Military history, and related weapons

[cyclone]

Heads-Up: This post may meander a bit, but I think it'll basically stay on track....

Personally, I've found that an interest in arms of all types - and especially firearms, of course - has nicely dovetailed with my interest in history. For example, thanks to curiousity about rifling and the "Minie ball", I've since studied in earnest about the Crimean War, and subsequently broadened my knowledge to learn about Florence Nightingale and how the term "Lady with the Lamp" pertained to her. Long story short, I think my life is richer for the interests (historical and otherwise) that firearms have stirred in me....

All that said , I always find myself picturing - even subconciously - how I would have performed with the main infantry arm avaialbel at the time. Kidding aside, it's actually influence my choise as to "favourite periods of history".

For example, and due to an affection for viable repeating firearms - I tend to focus primarily on the period of history - military and otherwise - around the time of the Civil War and onward. Personally, I just have difficulty "connecting" with a time period that did not offer "the regular joe" a chance at meaningfully confronting more than one foe per reloading! And, after all, don't we tend to study the periods of history to which we most relate?

So, the meaning behind this poll - what period of history, firearms-wise, do you tend to consider most relatable/intriguing? Maybe I've phrased the question entirely incorrectly or obtusely, but maybe - just maybe - some of you might understand what I'm getting at....

 

[Deltasilver]

. Personally, I just have difficulty "conecting" with a time period that did not offer "the regular joe" a chance at meaningfully confronting more than one foe per reloading! And, after all, don't we tend to study the periods of history to which we most relate?

Couldn't agree more. I find the idea of having to stand in ranks and wait for the next volley absolutely terrifying. Not much chance for glory (or survival) for the "regular joe".

Personally much more comfortable relating to a time in history (regardless of the firearms available) when a man (ANY man) had a real opportunity to make something of himself. Of course we always see ourselves surviving the nasty bits - there were a few instances when idealistic Canadians probably found themselves wishing they'd just stayed home...

I've always found the setting of the California Gold Rush and the time of expansion in the West interesting.... Prolly read too many Louis L'amour books as a kid =) You get the repeating arms, a setting where walking around with a small arsenal won't draw too many second glances and a chance to strike it rich. Adventure without divebombers or trench foot.
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[JAGDMORDER]

I voted select fire . I seem to enjoy anything from the second world war all the way to present. It does not mean I dont appreciate earlier history, I am just more excited by more current events. In particular the Vietnam Conflict really interests me, From the Gulf of Tonkin to the fall of Saigon, even earlier French colonial involvment. I dont know why I have such an interest in this specific time period either?Maybe a past life involvment?

 

[urupak]

i think that its not the weapon used that's interesting it's more the human perspective of the war that's somehow romantic. From the roman legionnairies who had to confront many different ennemies to the line infanty who stood still for the next shot and finaly the young soldier in Iraq/Afghanistan, most of thoses guys where voluntary(most of the time!!) to be on the front line when you don't really know what's at sake, but you just keep doing your job hoping to see you're family again and come back home in one piece

 

[fiddler]

I like the history and militaria all combined. I enjoy the firearms the way they were made and I do very little to modify them other than serviceability or shooting repairs. I also enjoy all the accessories that go with them and try to have everything original as issued.

 

[smellie]

I am into the technology of the weapons themselves, how they were influenced by, and how they and their manufacture influenced everything that came afterwards. You can't have a modern KIA without the Model T Ford and you couldn't have a Model T wthout a pretty solid knowledge of metallurgy (there were 60 different kinds of steel in a T), all of which came from the arms industry. Model T hubcaps were stamped with the same technology that drew the cartridges for the Sniders and Martini-Henrys, but it was used for cartridges FIRST. Weapons technology LEADS civilian technology, always; if it doesn't, it's time to dig a bunker in the back yard and hoping that Thor doesn't toss too many lightning-bolts in your direction.

As far as battlefield survival goes, it nearly always lags behind weapons technology. The guy with the Brown Bess facing the Charleville likely had a better chance of surviving than the guy with the mortar tube out in the bush, once a divisional stonk gets followed up with a fullscale 'palm strike. The Charleville was every bit as inaccurate as the Bess; the Napalm strike isn't.

That said, our entire history has been shaped by weapons and their technology. How far would Rome have gotten without the Spanish Sword AND the correct discipline to USE it correctly?

For sheer horror, likely nothing in human history surpasses the Great War: two ditches, each 400 miles long, mud up almost to your hips, close enough that you had to keep your voice down, advances measured in yards and thousands.... and small towns everywhere filled with women who were waiting, 40 years later, for their man to come home. Two still carried MIA from my own family. How many others?

I study it all.

"Those who do not study the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana

Our problem is politicians who can't read anything more complex than a bribe cheque.
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[.30/06 FTW]

I like pretty much everything from WWI onwards. Think about it, a lot of that stuff could still be useful today in combat (in the right hands).

 

[bushwhacker]

Interested in CDN military historical firearms. Because I don't have Prohib or 12-2 status that limits me to rifles and pistols. Have no desire to own a deactivated firearm (compares to a vehicle without an engine). Has to fit in a gun cabinet, no place to keep a tank or a howitzer.