The most interesting facts about the army. Interesting facts about military operations Beauty will save the world
The autumn conscription makes us remember the army of many of our compatriots. As a rule, these thoughts are not very rosy. But it is worth recognizing that, despite all the unflattering and frightening reviews about the army, there are many interesting facts from its history and modernity.
Therefore, before dismissing this topic, it is worth finding out whose army is the most beautiful, who was the most unusual officer, why soldiers walk upside down and much more.
Who has the most powerful army in the world?
No matter how much our military personnel boasted about Russian army power, they failed to top the rating. While Russia, with its million soldiers, ranks second, they have remained in first place for several years. Their leadership is determined not by the number of soldiers, but by the quantity and quality of military equipment, as well as the amount of funding.
Where do the buttons on soldiers' sleeves come from?
The design of military uniforms began to be discussed not at all in the 20th century, as is commonly believed. So Peter I himself, famous for his ability to find an unconventional solution to any problem, ordered buttons to be sewn on the front side of soldiers' sleeves. This was explained not by a love of style, but by the fact that it became inconvenient for ordinary people, most of whom came from peasant families, to wipe their mouths with their sleeves. The expensive cloth from which uniforms were made was no longer soiled every day, and the uniform lasted longer.
Gay squad - myth or reality
We have recently abandoned the conscription of people with non-traditional orientations for military service. In Thebes they approached this differently. Ancient Greek rulers formed Sacred Bands, which were considered invincible. This was explained simply - men, in order not to disgrace themselves in the eyes of their lovers, fought furiously and preferred death to surrender.
Beauty will save the world
About a year ago, restless British journalists from The Sun newspaper conducted a survey trying to determine which army was the sexiest. Of course, the choice was only between those countries in which women are drafted into service. 16 thousand participants unanimously decided that the most charming army belongs to Romania, and took an honorable third place in this list.
"Secret Rite" of the Bukhara Army
In the middle of the 19th century, soldiers of the Bukhara Emirate “spied” on Russian soldiers a “secret ritual” that brought victory. During the assault on one height, the Russian infantry had to cross the river, and since everything happened very quickly, the soldiers did not have time to pour water out of their boots. Then each of them grabbed his comrade by the legs, turned him over and shook him. The height was captured, but the beginning of the next battle amazed everyone present. In front of the astonished Russians, the Bukharan soldiers carefully shook their upside-down fellow soldiers by the legs, apparently to attract good luck.
Where can you talk on the phone for free using a military satellite?
The cheerful Brazilians showed themselves not only as good dancers, but also as quite experienced pirates. One of them found out that if a regular walkie-talkie was modified, it would be possible to use military satellites of the US Navy for free calls. The cost of such a “rework” is no more than $50, but you can save hundreds of times more on communications.
What and why do American paratroopers shout when jumping from an airplane?
Those who have had the opportunity to see how American paratroopers make jumps know that they do not do it silently. No, the brave guys don’t squeal and call for mom - the step from the plane is marked by the cry “Geronimo”. The surprising thing is that this is a very real character. That was the name of the Indian who for many years haunted the American and Mexican armies in the United States. And now, wanting to gain the tenacity and courage of this man, the paratroopers make their jumps, shouting the name of this brave man.
Which army dictates the coordinates of Santa Claus
In the middle of the 20th century, shortly before Christmas, one store in Colorado Springs decided to organize an advertising campaign and advertised in the newspaper with Santa Claus' phone number. Either the writers of the ad were inattentive, or the newspaper made a mistake, but there was a typo in the text. Just one wrong number and hundreds of children are already calling the local air defense command center. To the credit of the military, they did not hang up or demand a refutation in the newspaper, but began to dictate to the children the coordinates of Santa, or rather, the place where he was now flying. This tradition continues to this day, and now throughout December children can find out where Santa is.
How Braille was created
The famous dotted font for the blind was originally a military development during the Napoleonic era. It was intended to allow soldiers to exchange information without noise or lighting, but proved too difficult to learn. It was only many years later that Braille simplified the font and made it readable. By that time, the military no longer needed such technology, but it turned out to be very useful for visually impaired people.
