WFW311 Codes and rules for combat go back thousands of years, but never were they so prominent as during the medieval days when one's reputation was based on performance in battle. Arthurian authors dealt with combat in a wide variety of ways, but most commonly glorified the fight from the perspective of the protagonist. "Invoking God's name, he slew with a single blow every man he struck. Nor did he cease his assault until he killed four hundred and seventy men with only his sword Caliburn." Images of powerful knights striking down an evil and corrupt creature in the name of all things good, are indelibly implanted in our minds. The descriptions of wounds and death usually lack the significant details to provide readers of any concept of real fighting; ho wever, important exceptions such as the Alliterative Morte Arthure, Lancelot of the Cart, and Culhwch and Olwen, do exist. "With clubs of hard steel they hammered in helms, Struck down crests and smashed in skulls… with flitting arrows they fearlessly forced back the foe, with feathers fiercely pierce the fine mail, such fighting is foul that so rends the flesh." Arthurian legend undergoes many trendy shifts in theme and form, but there are basic essentials for chivalrous combat:
The modernization of weapons provided new problems for the concept of chivalrous fighting. During the 17th century the blunderbuss changed the range at which combatants fought and as guns improved the concept of the duel came about to bring order to lon g range fighting. Perhaps the most impressive change in combat came with the onset of the first world war. Some of the most criticized weapons surfaced during this period and brought about some interesting policies.
The Submarine:
The idea of a vessel that could submerge beneath the waves and
slay its enemies without ever being detected created an uproar in the
arena of international politics. Critiques of the submarine (mostly
commanders of surface vessels) argued that its very de sign was based on
cowardly motives and didn't follow the rules of naval combat since its
opponents couldn't return fire. In 1914, the British admirals scoffed at
the growing German submarine fleet, but the submarine's effectiveness at
sea was quickly proven. By 1915, an international law was established
which required a submarine to surface and allow the crew of the ship to
evacuate before it could fire its torpedoes. Unarmed vessels were not to
be fired upon unless the crew had an ample chance to get off the ship.
Ironically, it was the cowardly actions of the British that brought an end
to restricted submarine warfare. The British sailors would cover their
guns with tarps (to appear unarmed) and wait for the submarine to surface;
when the sub surfa ced to notify the ship's crew of their intentions, the
British would uncover their guns and sink the submarine before it could
maneuver to safety. Thereafter, submarine captains began sinking ships
with no warning and the death toll of submarine combat skyrocketed.
The Airplane:
During WWI the airplane was introduced on a large scale for
reconnaissance and bombing missions. In the first few years of its use,
the airplane earned a bad reputation with ground forces and many pilots
who were unfortunate enough to crash behind enemy
lines were quickly executed out of hatred. The concept of dropping bombs
on men like rain from the sky, seemed so cowardly that many German
generals of ground troops wouldn't allow the integration of the new
technology into their ranks. Thus, the political leaders were urged to
create a new department in the military, the air force. Supposedly, to
compensate for the unfair advantage the planes held over ground troops,
the air commanders restricted the size of bombs (more likely was a result
of the limitations of the craft of the time).
The Machine Gun:
The machine gun nests of WWI lead to the demise of many soldiers
which gave rise to tremendous fear and hatred of such opponents. The
scene observed by many, of a machine gun mowing down a series of men,
created a very real horror. Shortly after the war, a international
agreement was reached, limiting the caliber (size of bullet), and firing
rate of anti-personnel machine guns. It's worth noting that military
strategists also wanted to wound enemy soldiers rather than kill; the
logic being, that it to ok two people to care for one wounded soldier and
thus, taxed more heavily on the enemy resources.
Excerpt from Geoffrey of Monmouth
From The Alliterative Morte Arthure
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