Naked units?

[Celtic_Punk]

To enter battle naked with no protection but a circlet, sword and maybe a shield was a sign of ultimate bravery. To come back alive was a sign of ultimate prowess. Think about how you'd have to prepare yourself to do that. Think about your enemy, how scared he'd be to see an angry Celt, 6 foot tall, completely naked, screaming, with woad paint all over him. Now think about hundreds of these guys running at you... you still haven't seen the main line of Celts too! This is just the first strike!

Fear. It's a force to be reckoned with. I think a lot of people around here discount the element of fear. Though I've never been under fire, or in combat, I've been privy to MANY stories, not just from Afghanistan, but older guys as well, such as Somalia, Cyprus, Bosnia. Fear is always there, and it can grab even the best of us by the balls. Some of the biggest guys my friends have seen have buckled in their boots when the RPG's start flying.

I imagine there is no difference in that respect from todays battlefield and yesterdays. Fear can be a powerful ally if you can harness it. It can also be your worst enemy. Forcing an enemy, whom already sees your people as hideous monsters to bear witness to a "grotesque" and frightening shock tactic could cause a massive rout. Even if not initially, the men who've seen the display still will have that image imprinted in their skulls.
Celtic warfare was heavily rooted in shock and fear tactics. Romans preferring a more modest and contained approach to warfare were horrified to see the Celts mooning them and shaking their bollocks in their face before an attack. It was all a part of how they conducted themselves in order to incite fear into the enemy. A brave or courageous man would however use this against them, using it to further dehumanize the enemy and make taking their lives all that much easier.

Moral is everything in battle. Look at the battle of the bulge, the airborne divisions were cold, tired, had no ammunition, but still held on. Despite losing many friends, they held on. They repelled assault after assault from the Germans even though their tanks rolled on them fast, but they still held... Thats because they kept together, organized and kept their moral up. Had they all been disheartened, and doubted they could survive, we'd have lost the battle of the bulge. The way we kill eachother changes, the human element never does.



EDIT: is that better? Suck my force!