Why is the Strategic Missile Force armed with a sledgehammer?
The harsh troops of the USSR surprised with their unexpected decisions. So, for example, when, during an inspection of one of the missile forces' points, the commander was asked what he would do if a safe with a control panel did not open after three attempts, the military man replied that in this case he had a sledgehammer that could be used to knock down the lock. The inspectors were shocked, but appreciated the officer’s resourcefulness. Since then, the sledgehammer has been a mandatory tool at the Strategic Missile Forces control center.
Dogs and bees guard the world
Dogs still play a decisive role in the armies of some countries around the world. For example, in Denmark there is a special patrol that controls the coast. A dog sled is the only way of transportation there, so not only people, but also fluffy huskies are called up to serve in the Sirius detachment every year.
By the way, Pentagon employees have gone even further, using bees for the benefit of their homeland. These insects are attracted to detect certain explosives that neither humans nor dogs can smell.
Why does Bolivia need a Navy?
Bolivia, which lost its part of the Pacific coast at the end of the 19th century, never came to terms with this loss. The country still officially has a Navy, which, however, consists of small boats patrolling lakes and rivers. Moreover, the Bolivian authorities have not calmed down, and the idea of conquering the coast from Peru arises in society with enviable consistency.
Who is a sniper
The term "sniper" is of British origin. In English, the small snipe bird is called snipe. The camouflage coloring of its plumage, small size and complex flight trajectories made the snipe an extremely difficult prey. Those who managed to shoot the treasured bird with an ordinary flintlock gun were called snipers.
Japanese Army Boots
An interesting way to combat theft was developed in the Japanese army. To prevent theft of boots, they were divided into left and right pairs and stored separately in specially built warehouses. One of these warehouses with thousands of left boots still exists on the island of Kunashir.
Winged Colonel
Not only dogs received officer ranks during hostilities. England's homing pigeon No. 888 received the rank of colonel for services to his homeland and participation in numerous important operations of the First World War. When the winged colonel died, he was buried with full honors.
Photo: thinkstockphotos.com, flickr.com
In this section you can get acquainted with information about various types of military equipment. We will talk about the main trends in the development of world military equipment, as well as interesting facts about the legendary military equipment of the past.
Long gone are the days when soldiers of opposing sides came face to face on the battlefield and found out which of them was stronger in hand-to-hand combat. The twentieth century was an era of development of military technology: the first tanks appeared on the battlefields, and combat aircraft took to the skies.
The development of new types of weapons was rapid, almost every year samples of new military equipment appeared, and every decade designers came up with fundamentally new models of mechanisms for destroying their own kind. Today, the power of the armed forces of any state largely depends on the perfection and effectiveness of the military equipment it has.
Domestic military equipment has always been considered one of the best. In Soviet times, huge funds were allocated for the needs of the military-industrial complex, a huge reserve was created, which is why Russian military equipment today is not inferior to the best foreign analogues.
The strongest military power in the modern world is the United States. A developed military-industrial complex is one of the foundations of American power. In this section you can find materials about the best examples of US military equipment.
One of the main types of military equipment that appeared at the beginning of the last century and radically changed the way of warfare are tanks. These machines, at first bulky and clumsy, eventually developed into a formidable weapon, becoming the main striking force in ground operations. Gradually, other types of armored vehicles were developed, and today there are already dozens of them.
We invite you to get acquainted with the latest Russian and foreign tanks and learn interesting facts about the legendary vehicles of the past.
Another revolution in military affairs that took place in the last century was the emergence of combat aviation. The first aircraft took part in combat operations during the First World War; aviation developed rapidly and soon became a significant force, largely determining the outcome of the military conflict. Today, the fate of any armed confrontation is largely determined by gaining air supremacy.
Almost immediately after the appearance of the first aircraft, means of combating them began to be developed. Today, air defense troops are an important part of the armed forces of any country.
The types of military equipment used by the modern army are very numerous and varied. It would take a long time to list them. These include artillery systems, multiple launch rocket systems, combat and transport helicopters, and various types of vehicles.
