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Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






How do?

So whilst I’m not exactly studied in my military history, I know others are. And it’s still a subject that has interest for me. So let’s talk about our own favourite military time periods.

For me, it has to be The Golden Age of Sail. When you look at it, it’s a very interesting time period.

Whilst gunpowder was revolutionising warfare, there was still plenty room for the literal cut and thrust of combat. It’s the one time period to my mind to truly bridge historical and modern eras.

And the sheer shenanigans involved, especially in the Caribbean. As well as more formal military (thanks, Cromwell. I don’t thank you for much on account you were a nutter, but the New Model Army?), you also had Privateers, arguably a precursor to today’s Private Military Contractors.

Then of course you had your Prize Money. The goal was rarely ‘sink the enemy’, so much as ‘knack their masts, board and nick the ship’. Even a mere rating could wind up wealthy beyond their station thanks to Prize Money. And all because it was far cheaper to knack, nick and patch up existing ships than to build new ones. And the share was preset - little room for shafting the ratings and boys out of their share.

For me, it’s a bizarre mix of utter insanity, and orderly conduct. Plus, y’know....Broadsides, Trafalgar and Britannia Rules The Waves etc!

Now it’s pretty much a cert that at least some of the above is urban legend, so feel free to better educate me. But don’t forget to sound off on your favourite military period.

   
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Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

I am into the Diadochi period (the General's post Alexander) and Classical Greek military history. I also prefer the land side of things than the naval, but I will get my feet wet occasionally.

I am not an expert, but it the area I probably have looked into the most.

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Made in us
Imperial Guard Landspeeder Pilot




On moon miranda.

Mine would probably be the first world war.

It's still low tech enough that you can still really visualize it and potentially see every weapon and arm of service literally within eyesight on a battlefield, low tech enough that people still use bayonets and swords but high tech enough that most of thr stuff we see today, like tanks and aircraft and automatic weapons, was present in some form (even if very primitive).

It's a war with tons of imagery, from the wire and trenches to the appearance of the Stahlhelm and the tank and aircraft. You have innovation, disaster, mistakes, successes, and ultimately one with no real clear "good guys" or "bad guys" (at least not like in the next war)

It's also got a wondeful element of old world comeuppance and worldview smashing. As the war begins everyone goes in cheerily, you still have literal royalty and all the ridiculousness of old world aristocracy, chassuers with gleaming breastplates and feathered helmets, flowers are given to soldiers going off to the front, smiles are everywhere, and everyone believes victory will be swift and easy, everyone has a fairly solid worldview and is comfortable civilization will go on. And then...well, they all get a hefty dose of grimdark that brutally and decisively beats that old world to death like a back-alley pipe smackdown, and nobody is the same after. There is a democratization of the world in the worst and best ways. Soldiers go into war with golden sabres, Picklehaube, white gloves, shiny breastplates, red pants, etc, looking parade ground resplendent and aristocratic, and by the end of the war they're wearing steel helmets, prison shank knives, submachineguns, grenades, dark colors, and using sharpend spades far more than golden sabres, looking far more like miners or industrial workers. Soldiers went into the war unquestioningly walking into machinegun fire on the orders of their social superiors and ended the war with sweeping social reforms and often overthrowing their old rulers. It's all very "40k"


IRON WITHIN, IRON WITHOUT.

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Fixture of Dakka






19th century. Something about lines of fancy-looking dudes shooting blackpowder and thrusting bayonets makes me squee.

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Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain




Vigo. Spain.

The High Middle Ages and the Renaissance period.

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Made in nz
Boom! Leman Russ Commander




New Zealand

It varies wildly for me as I find almost any period interesting. A couple that I will always drift back to:

18th -19th Century. Sick uniforms big flags and tight formations. French columns crashing into Redcoats. 7 Years war. Prussians. New nations and the associated new armies.

Medieval - primarily the early period 'Viking Age' through to c.Third Crusade.

Have had WW2 fatigue for over a decade after a raft of poor quality media/games flooded their relevant markets. The disproportionate focus on US involvement being the main turn-off for me personally.

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Made in se
Swift Swooping Hawk





Copper and Bronze Age Mediterranean. Chariot warfare. Egyptians, Hittites, Mitanni, Mycenaeans... This was back when we were still learning new things about the basics of civilisation, and there were few lessons to be learned from history, because there wasn't much of it. I find the Bronze Age to be fascinating in general, not just militarily. In fact, I don't understand how you could be interested in military history only, and disregard the other aspects.

The Bronze Age is still hugely relevant today, even if you don't think about it a lot. The letters in this text can trace their origins to the Bronze Age. Many of the most influential religious concepts in the world today are from the Bronze Age. Warfare a we know it was formed in that era, as were countries and laws. There's also so much that is more or less unknown, like the factors behind the Bronze Age collapse, one of the most fascinating and frightening things in history. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire pales in comparison.

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Fate-Controlling Farseer





Fort Campbell

 Cream Tea wrote:
Copper and Bronze Age Mediterranean. Chariot warfare. Egyptians, Hittites, Mitanni, Mycenaeans... This was back when we were still learning new things about the basics of civilisation, and there were few lessons to be learned from history, because there wasn't much of it. I find the Bronze Age to be fascinating in general, not just militarily. In fact, I don't understand how you could be interested in military history only, and disregard the other aspects.

