Actual roman battles reply

[stevesarak]

The most famous quote comes from Josephus.

Josephus (c. A.D. 37 – c. 100), who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Flavius


Just want to make sure before I start my research.

Thanks

[Woadwarrior]

the josephus from the Jewish revolt?

[Praefectusclassis]

That one.

[Kate Gilliver]

The quote was used in the BBC adaptation of I Claudius, put into Drusus' mouth. I was always mortified at the anachronicity of that - 90 or so years before Josephus actually said it!
I don't know if Graves nicked it from Josephus or whether it was just the BBC adaptation, but it was obviously too good not to use.

[Woadwarrior]

oh that was right it was Drusus tiberius brother
not germanicus

[Tiberius Claudius Vindex]

does the fact that you are actually fighting for your life change anything?

I can't speak from experience, but no doubt having to genuinely fight for your life does make a difference - your not about to restrain yourself for a start! :lol:

However, I have heard English Civil War re-enactors say you have to believe that the 'enemy' is genuinely trying to kill you, otherwise it just doesn't work.

Sometimes it can feel very real, especially for 20th Century events since they are usually in secluded places with no audiance watching it. One time that this came out for me was at a World War I event last November. A friend and I had been cut off from our sqaud on a trench raid and were held up in a crater right up at the German barbed wire line. We were about to try to slip back to our own lines when a German trench raiding party came out and crawled within 10 feet of the crater. We sat as still as we could and literly didn't breathe until after they passed. We ended up staying there for 2 more hours until a large fight broke out down the line and drew the German attention that way, and we slipped out and got back to our own lines. Though most of the event felt like any other reenactment, for those few minutes the 21st Century melted away and it was France 1918 for us.

[Martin Wallgren]

"Your training should be like bloodless war, and your battles as bloody training..."

Never heard that before, how true. Who did say it, I think I need to read up on that person.

It was parafrased in Tom Clancys "Rainbow Six" that I read just this week that why I remembered it...

[Primitivus]

...actually fighting for your life in a real battle unleashes something you never knew you had inside you, you become extremely aggressive, but because you are scared you take the offensive, and make sure you opponent's blade doesn't get past your shield.

Yes, combat can certainly unleash a flood of emotions. That's one of the reasons the Roman armies were so very successful. Because their discipline and training were usually able to rein in potentially disastrous adrenaline-induced impulses. Maintaining the integrity of the ranks could turn a loss into a victory, or prevent a defeat from becoming a route.