French soldier Jean Bernadotte became so popular in Sweden that they elected him king (Charles XIV John) in 1818, when their own royal family was about to die out. The Bernadotte family still rules in Sweden today. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Charles XIV John – Wikipedia
Harry John Patch was the last surviving soldier from World War 1 and was briefly the oldest man in Europe. He died at the age of 111 years, 1 month,1 week and 1 day. – WTF Fun Facts
17-year-old English soldier Leonard Knight’s life was saved by his pocket Bible when it stopped a German bullet during WWI. The bullet penetrated through to the last ~50 pages. – WTF Fun Facts
In 1844, there was a case of hysteria in a French convent of nuns. One started meowing and after a week all the nuns were meowing harmoniously in the afternoons. It didn’t stop until neighbors called soldiers. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://archive.org/details/epidemicsofmiddl1844heck/
Finnish soldier Aimo Koivunen overdosed on amphetamines while escaping Soviet forces during WWII. After regaining consciousness, he skied more than 250 miles, survived a land mine, and lay in a ditch for a week eating only pine buds and a raw bird. When he was rescued, his heart rate was still over 200 bpm and he weighed only 94 lbs. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/high-on-speed-and-delirious.html
The Battle of Saragarhi is considered to be one of the greatest last stands in history. 21 soldiers of the 36th Sikh Regiment fought an army of over 10,000 Afghans and killed more than 600 of them before perishing to enemy bullets.
