On my blog and on my channel, I started out just looking at gear and doing discussions on related topics. This chapter I am going to be starting has to do with guns and gear, but in a way that provides a big picture. I have always enjoyed war history. The fighting we have done since the beginning of our existence can tell us alot about how to avoid the same mistakes. In war, there are so many variables that have an effect on the outcome. I am hoping to dive into a few examples of what kind of things can determine an outcome.
POLITICS
Politics is one of the worst subjects to talk about online since anyone and everyone will end up disagreeing and finding something to have an emotional outburst about. However, when it comes to war, politics starts it and ends it. It is important to see how politics can manipulate a situation and initiate or end wars, for better or worse.
WEAPON TECHNOLOGY
As the narrator on Tales Of The Gun states at the end of the show intro, "to better understand the gun, is to better understand history." I certainly agree with this statement. Not saying that only guns matter, but all weapons to include the fists. The weapons used to fight can tell us a wide variety of things, depending on what we can find out. For example, the Japanese officers in WW2 used the Katana sword in battle occasionally. The weapon was not a common one on the battlefield, but the officers had them for a reason that tells us alot about the fighting men and their culture, history, politics, morals, etc. That is just an example of how a piece of gear that may seem to be outdated and useless in a gunfight, can actually tell us something about the individuals fighting the war.
STRATEGIES, TACTICS, AND TECHNIQUES
This subject has to do with how commanders and individuals approached a situation. This is not to become an armchair commando, however. This is simply a look at what this person saw and looking at the decisions they made with the available information and experience they had at the time. Also, we will find that emotions and physical health can play a part in the decisions. Real interesting stuff in this area, let me tell you.
INDIVIDUAL TRAINING
This is a subject that is pretty broad, being that it will look at everything from physical training, weapons training, drills, battle movements, etc. This type of subject can help us understand alot about an outcome of a battle, and infact might be the sole reason for the outcome. For example, British training in WW1 was the cause for many losses since they quite literally would WALK through 'No Mans Land' in the old firing line method, while the Germans who were more adaptive just mowed them all down with their machine guns. Despite knowing this would happen, the British troops often bravely did as they were told and trusted their old world training to at least have some success in getting them to the German trenches. Terrible stuff, but training and things soldiers are drilled on can tell alot about why certain weapons are used, why certain tactics are used, etc. For better or worse, I think this is a subject that will be very deeply discussed.
TO WHAT END?
When we look at the past, we need to do the best we can to not judge and pretend we know better. The way we learn from the past is to look at the past and realize that what we think we know may actually be what is limiting us. History has a good way of showing us that being closed off to new ideas may not be the best idea. On the other hand, history has also shown us that some things are better left alone, and we shouldn't come up with a solution for a non-existent problem. This is why history on everything is important. It shows us a real set of scenarios that played out, and we get to dissect them and see how one decision, piece of gear, or moral standard had an effect on the outcome of a battle and even a whole war.
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