The Spanish didn't defeat the Inca Empire at its height. They arrived after a smallpox epidemic killed the emperor and a subsequent brutal civil war between his sons shattered the empire. This left the civilization politically fractured and militarily exhausted, making it ripe for conquest by a small force.

The war in Ukraine established a grim precedent for the secondary effects of conflict on the global food supply. It is estimated that more people died from hunger in East Africa due to the war's disruption than died on the battlefield itself, highlighting the massive humanitarian stakes of current and future geopolitical crises.

The majority of soldiers on the Western Front never killed an enemy in personal combat. Two-thirds of casualties were from artillery, making death an industrialized and distant phenomenon. A soldier could serve and see combat without ever laying eyes on a live opponent.

During the winter at Valley Forge, local American farmers, including Welsh Quakers, prioritized profit over patriotism. They sold their crops and livestock to the British in Philadelphia, who paid more, while Washington's army could offer little. This capitalist impulse nearly caused the Continental Army to dissolve from hunger.

The Continental Army was undisciplined until the arrival of Baron von Steuben at Valley Forge. The Prussian captain implemented rigorous drills, taught bayonet use, and established camp sanitation standards. He single-handedly professionalized the rag-tag militia, creating a force capable of standing up to the British.

The daily reality for soldiers at Gallipoli was dominated by non-combat horrors. A lack of sanitation led to rampant dysentery and swarms of flies, causing profound physical and psychological suffering that veterans remembered more vividly than the fighting itself.

Facing a smallpox epidemic that could have wiped out his forces at Valley Forge, Washington implemented a large-scale proto-vaccination program. By systematically inoculating his soldiers with a mild dose of the virus, he prevented a catastrophic loss of life that would have otherwise ended the war effort.

Manco's rebellion was powered by a massive but temporary army of farmers. The prolonged nature of the siege created a logistical crisis. As the planting and harvesting season approached, his soldiers began drifting away to tend their fields, fatally undermining the military campaign.

Despite its reputation for slaughter, a British soldier on the Western Front had a 90% chance of survival. This 10% death rate was lower than the 20% seen in the Crimean War, highlighting how statistical reality can differ from the popular historical narrative of industrialized death.