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Posted on Oct 22, 2008 in Stuff We Like

Hot Forums – Bad Movies, Military Medicine, and WW2’s Greatest Campaign

By Jason St. Just

If you haven’t joined in the many online discussions at Armchair General’s forums, check them out. You’ll find discussion groups on many aspects of military history, politics, and current world situations, along with hobby-oriented discussions of games, conventions, and more. Because forums for Weider History Group’s 10 other magazines are also hosted here, you’ll find topics related to the Wild West, British Heritage, general American history and more, in addition to military history discussions.

Hot from the Armchair General Frontlines

The greatest historical mistakes in movies…Can anybody identify themselves in this scenario? You’ve been anxiously waiting for the release of a historical movie for months. When you finally get the opportunity to watch it however, you find out that it is historically so distorted that you wish you were completely ignorant of the past. In times like this it seems like a “curse” to be a lover of history. For many, myself included, even the smallest inaccuracies can bother to the point that they will ruin the entire movie. This thread in the Film, DVD and TV forum gives you the opportunity to freely spout your criticism. Many history buffs will be grateful that YOU have warned them of these disappointing films.

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Propaganda!!! Throughout the centuries, the use of propaganda has been used to deify rulers or to emphasize a nation’s prowess and strength. The “Behistun inscription” on a remote cliffside in Iran is one of the oldest that spring to mind. During the violent conflicts of the 20th century, propaganda has become a sophisticated and very effective medium used by all nations to confuse and demoralize enemies and to influence opinions in their allied countries. Our member Red Skull has started a “gem” in our Wars and Warfare forum. Check out the many interesting posters and cartoons that have already been posted and feel free to show us which one has had an impact on you…

Most successful campaign of WWII? All right, WWII buffs, here’s your chance! Put your knowledge to the test and prepare to defend your arguments by voting on the campaign that you feel was the most successful in the last world war. Fall Gelb or Normandy, Barbarossa or North Africa, all have already come to discussion. Only started in the middle of September, this very popular post is already 25 pages long and it is very likely that another 25 will follow.

Human wave attacks? Our member Altus certainly couldn’t have foreseen how many replies he would get when he posted the question “What is a human wave attack?” on our Vietnam forum. This simple question has quickly become a full-scale discussion on tactical formations and innumerable battles. So, what is a HWA?

ACG Searchlight!
This week I have the honor to shed some light on our Military Medicine forum. Although just a small subforum on our large website, the potential area it can cover is immense. Warfare and medicine are after all, paradoxically intertwined. Warfare is synonymous with harm and destruction while medicine is synonymous with healing and life!

Just like war, medicine is one of the oldest practices of mankind. It has been used in the military since ancient times and has greatly evolved since then, largely thanks to the lessons learned from these wars. During the past 200 years of major conflicts, the military medicine itself has evolved from a pre-antiseptic, pre-antibiotic age when disease was the greatest killer to the state-of-the-art military healthcare system that we know today. Many organizational innovations on the field of battle itself have taken place. Just think of the creation of the “flying ambulances” by Napoleon’s chief surgeon, Joseph Larrey, the establishment of the Red Cross during the final stages of the Italian War of Independence in the 1860s or the MEDEVAC helicopters that were used during the Vietnam war to evacuate the wounded.

Military medicine in the beginning of the 21st century has evolved to cover many fields other than first-aid on the frontline: today it specializes in psychology, rehabilitation, care for civilians, disease prevention, logistics, medical research and development.

Our Military Medicine forum is "nursed" (sorry) by Biscuit, assisted by several military folk from the medical field. Whether you have questions concerning ancient prosthetics, nurses in the Second World War or post-war traumas, all is handled there. If there is a new medical breakthrough, this forum will be the first to bring it out in the open for discussion.

I’ll end this weeks searchlight with a beautiful poem posted by one of our members, Piedpiper6, who himself was a psychologist of profession. He shared with us the following that hung in his office under his three Purple Heart Citations…

"Fight on my merry men all, I’m a little wounded, but I am not slain; I will lie me down for to bleed a while, Then I’ll rise up and fight with you again."

To contribute your thoughts on the forums, you will need to register (no charge and we don’t spam our members; signup is required to allow us to monitor and maintain proper content). To register, go here and the instructions will walk you through. It’s a pretty simple process.