r/history • u/AutoModerator • 4d ago

Discussion/Question Weekly History Questions Thread.

Welcome to our History Questions Thread!

This thread is for all those history related questions that are too simple, short or a bit too silly to warrant their own post.

So, do you have a question about history and have always been afraid to ask? Well, today is your lucky day. Ask away!

Of course all our regular rules and guidelines still apply and to be just that bit extra clear:

Questions need to be historical in nature. Silly does not mean that your question should be a joke. r/history also has an active discord server where you can discuss history with other enthusiasts and experts.

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u/Full-Hunter6584 4d ago

always wondered how accurate those old battlefield maps actually are. like were they sketched out mid chaos by some guy trying not to get shot or did commanders just wing it from memory later that night

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u/en43rs 4d ago

depends on the era. In the middle ages we're sometimes not even sure where some battles took place, so it's 100% reconstructed by historians. But from the 18th century and especially the 19th century and the Napoleonic war troop placement becomes really, really important with the improvement of weapon technology, especially artillery. Placing a unit just too close to the enemy, a bit too over the hill, or too far behind, can be disastrous.

So yeah from this era forward they become really, really accurate, because if you don't set your troops correctly they won't be able to do what you want and you could be defeated by an inferior force. And if your opponent does a bad job, you can exploit it. The Germans especially worked a lot of their military maps.

There are still small engagement where it's a bit of guess work but large engagement, prepared in advance, from the 1800s onward tend to be accurate.