The Bronze Age is still hugely relevant today, even if you don't think about it a lot. The letters in this text can trace their origins to the Bronze Age. Many of the most influential religious concepts in the world today are from the Bronze Age. Warfare a we know it was formed in that era, as were countries and laws. There's also so much that is more or less unknown, like the factors behind the Bronze Age collapse, one of the most fascinating and frightening things in history. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire pales in comparison.


I wrote once on how the Assyrian's were responsible for what we call modern day doctrine, for my ancient history class. They certainly seemed to be the first true power that had an understanding of how the military needed set guidelines in order to adapt to varying terrains, opposing forces, and the like. It goes far in explaining their explosive growth and prowess.

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The Dread Evil Lord Varlak





Its the boring answer, but for me its WW2. It's because there was such diversity in the various conflicts, which were spread across the globe but all interconnected. It's just amazing to see how individual operations in one theatre could have ramifications half way across the globe.

Also tanks.

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Adam Smith, who must have been some kind of leftie or something. 
   
Made in gb
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





UK

Probably the First World War for me, on a number of levels. From the perspective of a historian, it provides a fascinating lens through which you can examine pretty much any aspect of so-called 'Modern Warfare' and observe it's genesis; even if that origin is clumsy and rudimentary, 90% of what you see in the wars of the 20th Century can be traced back to there. German Blitzkreig has its roots in the combined arms offensives of 1918. The long-range strategic bombing that dominated air power strategy in WW2 and Vietnam can be traced to the ambitious, if shoddy, raids into German territory conducted by the fledgling RAF in 1918. The spy plane fever of the Cold War is the aerial reconnaissance over Belgium in 1914 writ large. Equally, you can see the death throes of the old ways, the final real uses of cavalry, of mass infantry formations, of coloured uniforms and 'gentlemanly' warfare.

Then there's the more personal level; the First World War is often called the poet's war, and that's something that resonates with me deeply. The works of Owen and Sassoon among hundreds of less famous others paint such a vivid picture of the conflict, and while other wars certainly produced notable and vast amounts of literature, none quite captured me like that of WW1. To me, it's the most human war, which is perhaps reinforced by the sheer scale of the scars it's left. The military cemeteries across France and Belgium are truly chilling, and hammer home the immensity and reality of the war more than anything else ever could.

I also find it quite fascinating from a historiographical point of view, academically it's still the subject of many fascinating debates and while I find myself leaning more towards the revisionist school of thought a lot of the time, I still feel there's far more left to argue about the First World War than the Second, which to a certain extent has been so thoroughly covered that a consensus has emerged that it would be hard to credibly challenge. A lot of the debates that spring from the conflict are still culturally relevant today, and even those that aren't so overtly pertinent are still intriguing to discuss.

If we move beyond the purely military though, I have to go for the Cold War. Not for the actual wars, I'm basically bored at this point of studying Vietnam, but for all the stuff around that. Especially intelligence studies, a very untapped field with some really fascinating material to dig into.

 
   
Made in ie
Calculating Commissar




Frostgrave

Pre-gunpowder, definitely. When positioning and timing was more important than firepower superiority (don't get me wrong, I find post-gunpowder interesting too, but in a different way).

So Classical history and Biblicals are my prefered eras.
   
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Killer Klaivex







 Paradigm wrote:

I also find it quite fascinating from a historiographical point of view, academically it's still the subject of many fascinating debates and while I find myself leaning more towards the revisionist school of thought a lot of the time,

Try looking into Royal Navy fire control systems or British naval planning if you like your controversy steaming fresh. Some of the historians involved have done everything but insult each other's mothers.


 
   
Made in gb
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'





Dorset, England

I love me a bit of 16th and 17th Century warfare, conflicts like the 30 years war, the civil war (war of the three kingdoms), the Monmouth rebellion etc. before ranged weapons became too dominant.

The ancients period (Rome and ancient Greece) is also very appealing to me due to the variety of factions and fighting styles.
I recently bought a computer game called Field of Glory II that models ancient battles and am having a lot of fun with it.
   
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[MOD]
Anti-piracy Officer






Somewhere in south-central England.

Napoleonics.

Truly the golden age of military millinery.

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Made in no
Hurr! Ogryn Bone 'Ead!






My favourite without question, has always been the Great War, for the same reasons already eloquently described by Vaktathi and Paradigm. I find that war endlessly fascinating, how it starts out with almost Napoleonic armies, then through disaster and the necessity of innovation, you arrive in the 20th century, with the Pyrrhic victory of the Allies, which eventually hurled the World into even greater tragedies and terror.

I've never liked WW2. I don't like it as a setting for games or other forms of entertainment, to be honest. WW2 is something my grandparents experienced and which affected their generation, and although I was born in the 1980's, I still find myself affected by it somehow.

