Which war is the most exciting to learn about


  • Also if you vote other, please tell me.


  • @Dylan:

    Also if you vote other, please tell me.

    WW2 by far even though it finished nearly 65 years ago it still has the most far reaching consequences even today. You cant explain terrorism or the Cold war without going back to both of their infancies at the end of WW2. Also WW2 had the heroic victories that at the time would of seemed impossible like the Battle of Britain or Stalingrad. Also its interesting to discuss with people those moments when the world was on a knife edge and victory could of gone either way and the prospective consequences of those hypothetical events.


  • I enjoy studying about the Punic Wars, I consider those three wars as the first World Wars.


  • Also you better vote before it closes.


  • @ABWorsham:

    I enjoy studying about the Punic Wars, I consider those three wars as the first World Wars.

    OK I’ve never heard that said of the Punic Wars.
    Seven Years War, yes.

    #618


  • Why is the War of 1812 a choice? lol

    I think the Boxer Rebellion is the most interesting war to learn about.  :lol:


  • @Emperor_Taiki:

    I think the Boxer Rebellion is the most interesting war to learn about.  :lol:

    Naw, that was a brief skirmish.

    #624

  • Customizer

    The problem with WWII is that it’s so far fetched…

    http://squid314.livejournal.com/275614.html


  • @Emperor_Taiki:

    Why is the War of 1812 a choice? lol

    I think the Boxer Rebellion is the most interesting war to learn about.  :lol:

    I like the War of 1812  :|

    Anyways I don’t even know some of these wars.  :-)


  • @allboxcars:

    @ABWorsham:

    I enjoy studying about the Punic Wars, I consider those three wars as the first World Wars.

    OK I’ve never heard that said of the Punic Wars.
    Seven Years War, yes.

    #618

    The Wars between Rome and Carthage were the largest wars seen up to that time. The winner of the Punic Wars held the fate of the Mediterranean world. The Battle of Cannae is one of the most studied battles in history.


  • @ABWorsham:

    @allboxcars:

    @ABWorsham:

    I enjoy studying about the Punic Wars, I consider those three wars as the first World Wars.

    OK I’ve never heard that said of the Punic Wars.
    Seven Years War, yes.

    #618

    The Wars between Rome and Carthage were the largest wars seen up to that time. The winner of the Punic Wars held the fate of the Mediterranean world. The Battle of Cannae is one of the most studied battles in history.

    Oh yes I totally appreciate all that, utterly fantastic stuff that makes the Cold War look boring. And most people in the world (I would hope) have heard of Hannibal and the elephants even if they wouldn’t know the term Punic.

    I had just never heard of it being called a World War and, thinking of this for the first time honestly am not sure about any conflict claiming the World title while the participants are unaware of the other half of the world… although to the people in those wars the Medierranean was the entire world.  Hmmm… always something to think of eh?

    #633


  • I was the only one who voted for the “war on terror”, b/c it happens today, and it is especially interesting that asymmetrical warfare was not possible until recent times, at least, the warriors conducting asymmetrical warfare didn’t achieve any goals, except for annoying the kings and conquerors who had the most power.
    In historical times, including WW2, if you had the strongest military forces and won battles on the ground, you won political power. In modern times, this is not so obvious. I guess the Vietnam war was first in history where a much stronger power didn’t accomplish their political goals, and so, the US lost that war even if the killed hundreds of thousand of enemy soldiers and only lost about 60.000. 
    The Vietnam war was not about terror, but it had some asymmetrical warfare elements, as the Vietnamese was illiterate peasants defeating the most powerful country on earth, although, with some help from China.
    We can see some of this in Afghanistan, NATO is much more powerful than taliban and other warlord fractions, but they still seem to loose. This make war much more complicated and difficult.
    The long lasting truth that if you won military you also automatically won politically, does not apply anymore.


  • Well I don’t think you can actually say that the Vietnam War saw a weaker opponent get defeated in the battlefield but still win politically.

    That would capture the American perspective perhaps.

    But the North Vietnamese had to switch from asymmetrical to conventional warfare in order to complete their victory… they just waited until the US left South Vietnam.

    Much like the Britons once the Legions left and a number of other asymmetrical wars. Wars of waiting for the apex predator to leave.

    Similarly, if the Taliban continue to fight for influence in Afghanistan with bullets (and not ballots) then once NATO packs up, they will shift gears to pursue a more conventional course to dislodge the government and “win” the war.
    Victory there will undoubtedly require a home grown means to win that conventional fight without NATO.

    #645


  • WWII gets my vote for three reasons.

    1. It is the first war where there is a great deal of film (yes, I’ve seen film from WWI but there is precious little of it).  As such, you can learn as if you were there by seeing the footage.

    2. It is a more or less “good” war in that a very strong case can be made that it was a war of good vs evil.  Most wars do not have a good cause worth fighting for (example: Vietnam).  Honorable mention goes to the US Civil War (end of slavery) and for the US Revolutionary War (freedom).

    3. It was a war where technology rapidly advanced.  The weapons which won Europe for Germany in 1939 and 1940 and Asia for Japan in 1941 and 1942 were hoplessly outclassed by 1944-45.

    Another comment, while I am fascinated about how WWII changed forever the balance of power in the world, I find the changes after WWI to be more fascinating and, in my opinion, more far reaching.  WWI gets an honorable mention for this reason.


  • Had I not chose other, my pick would have been WWI followed by The War of Southern Independence.


  • the THIRTY YEARS WAR is interesting…I don’t know if it would be worth studying it…


  • @ABWorsham:

    The War of Southern Independence.

    Hey, is that a.k.a. The War of Northern Aggression?

    Anyway, WW2 got my vote, from the perspective of someone not knowing the target audience, as most interesting to study solely on the basis of recency and quality of documentation with emphasis on video footage.

    Properly, and passionately, pursued the study of any war can be extremely interesting!!!  :-D

    #651


  • @allboxcars:

    @ABWorsham:

    The War of Southern Independence.

    Hey, is that a.k.a. The War of Northern Aggression?

    Anyway, WW2 got my vote, from the perspective of someone not knowing the target audience, as most interesting to study solely on the basis of recency and quality of documentation with emphasis on video footage.

    Properly, and passionately, pursued the study of any war can be extremely interesting!!!  :-D

    #651

    Actually, the South fired the first military shot


  • @calvinhobbesliker:

    Actually, the South fired the first military shot

    Ah yes… and yet when I visited South Carolina, to hear them tell of it, you wouldn’t think so.  :-D

    #653


  • Yeah, well every combatant in war tells themselves and/or their people that they were attacked; never that they were the aggressor

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