Almost constantly, information appears about the creation of new types of military equipment or modernizations of old vehicles, which significantly increase their efficiency and combat power. Design bureaus are developing types of military equipment based on new physical principles. It is very likely that in twenty years the armed forces will be radically different from modern armies.
Today, automatic systems of military equipment, which are controlled remotely or fully automatic, are especially actively developing. It is possible that drones will soon become the most common type of military equipment both in the air and on the ground.
When your grandfather gets in a certain mood and starts telling old war stories, it is sometimes impossible to predict what reaction they might provoke. Often these are tears and some absolutely amazing feeling of touching that you don’t expect from yourself...And although the war is mostly filled with extreme cruelty and a lot of not entirely pleasant twists and moments, there are also absolutely charming and touching stories that are not at all typical for this troubled time.
The US Air Force bombed Berlin... with candy
Germany had a hard time for a while. In 1948, after the country was divided among the victors, Russia decided to cut off all transport routes to Berlin in the hope that deprivation of food would convince the democratic part of the city of all the delights of communism; a turning point that almost led to another war. The United States and other allied nations remembered that they had airplanes by launching Operation Small Provisions, also known as the Berlin Airlift, where military planes dropped sweet democracy in the form of food into the city for about a year.
Berlin received everything it needed, except for one important thing - sweets...
An American transport pilot from Utah, Gail Halvorsen, was so shocked by the sight of Berlin kids left without candy that he gave them a pack of chewing gum, promising to return the next day with sweets they could eat. Halvorsen began dropping chocolates and handkerchiefs like little parachutes. So that children could recognize his plane, he shook his wings, for which he was nicknamed “Uncle Wiggly Wings,” “Uncle Wiggly Wings.” Everything was like in a children's book.
Of course, such “magic from a children's book” was not according to the regulations, and Helvorsen was ordered to stop performing amateur activities until his superiors realized how much Germany liked it. The Air Force then deployed several aircraft whose sole mission was to bombard East Berlin with tons of candy donated by the American Confectionery Association.
Even after the end of the air bridge in 1949, when the Soviets finally gave in, today's Berlin kids have not forgotten Uncle's swinging wings. Helvorsen is still known throughout Germany for the candy landing, and several schools were even named after him. This is how the legends about Santa began...
George Washington returned a British general's dog
If George Washington had a nemesis, it would probably be British General William Howe. During the American Revolutionary War, Howe's forces defeated Washington several times, forcing the future president to retreat from New York to New Jersey and then to Delaware.
In October 1777, Washington and Howe met again in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Both sides fought diligently, but Howe, who led British and Hessian troops, destroyed Washington's forces, killing 100 and capturing more than 400 prisoners, thereby winning the battle.
But, despite the losses, the Americans still managed to take a prisoner... a dog... To be more precise, General Howe's terrier escaped during the battle and ended up in the rebel camp. For two whole days Hau worried about what these barbarians could do to his pet.
But, two days later, the dog ran out of the forest with a note attached and straight to General Howe. The note said: “Best wishes to General Howe from General Washington. He is pleased to personally return the dog, which accidentally fell into his hands, and, judging by the inscription on the collar, belongs to General Howe.”
The fact is that Washington was a great dog lover, and although Howe killed hundreds of his men, he did not have the courage to take advantage of the situation. Washington even ceased fire to return the dog in a touching moment of love for man's best friend. Then everyone continued to kill each other.
England saved a dog by recruiting it to serve in the navy
Just Nuisance, or Trouble, was a Great Dane who lived at a British naval base in South Africa during the Second World War. He received this nickname because of his habit of lying on narrow bridges between ships and piers, where it was not so easy to get around him.
The sailors loved him anyway and took him on local trains. Sometimes Trouble would lead them to the base when they were drunk, or intervene in a fight between them. The problem was that the local train workers didn't share the sailors' love for a big, noisy bag of fleas. The sailors usually tried to get him onto the train undetected, but apparently it would have been easier to sneak a torpedo there.
Despite the advice of passengers to simply pay for the dog, the train workers categorically demanded that the horse be removed. It got to the point where they threatened to put him down if they caught him again.
