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Lists about armed forces and military tactics around the world.

Military Men

Mistakes & Plot Holes

<a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/top-war-movies" target="_blank">War films</a> like Saving Private Ryan, The Longest Day, and Sands of Iwo Jima are classics for a reason. Their unflinching portrayals of combat and comradeship inspire audiences and garner well-deserved acclaim. But how <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/accurate-war-movies/justin-andress" target="_blank">accurate</a> are they? Unfortunately, there are plenty of things movies get wrong about basic training.

Whether these mistakes come from a lack of research on the part of the filmmakers, or simply a desire to make scenes more dramatic, they&#39;re obvious to anyone who has served in the armed forces. Inaccuracies about <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/hardest-military-training-exercises/morgan-deane" target="_blank">basic training</a> in film range from the seemingly small (the haircuts) to the glaringly overt (recruits being killed with no repercussions). Some of the worst depictions of basic training in movies even ignore the typical ages of soldiers.

Fictional movies will always contain elements of, well, fiction. But these things movies got wrong about basic training seem especially over-the-top.

10 Things Movies Got Wrong About Basic Training

Film

10 Things Army Movies Got Totally Wrong About Basic Training

Dave Smith

Lists about terrible times in history during which man went to great lengths to dehumanize entire populations of people.

Dark History

History

What is evil? The worst atrocities committed by communist regimes may be a place to look for some answers.&nbsp;Hanna Arendt’s, <a href="https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/02/07/hannah-arendt-the-banality-of-evil/">Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on The Banality of Evil</a><a href="https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/02/07/hannah-arendt-the-banality-of-evil/"> </a>addresses this same question in order to find the root of what evil is. In the bewildering and contradictory history of communism, communist&nbsp;mass&nbsp;murders and communist genocides play no small part. So, the question is: how can individuals who support an ideology that advances liberty and the rights of the working class commit heinous acts against their fellow human beings? Arendt concludes that, ‘evil’ can be as simple as when a person doesn’t possess the moral courage to stand up against wrongdoing.&nbsp;Violence, <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/stomach-churning-things-about-soviet-gulags/daveesons">terror and repression were common in the Soviet Union</a>&nbsp;but not unique to it; the People’s Republic of China, <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/horrible-pol-pot-crimes/philgibbons">The Khmer Rouge</a>, Cuba, North Korea, The People’s Republic of Mongolia, and other communist nations have all manufactured dark periods against their own people&nbsp;in their&nbsp;histories. How were these crimes possible? Why weren't they stopped? The answers aren’t simple, but what is in plain sight is that these countries killed people in the name of communism.

14 Shocking Atrocities Committed By 20th Century Communist Dictatorships

General

14 Shocking Crimes Committed By Communist Regimes

Lists for the the ~history nerd~ on your virtual trivia team.

History Buff Stuff

Imagine drinking a beer that's brewed with decade upon decade of history, or visiting a hotel that's more than a thousand years old. Those hypothetical situations&nbsp;are the reality for some of the world's oldest corporations and establishments.The oldest businesses still around today have truly stood the test of time. True, some have changed their approach, and their ownership has changed hands many times. But their legacies are impressive tributes to human ingenuity. Is the temple-building business drying up? Become a general construction company instead. Are grandfather clocks going out of style? Move into producing wrist- and pocket-watches as well.With their fascinating origin stories and remarkable modern-day reputations, the oldest companies still in business deserve to be celebrated.

14 Companies That Have Been Around For Centuries That Are Still Open Today

The Origins Of The World's Oldest Companies And What They Do Now

Since the dawn of civilization, a lot of important things have happened. Here are lists of about the many winding routes we took to get where we are today.

