Tuanting!!!!

[Leet Eriksson]

...particularily to undisciplined troops,this should be for the guals or barbarians in the north.they would tuant the enemy unit and make them spread out for personal combat,effectively making them vunrebale for another unit to flank them from behind or the sides

[Heraclius]

quite a good idea, Faisal. I think the barbarians to the north often gave in to Roman taunts, charged regardless of the occasion and in the end were also forced to give in to Roman discipline and swords.

[Hakonarson]

You're so ugly even the sheep won't give you the time of day

Seriously tho - I know of no such thing as "taunting" historically - well nothing serious enough to bother with. A general who kept his troops behind the camp walls might find his troops "insisting" that he lead them out to battle on ocasiona tho.

Some soldiers were just naturally impetuous - especially when things like wealth and social status weer directly dependant on the number of enemy heads you bought back from battle

we tend to forget just how ignorant ancient peoples were - a bunch of half starved peasants might looks at a well armed soldier and see nothing but the wealth of his armour and weapons - enough to set them up for life if only they could get him out of them, whereas if we weer in the same positino we might decide his sword was a bit too sharp and let's wait until he's asleep

[Acronym]

Even if taunting doesn't affect morale, it would be fun on multiplayer. I can just see it, an army of my greek solders mooning the oncoming romans.

we tend to forget just how ignorant ancient peoples were - a bunch of half starved peasants might looks at a well armed soldier and see nothing but the wealth of his armour and weapons - enough to set them up for life if only they could get him out of them, whereas if we weer in the same positino we might decide his sword was a bit too sharp and let's wait until he's asleep

I wouldn't say ignorant, but many were forced to fight, and those people who didn't have much probably figured they had nothing to lose anyways.

[spmetla]

Or at least taunt retreating or withdrawing enemies to help morale, but it also should make troops a little too eager to engage then.

[Leet Eriksson]

actually the guals used to tuant the romans to engage them into h2h combat,but the romans did'nt bother and instead threw their pilums at them.just thinking,as it could be a good tactic in open feilds,especially when guals are not really suited for a head on battle somewhere in the open.

[Muneyoshi]

So sort of like gorilla tactics then, except you hit and run using them. Would be an interesting idea, sort of like "scaring" then into scattering out a bit (unless I miunderstood)

[Leet Eriksson]

you got a part right,tuanting makes the unit scatter,but not scared.they scatter to engage in personal combat(ie one on one duel sorta thing)once they scatter you could send the cavalry,or a speedy infantry unit,to flank them.it would be very good especially in the open feilds,since the guals are not good in open feilds.

[Red Peasant]

Well, the Athenians famously taunted Sulla when he was sieging the city....bad idea He wasted the place, slaughtered most of the inhabitants, and the city ran with rivers of blood. Even by his standards it was a bit extreme. Plutarch's vivid and gory description of what a pissed-off psycho Roman general could be capable of is a lesson that taunting should be deployed with extreme discretion

edit: typo

[Leet Eriksson]

thats why tuanting romans is badI was wondering are auxilleries disciplined,if they were'nt there might be a chance for the guals to defeat the romans.

[Hagbard la Suede]

"Your mother was a hamster,and your father smelt of elderberries"

Seriously tho,it would be a great idea,that would boost morale.

[LeeJackson]

Quote[/b] ]we tend to forget just how ignorant ancient peoples were - a bunch of half starved peasants might looks at a well armed soldier and see nothing but the wealth of his armour and weapons - enough to set them up for life if only they could get him out of them, whereas if we weer in the same positino we might decide his sword was a bit too sharp and let's wait until he's asleep

It’s a comon mistake to think of ancient people as ignorant. When in reality they were as smart as your or I. Certainly they did not know about the solar system, atomic fusion, aerodynamics etc, but only because those discoveries hadn’t been made yet. Remember ancient people created the aqueducts, pyramids, and civilization itself. Do not confuse knowledge with intelligence.

As for modern troops slitting the throats of there captains, this is very rare and usually only under extreme circumstances. Even in suicide attacks like Pickets Charge, Normandy, island hopping in the pacific, and many of the battles in Vietnam soldiers time and time do what they are told no matter how inane.

There are a lot of good books done on the psychology and sociology of combat. For easier and less theoretical reading I’d suggest many of Stephen Ambrose’s historical works on WW2

[Lehesu]

Jackson, check your facts. In picket's charge, the last line of Confederate troops were instructed to kill any other confederate that fled. And they knew it too.

[LeeJackson]

Leshu

1) How did that work since all of Picket’s troops (that survived) did flee the field?

2) And if it was true how does that say anything negative about their intelligence.

[LeeJackson]

Leshu,

In my 10 years of reading about civil war (as a hobby) I have never once seen any notes or references that suggested that Picket’s troops would be fired upon if they retreated.

Since your comment I have looked through my books, and online and have found no such reference.

So I must ask that you provide your source for this account.