Battle cries

[pevergreen]

Poor Aussies. All us Europeans must sound the same to them. It would certainly explain some of the innacuracies in Med 2.

BTW, no offense to any Australian Orgahs. I really like the Australian accent, I would appreciate it in TW games if it weren't so out of place.

Ah, she'll be right mate. Can't understand you yobbos when ya spinning a yarn anyway. Gimme a swag, some damper by the billabong.

Maybe a nice shiela too.

[Fisherking]

I have heard that during the American Revolutionary War, that the Colonials Used Huzzah! While the British had moved on to the more modern Hurrah!

Anyone know if it is so? At any rate I know the Americans did use Huzzah!

[KozaK13]

I thought the rebels used Yahhooo or yeehaw?

[Fisherking]

I thought the rebels used Yahhooo or yeehaw?

Are you talking about a Rebel Yell?

That was a bit beyond this game, in 1861 and nobody is quite sure what it sounded like…but it must have been frightening by all accounts….it unsettled the Yankees quite a bit.

[KozaK13]

I ment the war of independance, i thought yehaww or variations thereof are what was shouted at the british and proved effective.

[Fisherking]

I ment the war of independance, i thought yehaww or variations thereof are what was shouted at the british and proved effective.

Well Americans got that cheer from some where, and they still tend to shout it for some reason.

I have never heard an explanation of its origin though.

Where did you hear it from?

[KozaK13]

...brainiac...a basic attempt to see the most effective war cry...they said yeehaawww was an american independance fighter battle cry, and it also provoked a bigger reaction than hazzah..

though everything is an evolution of something, yehaww could well have come from huzzah.

[Calmarac]

Are you talking about a Rebel Yell?

That was a bit beyond this game, in 1861 and nobody is quite sure what it sounded like…but it must have been frightening by all accounts….it unsettled the Yankees quite a bit.

Here's a clip of veterans at the 75th Gettysburg anniversary in 1938 demonstrating the Rebel Yell...

rest of anniversary page

From Dickson's excellent eye witness account of the Scots Greys at Waterloo -

"All of us were greatly excited, and began crying, 'Hurrah, Ninety-Second! Scotland for ever!' as we crossed the road."

... "They were all Gordons, and as we passed through them they shouted, 'Go at them, the Greys! Scotland for ever!'

[Polemists]

Clearly we are forgetting a very important battle cry.

One which rallied a people from a time of hardship, a time of darkness. A time when things were uncertain. Where friends, allies and enemies all jarbled together. When release dates loomed. When uneasiness about delays grew stronger. When one resounding chant lifted into a audible sound that could not be stopped.

"DEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Fisherking]

Here's a clip of veterans at the 75th Gettysburg anniversary in 1938 demonstrating the Rebel Yell...

rest of anniversary page

From Dickson's excellent eye witness account of the Scots Greys at Waterloo -

"All of us were greatly excited, and began crying, 'Hurrah, Ninety-Second! Scotland for ever!' as we crossed the road."

... "They were all Gordons, and as we passed through them they shouted, 'Go at them, the Greys! Scotland for ever!'

It is tough! There are so many descriptions of it , and most of them differ.

There is everything from a Rabbit’s Scream to a Comanche War Whoop and a hundred other descriptions along the way.

I’m thinking that every Division and perhaps even Regiments had a different yell but all to gather were just known by the collective name.

The one you site sounds like a high pitched yahoo followed by a couple of wolfs cries. That fits some descriptions but by no means all of them. I have heard that it was a panther scream also. Not exactly something everyone can do without a lot of practice.

[Ghost of Rom]

William Howard Russell, war correspondent for The Times describes the rebel yell as follows: “..the Southern soldiers cannot cheer, and what passes muster for that jubilant sound is a shrill ringing scream with a touch of the Indian war-whoop in it.”

Not surprising as the most of the early colonials officers with experience were veteran Indian fighters.

[Incongruous]

I have heard that during the American Revolutionary War, that the Colonials Used Huzzah! While the British had moved on to the more modern Hurrah!

Anyone know if it is so? At any rate I know the Americans did use Huzzah!

Really? I'd never heard of the Yankees using Huzzah, it was still in use by us Brits back then, I would be offended by any mention of the rather camp Hurrah.

[Fisherking]

Huzzah does seem to retain its British association into the 19th century.
I found that its origin came from a Mongol war cry of similar sound.

Yeeha only seems to be associated with cowboys or the Rebel Yell, which it most certainly is not, despite what Hollywood may want you to believe.

In researching war cries I did come across the following:



The French soldiers (XVII-XVIIIth cent., when Montjoie Saint-Denis was no more used) were using during battle "Pour le Roy et pour la France !" (For the King and for France).
The French soldiers under the rule of Napoleon, particularly the cavalry men, used during their charges "Vive l'Empereur !" (Long live to the Emperor).
In Sweden, during the Great Nordic War, the Swedish Caroleans, would chant "Med Guds hjälp vilja vi strida" (With Gods help, we want to fight) before going into battle.
During the Great Nordic War, Finnish cavalrymen in Swedish service, Hakkapeliittas, shouted "Hakkaa päälle!" (Have at them!) when making their charge.
The Ottoman Turkish armies used to cry out "Allah! Allah! Allah!" when charging foes, which gives the same sound as Alala cry of ancient Greeks.

Another of importance; screams traditionally made by Scottish Highlanders when making a Highland charge during battle. At the Battle of Killiecrankie "Dundee and the Chiefs chose to employ perhaps the most effective pre-battle weapon in the traditional (highland) arsenal - the eerie and disconcerting howl," also "The terror was heightened by their wild plaided appearance and the distinctive war-cry of the Gael - a high, savage whooping sound...." Also earlier documentation during the Roman conquests of Britain suggest the use of a particular yell uttered by the northern Celtic tribes of the region, in conjunction with wearing blue woad body paint and no clothing

The various Gaelic-speaking peoples have a long tradition of employing battle cries. One used by the Irish people is "Faugh a Ballaugh!" (correctly Fág an Bealach!)), Irish for "Clear the way!" The O'Neill family motto is the Irish "An Lámh Dhearg Abú", in English "The Red Hand" — the heraldic symbol of O'Neill and Ulster — followed by "Abú," which is phonetic and can only be translated at high volume. "Tiocfaidh ár lá" is another cry used, primarily by the Irish Republican Army, which translates into "our day will come" in reference to that organisation's desire for Northern Ireland to secede from the United Kingdom and join with the Republic of Ireland as a 32-county socialist republic. It has become the unofficial slogan of the Irish Republican movement and is sometimes shouted as "Beidh ár lá linn", or "We shall have our day!"
some Scottish clans have war cries in addition to their motto, slogan, or rallying cry:-
Clan Mackintosh: "Loch Moigh"
Clan Urquhart: "Trust and go forward"
Clan Munro: "Caisteal Folais'n a Theine" ("Castle Foulis in flames")
Clan Forbes: "Lonach" (a mountain in Strathdon)



I hope you feel a little more informed than bored.

[Ishmael]

Ah, she'll be right mate. Can't understand you yobbos when ya spinning a yarn anyway. Gimme a swag, some damper by the billabong.

Maybe a nice shiela too.

Its when people dont realise this sort of language is a joke that i start to get worried.
In regards to battle cries, i would love to see a few random/funny ones, akin to the 'mad general' speeches from rome.