To solve this problem, the Royal Navy simply recruited him as a man. This meant that the train workers not only could not kill one of His Majesty's sailors, but also gave him the right to free travel as a member of the service. Trouble even “signed” the contract with his paw, the honey passed. inspection, and slept in the sailor's bed.
Later, during the Falklands War, he served as an admiral and was buried with full military honors.
US Navy opens ice cream fleet
In 1945, the U.S. Navy in the South Pacific faced three big problems: a hot climate, faltering morale, and Japanese soldiers trying to kill them every day. It was then that US Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal found a solution to the first and second problems. That solution was free ice cream. Literally tons of free ice cream.
Forrestal was well aware of the importance of these calories. He once said, “In my opinion, ice cream is one of the most neglected morale boosters” (after pornographic magazines and alcohol). It was so important to the progress of the war that Forrestal somehow managed to convince the government to allocate $1 million for ice cream.
In developing the barge, the Navy practically created a floating ice cream parlor with huge refrigerated compartments on board, ready to go anywhere in the South Pacific. The soldiers ate all 40 liters produced every 7 seconds. It became so successful that there was soon a fleet of ice cream in the Pacific, like a fast food chain.
The cat received a medal for exterminating communist rats
Simon, a taxidermy cat, lived aboard the English warship Amethyst, a Royal Navy frigate, after the Second World War. Simon was adopted by a kind ship captain who allowed him to sleep on his cap when it was not on his head.
But then something terrible happened. On April 20, 1949, a ship was sailing along the Yangtze River in Asia, suddenly finding itself in the middle of a Chinese civil war. Communist shells penetrated the frame, killing 22 people, including the captain. The Amethyst ran aground with no way to retreat under communist fire. The survivors were trapped for more than three months.
On top of all this, the ship saw an infestation of rats when it landed on the shore. The little bastards very quickly spread throughout the ship, trying to eat all the supplies that were available. This was a really serious problem.
And then Simon came into play. Despite serious injuries from the attack (his whole body was covered in burns and wounds from shrapnel), the death of his friend and the fact that the new captain unceremoniously evicted him from the main cabin, Simon recovered and began to tirelessly destroy all the rats on the ship.
Between exterminating rodents and company while the new captain was ill, Simon saved the ship's crew from starvation and won the favor of an unapproachable man.
The captain wrote that Simon "was at his best" and was a morale booster. On the captain's recommendation, Simon was awarded the Mary Deakin Medal (a sort of Medal of Honor for animals) and became a celebrity.
Gunner learn to be an air siren
In 1942, Australia could practically feel Japan's gaze across the Pacific. In February of this year, Japanese troops began bombing the Australian city of Darwin.When the Japanese first bombed the city, Gunner, the dog of leading air force private Percy Leslie Westcott, was injured in one of the explosions, which had a very detrimental effect on the little dog. But no one even suspected that this explosion could give the animal superpower, just like in the comics.
One day, Gunner started freaking out for no apparent reason, trying to get Westcott to go into hiding with him. Being on duty, Westcott couldn't just drop everything and take a break before the Japanese showed up and started bombing again. A few days later the same thing happened. Gunner began to go crazy for no reason, just like last time, and soon Japanese planes appeared overhead again, dropping bombs.
That's when Westcott understood everything. Gunner heard the approach of Japanese planes about 20 minutes before the instruments could detect them. This would be impressive if the dog didn't live in the middle of an air base. Gunner had exceptionally receptive hearing, which did not react at all to non-enemy planes scurrying back and forth. Or the scoundrel had some kind of psychic powers.
Convinced of the dog's abilities, Westcott told his superiors about them. Gunner proved his skill and Westcott was given a portable warning system to activate when the dog said so, saving many lives.
The army, like any organizational structure, especially a social structure, has its own characteristics and traditions. We will present the most interesting facts about the armies of different countries and times.
1. About buttons
One of the decrees of Peter I introduced a special style of soldiers' uniforms. According to this decree, buttons had to be sewn on the front side of the sleeves. The reason for the introduction of such a “luxurious” style was not at all the desire for ostentatious splendor, it was much more prosaic. Most of the soldiers were former peasants, with an ingrained habit of wiping their mouths with their sleeves after dinner. These buttons were supposed to help keep the cloth intact.
