Geopolitics & Defense

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• WWarCollege2026-10-13✓ Read

  US Navy Pacific campaign: What was the most strategically important fleet carrier loss that the US Navy suffered?

  I'm not going to include any escort carriers or anything after 1943 because it's a bit academic at that point. USS Lexington - May 1942 - Battle of the Coral Sea USS Yorktown - June 1942 - Battle of Midway USS Wasp - September 1942 - Guadalcanal USS Hornet - October 1942 - Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands Edit: I guess another way of asking is which fleet carrier loss hurt the US navy the most during the early pacific campaign? Double edit: maybe the wording should be strategically significant submitted by /u/RivetCounter

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• WWarCollege2026-10-13✓ Read

  How do the outcomes of modern COIN operations actually compare to historical operations?

  Occasionally I will see discussion online about how counter insurgency doctrine has advanced over time. Obviously the tools are completely different in the 2020s even compared to the 2000s not to mention the 1960s or earlier. But does modern doctrine and equipment really result in better outcomes against insurgents? Or is it a question of political will and resource dedication more so than the specific tactics and equipment? submitted by /u/Phantrum [link] [comments]

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• WWarCollege2026-10-13✓ Read

  Were there any notable proposals, plans or attempts to employ military jet-skis?

  Do note this is not a question of the feasibility of military jet-skis. The issues with jet-skis in a military setting are many and if they were effective then we'd be seeing their deployment as good ideas spread as quickly as bad ones. However as fans of military history, we all know that a bad idea has never stopped military theorists before.

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• WWarCollege2026-10-13✓ Read

  Illustrated positions/diagrams for Defense of Duffer's Drift?

  Basically what the title says, anyone have them or know where I can find them? The original book has a very high level map for each dream but the copies I can find are fairly blurry and indistinct, not that there is a ton of detail to begin with. I'm hoping that at some point in the last *century* since it's been written someone has actually taken the time to illustrate the various entrenchments and positions described in the text! submitted by /u/rmzgrimes [link] [comments]

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• WWarCollege2026-10-13✓ Read

  When would a bayonet charge be conducted (Napoleonic era)?

  As I understand, most bayonet charges never really connect as the opposing side has likely fled long before. Despite bayonet charges being a staple on Napoleonic era warfare there surprisingly isn't a lot of casualties produced by bayonet charges with the most common weapons inflicting casualties being muskets followed by sabres and cannons (using this source as reference). Even with muskets being the primary source of casualties countries still used bayonet charges as a shock tactic.

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• WWarCollege2026-10-12✓ Read

  The Lebel 1886 is a personal fascination of mine; what was the context of French military thinking at the time?

  So it’s the first smokeless powder rifle, with a tube capacity of 10 rounds. What were French generals/logisticians expecting with this? Why did they adopt it and why was smokeless powder so important in their doing so? Also: It has a really complex and weird loading process. Did this affect their decisions in any way? submitted by /u/GloriousOctagon [link] [comments]

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