SOLDIERS CHARGING.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 253, 13 February 1877, Page 2

SOLDIERS CHARGING.

It lias just been stated, on the authority of a London paper (says the Globe) that the old custom of cheering at the time of charging with the bayonet is ordered to re - introduced into the British army. There can be but little doubt, that such an order, if it has been given, will be hailed with very great satisfaction. It is only a few years—not certainly above fifteen—since this practice, which probably had existed from time immemorial in our army, was formally abolished, and our officers of not very long standing can well remember the reluctance of the rank and file to abandon it, and how, long after the order was given to charge, to prevent the well-known shout from rising to the soldiers' lips. In the mind of many a veteran the mere action of advancing at the double was inseparably connected with that of < shouting the indescribable war cry whiohj was known by the name of cheering, and- •- a mechanical impulse that had become deeply ingrained in his nature, made it impossible for a time that he should obey the order to charge without indulging in the luxury that used to accompany it. Those who imagine that the of such a luxury is insigniiicaib G) .mi a very great mistake. It has played a more curious and influential part in history than anyone would at first sight suppose. Readers of the Gaulish campaigns of Julius Cffisar know that at a very critical moment the legions were disconnected and almost thrown into utter confusion by the piercing and unaccustomed yells of the Belgian hordes advancing to the attack, and this although the Roman soldiers themselves perfectly accustomed to shout on the charge. The very same commander who had so striking an effect of the practice, witnessed another and a stilj more remarkable instance at the battle of Pharasalia. It is well known that at the battle Pompey ordered his soldiers to stand still and receive in silence the attaok of Caspar's legions, His idea was that the waste of breath involved in the sharp run and the loud shout might simply be economised and reserved for solid muscular action. But the event belied his theory, and it was always said that Ceesar attributed the speedy defeat of his adversary to the mistake he made in depriving his soldiers of this accustomed moral incentive.