Infinite Wisdom

"The Romans were at least preserved from the dreary calamities that so often attend upon the theoretical study of the military art or a prolonged and deadening course of professional training."

La Triviata

• During the War of 1812, the minimum height for British infantry recruits was 5’4”, two inches shorter than the American limit.
• The decisive blow at the Battle of the Nile (March 27, 47 B.C.), when a relief force under King Mithradates of Pergamum helped Caesar break the siege of Alexandria by an army of Egyptians and Roman exiles, was apparently delivered by some 3,000 Jewish heavy infantry, lent by King Antipater of Judea.
• Upon the outbreak of World War II, large numbers of yachtsmen and other seafarers flocked to join the Royal Naval Volunteer Supplemental Reserve, among them the extremely wealthy shipping magnate Lord Runciman, who, though still quite vigorous, was, in deference to his age – 90 – made honorary commodore of the new organization.
• Short of ready cash to pay its mercenaries under Bartolomeo d'Alviano, on August 24, 1515, the Venetian Republic held an auction of public offices, raising 47,000 ducats, which was delivered to the condottiero in time to buy a devastating cavalry charge that defeated the Swiss at the Battle of Marignano on September 14^th.
• Although himself an Episcopalian, Gen. George S. Patton had a preference for Roman Catholic chaplains in his army, considering them more appropriately militant than clergymen of other faiths.
• In August of 1914, Piccadilly, one of the most famous entertainment complexes in Berlin, with numerous distinctive rooms featuring décor, cuisine, and entertainment in the style of a particular country or culture, was renamed Haus Vaterland, in deference to the outbreak of war with Britain.
• Apparently, among the Iroquois a warrior who married before the age of 30 was considered effeminate.
• Among the contingents in the Greek forces that fought the Persians in the Battle of Plataea (479 B.C.), was the army of Mykenai, storied home of Agamemnon, who had led the Hellenes to Troy six or seven centuries earlier, totaling fully 80 men.

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