 2013, living in the Afghan city of Herat. He had been rescued by locals and eventually became a nomadic sheik and healer under the name of Sheikh Abdullah.

17. During the Battle of Stalingrad, German soldiers suffered more casualties attempting to take 1 apartment building (Pavlov's House) then they did taking the city of Paris.

18. Mel Brooks was a combat engineer at the Battle of the Bulge. When the Nazis played their propaganda over loudspeakers, he responded by setting up his own sound system and playing music by Jewish singer Al Jolson

19. When going to battle Rajputs would fashion false trunks for their horses, making them appear to be baby elephants which the enemy's elephants instinctively would not attack.

20. According to Welsh folklore, corgis were ridden by woodland faerie warriors into battle

J.R.R. Tolkien's service as a Lieutenant in World War I. He fought in The Battle of the Somme, and it has been suggested that the horrors of trench warfare shaped his later depictions of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings.

22. During the Battle of the Bulge, American MPs trying to uncover German infiltrators would ask soldiers questions that every American should know. General Omar Bradley was briefly detained after he "incorrectly" identified Springfield as the capital of Illinois. The MP thought it was Chicago.

23. In World War Two, Finnish soldiers were told to "fire low", as their rifles would often jerk upwards when fired. Accordingly, their battle cry was changed to "Tulta munille!" loosely translated as, "Fire at their balls!"

24. More Nazis were killed by the Russians in the Battle of Stalingrad alone than were killed during the entire WWII by America

25. The Crown worn by Elizabeth II has a Ruby which has been in the Crowns possession for 700 years and worn by King Henry V in the famous Battle of Agincourt 1415.