Historical Contexts

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It&#39;s incredible to imagine, but some small&nbsp;countries&nbsp;in all corners of the globe used to be capitals of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-global-empires/mike-rothschild" target="_blank">mighty empires</a> that controlled continents or swaths of land. There are a lot of remnants of empires that once&nbsp;ruled the world. Italy, for example, was once the center of the Roman Empire. But there are plenty of small countries that used to be bigger - take Mexico, which used to control almost all of North America. &nbsp;

Our modern world was shaped by conflict, wheeling and dealing, and military conquest. Amazingly, some of the largest and most powerful imperial states to emerge grew out of very <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/smallest-kingdoms-in-history/alby-thompson" target="_blank">small countries</a>. Whether for greed, economic survival, or security, these various cultures launched themselves into the annals of history by quickly building vast empires. What do old empires look like now? If you read on, you might be surprised what small countries used to be empires.&nbsp;

12 Small Countries That Used To Be Gigantic Empires

12 Small Countries That Used To Be Huge Empires

US History

Routinely throughout their history, Americans have had the need to&nbsp;consider the injustices committed against the blue-collar working class by fat-cat corporate bosses. Hardcore facts about the WV Mine Wars illustrate just one of these many moments.&nbsp;Not only do people&nbsp;often forget the past and increase the risk of repeating history, but they&nbsp;also frequently fail&nbsp;to see the connection between historical labor movements and the gains and impacts they have on workers' everyday lives today.&nbsp;Workers in the motor vehicle, oil, textile, meat processing, construction, and mining industries have all suffered at the ands of their employers. And, as a result, all of these industries have seen subsequent movements and violent insurrections to push for change, rights, and representation.The Coal Mining Wars of West Virginia (and other parts of the country) provide&nbsp;a heartening story of the largest labor uprising in American history. It is a story about&nbsp;suffering workers, struggling families, and heroes who spoke out in the name of working people. The series of conflicts finally&nbsp;came to a climactic confrontation in 1921 that had been bubbling for decades. Though violent, confusing, and enraging, the West Virginia Coal Wars&nbsp;helped lay the foundation for more rights on behalf of miners, women, people of color, and the working class.&nbsp;

The Coal Wars Were The Largest Working-Class Uprising In American History

Hardcore Facts About the West Virginia Coal Wars

Amazing, disgusting, and downright unsettling things discovered in unexpected places. When was the last time you poked around in your own crawlspace? 

Lost and Found

Artifacts

There have been some seriously strange things found at construction sites. While some&nbsp;people have spent their entire lives searching for buried riches or lost holy relics only to come up short, others have just sort of stumbled upon historical artifacts found at construction sites. The weird stuff found on construction jobs&nbsp;ranges from priceless treasures to tangible evidence of civilizations thought lost forever. Truly, a few of these accidental <a href="/list/archaeology-that-changed-history/nathan-gibson" target="_blank">archaeological&nbsp;finds changed what we know about history</a>.&nbsp;

In all cases, the stories of those lucky (or unlucky) enough to find a mummy or a trove of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/tudor-artifacts-found-in-rat-nest/garri-chaverst" target="_blank">Tudor artifacts in their floorboards</a> are fascinating and often creepier than fiction.&nbsp;These discoveries are by turns heartwarming, stomach-churning, and awe-inspiring. Be careful, or these&nbsp;serendipitous moments may inspire&nbsp;you to&nbsp;start digging in your backyard, combing the beach, or putting holes in your wall. But then again, who knows? You might get lucky. &nbsp; &nbsp;

The 16 Most Bizarre Historical Artifacts Ever Discovered On Construction Sites

The 16 Strangest Things Ever Found on Construction Sites

Lists about the federal armed forces of the U.S. - its branches, history, practices, active members, and veterans.

The United States Armed Forces

The history of the American army uniform is a fascinating subject. You might wonder how the military went from wearing tri-corn hats to&nbsp;using Kevlar. After nearly 20 years of collecting original historic military uniforms and equipment, reading books, talking to historians, and doing research, I have realized that&nbsp;all uniforms descend from others in one way or another, somewhat like a family tree.&nbsp;

For the sake of clarity and coherence, this list will focus on the campaign (combat) clothing and personal equipment of the average enlisted soldier in the United States Army from the American Revolution to the present.

The history of all American army uniforms for both men and women is too vast to condense on this platform as it includes the history of the cavalry, artillery, dragoons, medical personnel, scouts, officers, engineers, dress uniforms, other specialists, and&nbsp;privately purchased uniforms&nbsp;in the army. Equally vast are the uniforms and equipment of the United States Marines, the Navy, Special Forces, the Coast Guard, and the Air Force.

Now, enjoy the pictorial&nbsp;history of the American army combat uniform...

A Visual History Through 24 American Military Uniforms

The History of American Military Uniforms (24 Photos)

Think the whole world revolves around you? Read about some Very Important Historical Figures and the fascinating lives they led while changing the world and having no idea that you even exist.

