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Ghost army -

The British Army also used these. They dubbed them "spoofs." The ghost army was comprised of around 1,100 men, but they created the illusion of being around 30,000 soldiers.

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Ghost army -

It turns out, however, that the Germans were using mock tanks before the war. Though it's believed that they were not used in the same way as the Allies used them.

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Aerial ramming -

Aerial ramming is pretty hardcore: it's about hitting an enemy plane with your own plane! German fighter pilot Erich Hartmann (pictured) was one of the deadliest during WWII, with about 352 kills attributed to him. Some of these were through aerial ramming.

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Aerial ramming -

Soviet aviator Viktor Vasilievich Talalikhin was among the first ones to perform aerial ramming at night during World War II.

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Aerial ramming -

Aerial ramming, however, was practiced way before World War II. The first attack is attributed to Russian pilot Pyotr Nesterov in 1914.

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The Battle of Pelusium -

The Battle of Pelusium took place between Persian King Cambyses II and the forces of Pharaoh Psametik III of Egypt. Cambyses II became aware of the Egyptians' devotion to animals and how they associated them with gods. He then used this to his advantage.

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The Battle of Pelusium -

Knowing that cats were associated with the goddess Bastet, Cambyses II painted images of the felines on his soldiers' shields. But he went even further and littered the battlefield with actual cats. The army also brought dogs, ibises, sheep, and other animals to battle. The Egyptians, afraid to hurt the animals, were decimated by the Persians.

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Quaker gun -

A Quaker gun essentially consisted of a log, used to deceive the enemy into believing it was a canon. It was born from the Religious Society of Friends' (or Quakers) opposition to war.

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Quaker gun -

The tactic was used during the 18th and 19th centuries throughout the American War of Independence and the Civil War.

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Quaker gun -

Logs would be painted with a black center, to resemble a canon. It turns out the bizarre deception tactic worked!

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The whistling sound of falling bombs -

You might be familiar with these, hopefully just from Hollywood movies. But why are bombs dropping associated with a high-pitched whistling sound?

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The whistling sound of falling bombs -

Well, because an actual object that made the sound was incorporated into certain bombs. This had a mental impact, as due to the Doppler effect the closer the bomb was, the higher the sound was, giving a sense of impending destruction.

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The whistling sound of falling bombs -

German dive bombers Junkers Ju 87, also called Stuka, were actually designed to make a whistle sound whenever they went into a dive, making them even more terrifying.

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Operation Christmas -

Operation Christmas was a Colombian military operation conducted in 2010 to encourage FARC guerrillas to demobilize.

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Operation Christmas -

Soldiers covered nine massive trees with Christmas lights and a message encouraging the guerillas to demobilize. The message read: "If Christmas can come to the jungle, you too can come home. Demobilize. At Christmas, everything is possible."

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Operation Christmas -

Operation Christmas was a huge success, with a total of 331 guerrillas demobilizing during the campaign.

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Battle of Gaixia -

In 202 CE, the Chinese Chu army became trapped in a canyon in a place called Gaixia. The forces of Liu Bang were surrounded by the Han army, who killed and captured many of the Chu soldiers.

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Battle of Gaixia -

Then at night, they made the captured Chu army sing traditional songs of Chu. Those of the surviving army, hearing the songs of their homeland, thought that Chu had fallen and they were the only soldiers left.

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Battle of Gaixia -

The leader of the Chu army is said to have taken his own life. The remaining army either fled or surrendered.

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Hunting U-boats -

German U-boats were a nightmare during World War II. And there was only one way to find out where they were: by spotting a periscope out of the water.

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Hunting U-boats -

So, what did the Allies do? Well, they went hunting for them in small boats. They'd go on patrol trying to locate periscopes.

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Hunting U-boats -

Once they found one, they'd proceed to cover it with a bag and smash it with a hammer. Simple, yet effective. Without a way to see what was going on at the surface, the submarines would emerge, becoming easy targets.

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Harald Hardrada faked his death -

During his Sicilian campaign, King Harald of Norway faced difficulties sieging a town that was heavily fortified.

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Harald Hardrada faked his death -

The king started to spend his days inside his tent, and rumors started to spread that he was unwell, and later that he had died.

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Harald Hardrada faked his death -

Harold's final wish was to be laid to rest on church grounds, because he was a Christian and all. So, they opened their gates to grant him his last wish. Except the coffin contained a very much alive King Harold! His army then took care of the rest.

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Zhuge Liang's shame tactics -

Prime Minister of the Chinese state of Shu, Zhuge Liang was given the mission to defeat Meng Huo.

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Zhuge Liang's shame tactics -

Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo in battle, but instead of killing him, he gave him a tour of his army and asked what he thought. Huo wasn't impressed, and Liang released him.

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Zhuge Liang's shame tactics -

Zhuge Liang did this seven times, until Meng Huo acknowledged Liang's army was superior, and surrendered and joined his army.

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United States Camel Corps -

When you think of camels, 19th-century America doesn't usually come to mind. But in 1856, several camels were imported from North Africa and Turkey to the US.

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United States Camel Corps -

The goal was to use them in the new Southwest territories. But then the Civil War happened, and the whole experience came to an end without being adopted by the army.

Sources: (The Atlantic) (CBS) (Top Tenz) (CNN) (History)

See also: Things soldiers are forbidden to do during war

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