04-28-2008, 08:06 PM
Salve,
Battle shock was recognised in the ancient world. Vegetius recommends that if possible, soldiers should be acclimatised to the sight of blood and death before a campaign, because of the effect this could have on the soldiers. He recognised that even experienced campaigners could be affected if they hadn't seen any action for a while.
Also there is a Papyrus, from the Oxyrhinus deposits (I think) which contains a strength roster for a century, and as far as I can remember 2 or 3 soldiers were listed as off duty due to battle stress.
Further back in history, just consider the effect that the sight of soldiers killed by Roman swords had on the Greek armies.
Hope this helps,
Vale,
Celer.
Battle shock was recognised in the ancient world. Vegetius recommends that if possible, soldiers should be acclimatised to the sight of blood and death before a campaign, because of the effect this could have on the soldiers. He recognised that even experienced campaigners could be affected if they hadn't seen any action for a while.
Also there is a Papyrus, from the Oxyrhinus deposits (I think) which contains a strength roster for a century, and as far as I can remember 2 or 3 soldiers were listed as off duty due to battle stress.
Further back in history, just consider the effect that the sight of soldiers killed by Roman swords had on the Greek armies.
Hope this helps,
Vale,
Celer.
Marcus Antonius Celer/Julian Dendy.
