this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2026
158 points (100.0% liked)
History Memes
2285 readers
5 users here now
A place to share history memes!
Rules:
-
No sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, assorted bigotry, etc.
-
No fascism (including tankies/red fash), atrocity denial or apologia, etc.
-
Tag NSFW pics as NSFW.
-
Follow all Piefed.social rules.
-
History referenced must be 20+ years old.
Banner courtesy of @setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world
OTHER COMMS IN THE HISTORYVERSE:
- !historymusic@quokk.au
- !historygallery@quokk.au
- !historyruins@piefed.social
- !historyart@piefed.social
- !historyartifacts@piefed.social
- !historyphotos@piefed.social
founded 10 months ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Wouldn't it be a good thing to overestimate your opponent though?
I get the numbers are inflated for historic purposes to make the battles seem more exciting, but wouldn't acting like your opponent is stronger than you always be a good thing?
If you're right then you prepared appropriately. Of you're wrong you steamroll them.
Sounds like a win win to me
If you're wrong, you can end up acting overcautiously, like McClellan against Lee in the US Civil War.
Knowing when the enemy is at a disadvantage, or when the odds of a battle are winnable, is a key part of estimating the enemy. If you think the enemy has twice the number of troops they actually do, you'll miss windows of opportunity to make successful strikes - because you think they're twice as strong at that point than they actually are.