2. About the kilt and linen
In principle, a kilt can be worn as you like, with or without underwear. But soldiers, by tradition, are required to wear this uniform only on their naked bodies. In the past, army units even held inspections, at which an officer with a special mirror inspected the correct wearing of the “skirt” and, if underwear was found, immediately demanded to get rid of it.
3. About the color of the Nazi uniform
Everything turned out to be simple with color. In warehouses in Germany there were a lot of field uniforms for the army in the African colonies, which were lost by Germany after the First World War. It was this uniform that the National Socialist Party bought for its troops at the cheapest price.
4. Pentagon and toilets
As you know, racial segregation in the US Army continued until 1948. Naturally, there could be no talk of any mixed units in the army. That’s why, during the construction of the Pentagon, separate toilets were provided for whites and for everyone else. As a result, the building had twice the required number of toilets. By the way, it was planned to hang appropriate signs on them, but they were not hung by order of Roosevelt.
5.Weapons and religion
1857 turned out to be the most unfortunate year for the British colonial troops in India. This year, THE newest long-range rifles were delivered to equip the Indian Army. But animal fat was used to lubricate the Enfields, which was also used to impregnate cardboard cartridges.
And at the same time, the British did not take into account the interesting fact that for Hindus a cow is a sacred animal, and for Muslims touching a pig is a terrible sin.
Adherents of both religions formed the bulk of the army, and each group decided that this was a special insult to them. As a result, they all united and raised an uprising, which resulted in massive casualties among military and civilian Englishmen.
6. Victory and acrobatics
The battle of Zarabulak originally began in 1868. Approaching the rifle shot, the Bukhara soldiers dropped to their hands, and their comrades began to shake their legs... It turned out that in this way they were trying to attract luck to their side.
The source of the behavior was the battle that happened a month earlier in the Russia-Bukhara Emirate war. Then the Russians, under the command of General Golovachev, crossed the Zeravshan River. The infantry managed to overcome the obstacle with difficulty; they had to walk almost chest-deep in water, but this most unexpected maneuver made it possible to occupy the heights of Chapan-Ata in a swift bayonet attack.
We had to act so quickly that we didn’t even have time to pour the water out of our boots, so we had to literally shake it out. So the enemy considered these strange actions to be a kind of magical ritual invoking good luck.
7. Elite squads and homosexuals
In Greece, homosexuality was treated as commonplace; in Thebes they even formed an elite military detachment of 300 warriors, which was called the Sacred Band of Thebes. The most interesting thing is that the entire detachment was completely killed in the battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. e., while no one retreated, according to Plutarch, preferring to die next to his beloved rather than dishonor himself by flight.
8. Army and lot
In the Roman army, one of the most serious punishments was decimation. At the same time, the entire unit was divided into dozens, and it is interesting that there were no exceptions based on age, experience or merit. Lots were cast among each ten, and the one who drew it was killed by the other nine colleagues.
9. Nazis and Muslims
Among the units of the Nazi army there were several completely exotic ones. For example, the Free India unit ('Freies Indien') consisted of Muslims from East India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. These “volunteers” were captured by German troops in North Africa. 
10. Military satellites and telephone
In Brazil, a popular business is the reconfiguration of civilian radio stations in the 144-148 MHz range to use satellites of the FLTSATCOM constellation. These satellites belong to the US Navy and are used by the Brazilians for free telephone calls.
11. Paratroopers and Indians
Watching American action films, you can hear a strange scream during paratroopers’ jumps. The history of this cry is as follows. In the 2nd half of the 19th century, the Indian Geronimo with a small group of comrades posed a big problem for the armies of the United States and Mexico; he was well remembered for his elusiveness and courage.
In 1939, a film was made about the elusive Indian, in one of the episodes of which the hero jumps into the river from a steep cliff with his name on his lips. After the film, the paratroopers also began shouting “Geronimo!” while jumping, so the tradition took root and exists today.
