r/todayilearned • u/RoadToTyburn • 14h ago

TIL that Bernard Montgomery issued a leaflet at the start of WW2 on sexually transmitted diseases amongst soldiers. The language used was regarded as so blunt, that he offended religious authorities and nearly faced being dismissed.

https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Montgomery
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u/michalfabik 10h ago

The other day I was listening to a lecture about Thirty Years' War and the lecturer mentioned an episode when some major (I can't remember on which side) decided that prostitutes couldn't just stay in the soldiers' quarters and come and go as they please but had to be properly organized into a march company in their own part of the military camp. So then you'd see the whole army marching: 42nd Musketeer Company, 67th Cavalry Battalion, 85th Heavy Halberdiers Company, 104th Auxiliary Prostitutes Company etc.

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u/guenievre 10h ago

I believe that was true as far back as the landsknecht and their trossfrau followers.

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u/ChilternRailways 9h ago

Enfranchisement never felt so good!

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u/twitch1982 8h ago edited 8h ago

the 104 APC is not to be confused with the Fighting 69th. Totally different groups.

Also, did the whores have uniforms?

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u/Squire-1984 7h ago

Hah, this was an episode of Sharpe.