08-05-2003, 12:19 AM
IMO most barbarian soldiers were scared shirtless of dying, were armed with poor weapons and had no formal training.<br>
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Most Roman legionaries were scared shirtless of dying, were armed with good weapons, and had no formal training early on (they were called to arms annually, given a few days on the Fields of Mars and then marched off with their consuls) or quite a bit of formal training later on (say roughly from the end of the 2nd Punic war? Certainly by the time Marius instituted "professional" legions).<br>
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In both cases there were variable numbers of "seasoned veterans" of wars, tribal skirmishes or whatever with more "gung-ho" attitudes and greater confidence - often they had higher rank.<br>
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Anyone who wanted to die would be easy pickings for either.<br>
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Anyone who wasn't AFRAID to die was a different matter entirely - throughout history fearless warriors have scared the bejeezez out of saner folk - Viking Berserkers are perhaps the best known example, but I see no reason why anyone else would be different.<br>
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Just to head slightly off topic for a minute......IMO Japanese were the same early in WW2 when they were still mostly "regular" army & navy - but later on their infantry ranks were filled with a lot of Korean and Manchurian conscripts and service troops who could do little more than charge forwards to their deaths or commit suicide for no good reason - however these later weer still "trading on" the reputation that their better trained predecessors had established in the Western psyche. <p></p><i></i>
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Most Roman legionaries were scared shirtless of dying, were armed with good weapons, and had no formal training early on (they were called to arms annually, given a few days on the Fields of Mars and then marched off with their consuls) or quite a bit of formal training later on (say roughly from the end of the 2nd Punic war? Certainly by the time Marius instituted "professional" legions).<br>
<br>
In both cases there were variable numbers of "seasoned veterans" of wars, tribal skirmishes or whatever with more "gung-ho" attitudes and greater confidence - often they had higher rank.<br>
<br>
Anyone who wanted to die would be easy pickings for either.<br>
<br>
Anyone who wasn't AFRAID to die was a different matter entirely - throughout history fearless warriors have scared the bejeezez out of saner folk - Viking Berserkers are perhaps the best known example, but I see no reason why anyone else would be different.<br>
<br>
Just to head slightly off topic for a minute......IMO Japanese were the same early in WW2 when they were still mostly "regular" army & navy - but later on their infantry ranks were filled with a lot of Korean and Manchurian conscripts and service troops who could do little more than charge forwards to their deaths or commit suicide for no good reason - however these later weer still "trading on" the reputation that their better trained predecessors had established in the Western psyche. <p></p><i></i>