Top 5 myths about famous wars

History tends to glorify the wars of the past, and this leads to a lot of 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. World War II

One of the most frequently repeated myths about the Secondworld war states that the first of the reasons that led to its beginning is the dissatisfaction of the Germans 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.

Hitler really used the economic crisis as an excuse to enlist the support of people, promising them a better quality of life and a return to the country of former glory. But the Nazi party did not gain enough votes until 1932 to provide Hitler with a high-level elective office. He managed to take his place in power thanks to a lot of behind-the-scenes transactions and tricks. The Nazis were skilful propagandists and used the Treaty of Versailles to achieve their goals, but the idea that he provided Hitler with a nationwide victory in elections is a myth.

4. Vietnam War

The Tet Offensive is often viewed as the final step that 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 the truth is that at that time the United States was not yet completely defeated militarily. The offensive caused the troops of North Vietnam to stretch out - an incredibly risky step. However, after reporting on the offensive through the news channels, the demoralized American public believed that the Vietnam War was lost. The United States simply lost the desire to continue it.

3. Pearl Harbor

The United States has indeed officially declared war on Japan after the bombing of the harbor of Pearl Harbor. However, even before this event, they were already far from the position of a neutral state. The US actions, in fact, led to the Pearl Harbor scenario.

By order of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Japanese assets were frozen, in view of the possible start of a military conflict. In 1941, the export of oil from the USA to Japan was stopped. Japan decided to launch a preemptive strike against the forces of the US Navy in order to protect its advance into the Dutch East Indies and South-East Asia to seize sources of raw materials belonging to Europeans.

2. Myth about checkered kilt

The second place in the top 5 military legends is a myth firmly entrenched in the mass consciousness, in particular, thanks to such films as "Brave Heart".

Historian Fergus Kennen of the London Museum of Victoria and Albert argues that medieval Scottish warriors wore tunics that resemble kilt, but are a completely different piece of clothing. These tunics were painted in bright yellow with the help of saffron, and sometimes horse urine. This style was known as the "yellow military shirt".Over the shirts, wealthy Scots wore a long chain mail made of small iron rings, and the warriors were victoriously limited to a short jacket made of deer or cow leather. The jacket was lowered into resin or wax to give it watertightness.

1. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, near the end of World War II, was the first case of using nuclear bombs in the history of mankind.

However, some bombardments were even more devastating than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The US twice dropped bombs on Tokyo from B-29 bombers. Approximately 100,000 people were killed in the first roadstead and more than 125,000 in the second. For comparison: in Hiroshima immediately after the explosion, from 90 to 166 thousand Japanese died, and in Nagasaki there were from 60 to 80 thousand victims. This does not mean that what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is not a shocking and monstrous affair, but not the first time the US Air Force's bombing raid caused such large-scale losses among civilians.