Demenor of combat-bound soldiers vs. green troops

[DougCooper]

Re: Demenor of combat-bound soldiers vs. green troops

Historians sometimes find a syndrome where units can become too “veteran”. As troops become accustomed to combat they become better at it and less likely to run. However units that have seen too much can refuse or neglect to follow orders that they perceive as wrong. When you read about a unit not attacking forcefully enough or seeking cover too quickly this may be the cause.

June 18, 1864 comes to mind. The vets who went forward on either side of the 1st Maine Heavies knew it was hopeless from the start and quickly retreated. The 1st Maine, relative rookies, kept going...and were slaughtered.

[yeoman]

Re: Demeanor of combat-bound soldiers vs. green troops

Sir, If I may pass on a bit a veteran has put to word. "I have often been asked how one felt in a fight; and if one did not have feelings of great fear. From my own experience, as well as the observation of others, I believe the man whose flesh did not rebel when his spirit held him in the range of deadly missiles, whilst not fighting himself, was insane. Thus when sustaining a fierce cannonade to which we could not reply, or whilst charging batteries breastworks or lines of infantry at double quick, when we could not return fire, the flesh was indeed weak, and one could see by the pale countenances and compressed lips of his comrades that the perfectly natural feeling, common to all animals, of the fear of wounds and pain, and which cannot be helped, was the lot of even the bravest soldier. But once in the thick of the fight, when we were giving as well as taking blows, when the fierce wrestle of some gun or coveted point was on, and the blood was hot with the shouts of comrades ringing in ones ears, all fear departed and a fierce joy possessed the whole being of the soldier. He became absorbed, delirious and often totally oblivious to sense of danger. This the Latins called, "the joy of the battle," and it expressed the idea as nearly as possible".

How one feels under fire, page 203.

http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/houghton/houghton.html

[Horace]

Re: Demenor of combat-bound soldiers vs. green troops

Keeping the ball in the air-
Iowa Yank, you should post that when it's finished.
The valid point was made that literally a million, or two, different personalities contributed to the experience. What I'm thinking about is the necessary group/mob mindset - unit cohesion. After a while that's the strongest factor holding a unit together. It seems safe to say that this would show itself in a 'group roar' even after years of combat experience.
There is the example during the assault on the Muleshoe in May '64 where Federal troops under cover of darkness, under orders to be silent, spontaneously cheered on their way in. There are other instances of spontaneous yells and cheers going up. Shelby Foote talks about a roar coming from the front of the ANV 1st Corps and literally moving all the way through it like a wave in the dark as it pulled out of the Wilderness after that battle.
It seems to me that yelling would be one of the only tricks left in the bag of assaulting veteran trooops to steady their nerves, and that they would be aware of its power, maybe even unconsciously, as the incidents I mentioned happened spontaneously.
There's also the reverse effect that it would contribute to unnerving the opponent. The 'mind f*ck' effect the rebel yell has been documented over and over and doesn't seem like a tactic that would be abandoned once troops had been in combat repeatedly, maybe one that would be clung to even more.

[lojafan]

Re: Demenor of combat-bound soldiers vs. green troops

Something I didn't see anyone mention (and if they did I apologise) but using "hooping, hollering and yelling" as a fear tactic against the enemy? I've read accounts of Union veterans hearing the "rebel yell" and feeling the fear of it. Please let me know what you think!

[David Lanier]

Re: Demenor of combat-bound soldiers vs. green troops

The Army of Tennessee raised the Yell at Bentonville, 1865.