People of the Past

If you trace your gene pool back far enough, you'll discover that all humans are&nbsp;related in one form or another. But some people are more closely related than others - and it turns out that many historical figures from fancy families are related to each other. Some of these ties were unknown; other connections were well traced throughout history.If you're looking for facts about royal families, this list is a great place to start. Royals you didn't know were related&nbsp;to other famous figures include King Richard III - one of his relatives was a notable writer. As for Princess Diana, one of her famous relations made a splash on the American political scene. And then there's President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. They were cousins as well as husband and wife.Keep reading to discover more famous relatives from history. The connections you'll uncover may surprise you.

14 Pairs Of Historical Figures You Didn't Realize Were Related To Each Other

Person

14 Historical Figures You Didn't Realize Were Closely Related

In Soviet Russia

World History

What&nbsp;are Soviet Gulags? What happened in Gulags? And what did they&nbsp;accomplish? The word &quot;Gulag&quot;&nbsp;is actually an <a href="http://gulaghistory.org/nps/onlineexhibit/stalin/" target="_blank">acronym</a> of its official bureaucratic&nbsp;name, Glavnoe&nbsp;Upravlenie&nbsp;Ispravitel&#39;no-trudovykh&nbsp;LAGerei. When translated from Russian, it roughly means&nbsp;&quot;the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps.&quot;

The gut-wrenching system&nbsp;of forced labor&nbsp;camps was <a href="http://gulaghistory.org/nps/onlineexhibit/stalin/" target="_blank">first established</a>&nbsp;following the Russian Civil War. By the 1950s, the Gulags&nbsp;would stretch across the entirety of the Soviet Union&#39;s territory. It was arguably one of the darkest periods of 20th-century history. While&nbsp;the Gulag system slowly began to recede after Stalin&#39;s passing, it left an&nbsp;impact that still lingers to this day.&nbsp;

13 Stomach-Churning Facts About Being Held Prisoner In The Soviet Gulags

The 13 Most Stomach-Churning Things about Soviet Gulags

Russian History

In 2017, the Russian Revolution celebrated it's centennial. Despite the massive impact it had on the world, Russian Revolution history, even at it's most basic&nbsp;(such as the Russian Revolution timeline), elude many casual observers. Since the success of the revolution, &quot;communist&quot; has been something of a catchall phrase for red-blooded&nbsp;capitalists looking to blame others for undermining the foundation of society. Surely, you can blame the Russian Revolution for likes of Fidel Castro and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/che-guevara-was-terrible/philgibbons">Che Guevara</a>.&nbsp;What began as a demonstration for bread evolved into 75 years of &quot;communist&quot; rule that altered the course of world history. Lesser known Russian Revolution facts&nbsp;are mind-blowing when you consider their impact on history.&nbsp;Through the decades, many have asked how a movement intended to emancipate humanity from the yoke of tyranny took so many&nbsp; wrong turns and caused so much suffering throughout the Soviet empire. This sentiment was reflected by Irving Berlin when he quipped, &quot;The world would not be in such a snarl, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=aZpmpt7ksr8C&amp;pg=PA125&amp;lpg=PA125&amp;dq=the+world+would+not+be+in+such+a+snarl+irving+berlin&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=G0JdnNHWhT&amp;sig=2zhY98dELGygpikS4jNnRGuPSHI&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiM9rP5rePPAhVKaD4KHbYUDHIQ6AEISjAM#v=onepage&amp;q=the%20world%20would%20not%20be%20in%20such%20a%20snarl%20irving%20berlin&amp;f=false">had Marx been Groucho</a> instead of Karl.&quot;

10 Lesser-Known Facts About The Russian Revolution That Put It Into Context

10 Mind-Blowing Facts About the Russian Revolution

Despite years of uneasy alliances and eruptions of brutal violence stretching back to the Crusades, the West has had an often very fruitful relationship with the Middle East, and Arab world at large. Throughout history the Middle East has&nbsp;contributed to Western civilizations, as great Middle Eastern advancements and Arab innovation made their way through trade routes and cultural exchange into Europe.&nbsp;From food and language to the sciences, math, and even social conduct, progressive Middle Eastern ideas paved the way for much of what the Western world takes for granted on a daily basis.&nbsp;Great thinkers, brilliant engineers, dedicated scholars, and brave explorers have contributed greatly to global society. The architectural innovations that made Gothic cathedrals possible, beginning with the pointed arch, were influenced by Middle Eastern ideas.If you're wondering how advancements in math and architecture, medical technology, and even cuisine from predominantly Muslim countries influences what you do every day, read on. You might be surprised by what you find.&nbsp;