WW2 happened where I live and it involved members of my own family. And it's not like I have anything to be ashamed about, several of my relatives were actively involved in covert, armed resistance groups, some of my granduncles were arrested and ended their lives in concentration camps, while my paternal grandparents met through the resistance group they were both in. I wouldn't be here, if it wasn't for WW2 and Hitler!
   
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Denison, Iowa

Man, I find interesting aspects of so many eras. Everything from ancient Egypt to WWII. Oddly, the only time period that really has no interest to me is 1600's era stuff and the Crusades.
   
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Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






I think WW2 stands out as possibly the most justifiable of all wars, with clear Goodies and Baddies.

Yes, much of that only became public after peace was won, but even so.

Compare it to Wars before and since, which have been as much about land and resource grabbing as legitimate tensions? WW2 definitely stands out as a Just Conflict. Especially compared to the more or less pointless WW1.

I wonder if that's why the UK in particular clings to it's victory there. After centuries of plundering the world and outright murder, we were absolutely the Good Guys for once (doesn't extinguish the horrors we inflicted, but still).

   
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North Carolina




The post-war era, particularly the Cold War, regional conflicts, and bushfire wars from 1945 to 1991.

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Made in gb
Highlord with a Blackstone Fortress






Adrift within the vortex of my imagination.

Any really, except the First World War, on land, which find senseless and depressing.

Early Crusade era I find particularly interesting - because of the culture clash and sense of adventure, the era of the longbow - to the point that I made one, and modern naval warfare - which I count from ironclad era onwards,

n'oublie jamais - It appears I now have to highlight this again.

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Denison, Iowa

I'd also say I live the first Gulf War. Gotta say I like it mostly because the US kicked so much rear there. Only time in recorded history where being on an active battlefield was statistically safer than being at home on base. (stateside drinking deaths were higher than casualties on the battlefield)
   
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Pestilent Plague Marine with Blight Grenade





Tornado Alley

Battle of Thermopylae era. The Greeks and Spartans were truly a force rooted in discipline and strength.

Side note my wife told me every time I left to come back with my shield or on it.

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Made in gb
Mekboy Hammerin' Somethin'





Dorset, England

 redleger wrote:
Battle of Thermopylae era. The Greeks and Spartans were truly a force rooted in discipline and strength.

Side note my wife told me every time I left to come back with my shield or on it.


Reading Herodotus' 'The Histories' recently I was struck by the opposite, the warfare in that period was so haphazard with no real units as such and highly dependant on the vagaries of oracles.

I liked the one battle where the Spartans wanted to face the Immortals and the Immortals wanted to face the Athenians, but the Athenians wanted to be positioned on the opposite flank from the Spartans. So both battle lines stood opposite each other shuffling about all day until somebody accidentally started the battle haha!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2017/11/23 09:25:42


 
   
Made in nl
Pragmatic Primus Commanding Cult Forces






 redleger wrote:
Battle of Thermopylae era. The Greeks and Spartans were truly a force rooted in discipline and strength.

Discipline, strength and pederasty

I love all periods of military history, but my biggest favourite is probably the time period around the fall of the Roman Empire and the Early Middle Ages. Lots of awesome legends and such come from that time.
Other periods I really like are the late Hellenistic and Roman periods, WW2, and the 17th century in Eastern Europe. How can one not love the winged hussars?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/11/23 10:33:01


Error 404: Interesting signature not found

 
   
Made in ru
Lone Wolf Sentinel Pilot





Room

Subjects I interested in:
- Roman Empire. In many cases it feels like today we live in Romans created world.
- European mid ages. Knights, castles, plague, rats, witches, dead bodies dirt yeah.
- XVIII century wars. Fancy tricorns but tactis so-so.
- Napoleonics. Looks cool, but too many casualties.
- Mid 19 century rifles. Modern firearms preccedors
- WW1 while I don't think there were much reason for doing this war, especially after it became positional, it's so special, like... great war. Everything was thrown to battle, for the war you don't understand what for... like some machine used people as a consumables
- WW2

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USA

The Crusades. See my signature

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2017/11/23 14:41:10


   
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I... actually don't know. Help?

Republican roman era, WWII (building dioramas for both currently), and Alexander the Greats conquests.

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Fixture of Dakka





CL VI Store in at the Cyber Center of Excellence

Way too many periods...

Wild West for skirmishing, Colonial (typically Africa though also some good ol' US Army vs the Indians ), WW2 land/air/naval, modern/near future (yeah, near future is not 'historical'), Dark Ages, Ancients (Rome/Carthage war period, but up to the Dark Ages works too), American Civil War naval.

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Made in gb
Yu Jing Martial Arts Ninja




Got to be the crusades, and the following years of English history. Then taking a leap up to ww1 and 2. Moving up to the Vietnam conflict, and most modern conflicts the early 90's up to today and I'm sure those that will come/carry on for the next years.
   
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Norn Queen






Dublin, Ireland

41st Millennium.
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Made in gb
Lord Commander in a Plush Chair





Beijing

WW2 for me, it has a lot of stuff that I find scientifically fascinating. But I appreciate the Great War for being a curious blend of almost medieval warfare and modern. You have tanks, planes and artillery at the same time at people still fighting in plate armour with knives and clubs.
   
 
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