History tends to glorify the wars of the past, and this leads to many legends about them. At best, such legends are funny, and at worst, completely inaccurate.
We present you five myths about the famous wars of the past.
5. The Second World War
One of the most frequently repeated myths about the Second World War says that the first of the reasons that led to its beginning was the Germans' discontent with the severity of the Treaty of Versailles. He drove Germany into such a deep financial and social pit that it allowed Hitler and his Nazi party to take the reins of government.
Hitler really used the economic crisis as an excuse to enlist the support of people, promising them an improvement in the quality of life and a return to the country of former glory. But the Nazi party until 1932 did not gain enough votes to provide Hitler with a high elected position. He managed to take a place in power thanks to a variety of backroom deals and tricks. The Nazis were skilled propagandists and used the Treaty of Versailles to achieve their goals, but the idea that he ensured Hitler a popular victory in the elections is a myth.
4. The war in Vietnam
The Tet's offensive is often seen as the final step, which proved that the US could not win the Vietnam War.
It is true that the Tet offensive was a turning point in the war and probably led to its end, but it is also true that the United States was not yet militarily defeated. The offensive made North Vietnam’s troops stretch out — an incredibly risky move. However, after reporting the offensive via news channels, the demoralized American public believed that the Vietnam War was lost. The United States simply lost its desire to continue.
3. Pearl Harbor
The United States did officially declare war on Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor Harbor. However, even before this event, they were already far from the position of a neutral state. The actions of the United States, in essence, led to the scenario of Pearl Harbor.
By order of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Japanese assets were frozen, in view of the possible outbreak of military conflict. In 1941, oil exports from the United States to Japan were discontinued. Japan decided to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S. Navy to defend its advance into the Dutch East Indies and Southeast Asia to seize the sources of raw materials belonging to Europeans.
2. The myth of checkered kilts
The second place in the top 5 military legends is occupied by a myth that is firmly rooted in the mass consciousness, in particular, thanks to such films as “Braveheart”.
Historian Fergus Kennen of the London Museum of Victoria and Albert, argues that medieval Scottish warriors wore tunics that vaguely resemble kilts, but are a completely different element of clothing. These tunics were painted bright yellow with saffron and sometimes horse urine. This style was known as yellow military shirts. Over the shirts, wealthy Scots wore a long chain mail of small iron rings, and the warriors were more limited to a short jacket made of deer or cow leather. The jacket was dipped in resin or wax to make it waterproof.
1. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, closer to the end of World War II, was the first use of nuclear bombs in human history.
However, some of the bombing was even more devastating than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The United States twice dropped bombs on Tokyo with B-29 bombers. About 100,000 people were killed in the first raid and more than 125,000 in the second. For comparison: in Hiroshima, immediately after the explosion, between 90 and 166 thousand Japanese were killed, and in Nagasaki there were between 60 and 80 thousand victims. This does not mean that what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is not a shocking and monstrous thing, but not the first time a US Air Force bombing raid caused such massive casualties among civilians.