12 Positive Ways Islam and The Middle East Contributed To Western Civilization

12 Positive Ways The Middle East Helped Create Western Civilization

Lists about mass murders that shook the world due to place & time, the nature of the victims, the weapons used, and the sheer scope of the crimes.

Mass Killings & Massacres

Game of Thrones

Fans of&nbsp;HBO&#39;s Game of Thrones were shocked beyond words by&nbsp;<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/youtube-reactions-game-of-thrones-red-wedding/erin-maxwell?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">the Red Wedding</a> episode of&nbsp;Season 3. The author of the novels the show is based on, George R.R. Martin, stated that&nbsp;the events in the Red Wedding episode, &quot;The Rains of Castamere,&quot; <a href="http://theweek.com/articles/463588/reallife-events-that-inspired-game-thrones-red-wedding" target="_blank">were&nbsp;based on two particularly violent, real events</a> in Scotland&#39;s&nbsp;medieval and early modern history that befell Clan Douglas and Clan MacDonald. The details behind the ruthless murder of two young and unsuspecting brothers at a banquet in the 15th century&nbsp;and the extermination of an entire clan two centuries later are exceedingly severe - even by Martin&#39;s standards.

Both events are just two examples of historical references in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/historical-parallels-in-game-of-thrones/stephanroget" target="_blank">Game of Thrones</a>,&nbsp;but they&#39;re two of the most significant ones. As the Red Wedding is one of the most infamous scenes in the series, the fact that it is&nbsp;based on two very real events makes it all the more impactful for fans.&nbsp;

Facts About The Real Historical Events That Inspired The Red Wedding In 'Game of Thrones'

Brutal Facts About The Historical Events That Inspired the Red Wedding

Lists of true accounts of real people who survived unfathomable situations and depictions of fights for survival in film, TV, video games, and other media.

Stayin' Alive

Weird

Throughout history, countless&nbsp;individuals have found themselves totally alone -&nbsp;cut off from the rest of humankind -&nbsp;marooned in isolation, either by chance or by choice. However, this kind of aloneness in no way equals a death sentence for those who find themselves in it; in fact, there are many tales of&nbsp;&nbsp;<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/7-real-people-who-survived-horror-movie-situations/samantha-wilson?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">people who survived</a> in isolation. Amazingly, a handful have survived to tell harrowing tales of survival, and many of their stories make it to the big screen.&nbsp;And the people who've managed to survive this way might surprise you. From an elderly woman in Siberia to a young boy in the Ugandan jungle, the tales of harrowing (and sometimes really pleasant) forays into the un-humaned world demonstrate the incredible resilience and endurance of the human body and psyche.

14 Stories Of People Who Survived While Isolated From Civilization

14 People Who Survived Isolation from Civilization

As long as men have been writing history, women have been clearing their own paths.

Herstory: Women of the Past

In the densely woven tapestry of military history, there has been little thread dedicated&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/american-female-war-heroes/davidseidman">female heroes</a>, as&nbsp;women have been, for the most part,&nbsp;officially barred from service.&nbsp;However, women &mdash;&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/powerful-photos-of-women/amber-hubert">doing what they usually do when systematically excluded from some aspect of public life</a>&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;served heroically, emerging&nbsp;after the fact as brave soldiers in disguise or as&nbsp;skilled&nbsp;commanders who gallantly led entire armies to victory.

Cultural changes and shifting&nbsp;attitudes have helped women increasingly&nbsp;gain an equal footing in the hallowed halls of military heroes. This list gazes backward in time, shining a well-earned light on some of the bravest, most hardcore women to infiltrate the military and emerge from the bloody battlefield victorious.

Brave Women Who Disguised Themselves as Men to Fight in War

13 Hardcore Women Who Disguised Themselves as Men to Fight in War

Everyone loves an underdog story. When those stories involve tough&nbsp;little armies battling&nbsp;the odds against enormous aggressing forces, they make for some of the most&nbsp;exciting,&nbsp;moving&nbsp;stories of war heroism. Military underdog stories of small armies that defeated massive opposition come from all over the world, from Finland to Africa, Asia, and the Americas, and span centuries of warfare.&nbsp;When forced to fight, small, poor, and otherwise powerless nations and ethnicities&nbsp;need to get creative to&nbsp;outsmart opponents. In some instances, small countries fighting big aggressors won simply by virtue of displaying tremendous <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/crazy-medal-of-honor-acts/jim-jacobi">courage under fire</a>.&nbsp;War is never pretty, but it occasionally serves and important purpose, such as defending a culture and way of life from massive invading forces bent on wiping out natives and their lifestyle. The startling military upsets on this list show the tremendous bravery and fortitude of those who took a stand against imperial invasion.&nbsp;

14 Small Armies That Somehow Crushed Far More Powerful Enemies

14 Small Countries that Fought off Enormous Invading Armies

Animals

The many fascinating species of wild animals are what makes nature so awesome - until they go crazy and attack. And while these often <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/tips-for-encountering-5-dangerous-animals/analise.dubner">ferocious&nbsp;beasts pose a threat to humans</a>, some people seem to rise above and go toe-to-toe with these wild creatures. What's even crazier are <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/people-buried-alive/jacob-shelton?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">stories of people</a> who fought against wild animals and won.&nbsp;When faced with claws, teeth, or the possibility of being trampled, these people&nbsp;got away from wild animals and&nbsp;escaped death.&nbsp;

16 People Who Went Toe-to-Toe with Wild Animals (and Won)

16 People Who Went Toe-to-Toe with Wild Animals (And Won)

Lists about the many kinds of so-called "acts of God" and how they affect their surroundings. 

Forces Majeure

Natural Disasters

The beauty and mystery&nbsp;of nature and outer space are awe-inspiring -&nbsp;until one considers that these forces, like plastered&nbsp;hooligans at a soccer match, could quickly and without warning hit us over the head with a break and make humanity a thing of the past.&nbsp;Earthquakes, super&nbsp;storms, exploding stars, and rocketing space debris have all had our name on them from the beginning! From deep freezes that created ice deserts&nbsp;to&nbsp;comets that almost ended the world, here are some of the worst natural disasters we narrowly avoided.

16 Times Natural Disasters Almost Ended the World

Lists about the period between July 28, 1914, and November 11, 1918, during which the Allied Forces fought the Central Powers for control of the developed world.

Anyone can open&nbsp;a history book and become superficially familiar with names, dates, places, and events, but&nbsp;the greater drama of a historical event is often&nbsp;lost in the text of overly simplified or poorly conceived&nbsp;accounts. Thankfully, myriad relics survive from many of the most important and fascinating periods of history, and these&nbsp;objects tell many stories. World War I relics, for instance, relay&nbsp;a great deal about the social and cultural context of the war, and the day-to-day lives of those who lived through it.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history" target="_blank">Great War</a>, which lasted from&nbsp;1914 to 1918,&nbsp;left the world with an abundance of original artifacts with fascinating origins and enduring&nbsp;stories. The stories behind WWI relics speak volumes, often giving voice to forgotten histories of those who passed away during the fighting. From these original WWI relics, which still exist today, it&#39;s possible to maintain a direct relationship with the past, even a dialogue.&nbsp;

All of these fascinating relics from WWI come straight from the collection of the author, who has taken great care to help preserve history. Read on to learn about crazy WWI relics and the fascinating history behind them.&nbsp;

10 Fascinating Relics From WWI And The Stories Behind Them

10 Fascinating Relics from WWI and the Stories Behind Them

Throughout the&nbsp;tapestry of&nbsp;stories that makes up human history, near misses and close calls have both&nbsp;threatened our existence and pushed us in directions few could imagine. We've survived natural disasters, diseases, dictators, rush hour traffic&nbsp;and have come out okay&nbsp;considering the&nbsp;circumstances.&nbsp;These&nbsp;brushes with death or&nbsp;destruction have come from all directions as black swan events and completely predictable occurrences brought on by us or fate. Nevertheless, historical close calls always leave a lasting&nbsp;impact. Sometimes literally!