Wikipedia

Battle cry

For other uses, seeBattle cry (disambiguation)andWar cry (disambiguation).
"War chant" redirects here. For the stallion with the same name, seeWar Chant.For other uses, seewar song.

Abattle cryorwar cryis a yell or chant taken up inbattle,usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religious sentiment. Their purpose is a combination of arousing aggression andesprit de corpson one's own side and causing intimidation on the hostile side. Battle cries are a universal form ofdisplay behaviour(i.e.,threat display) aiming atcompetitive advantage,ideally by overstating one's own aggressive potential to a point where the enemy prefers to avoid confrontation altogether and opts to flee. In order to overstate one's potential for aggression, battle cries need to be as loud as possible, and have historically often been amplified by acoustic devices such ashorns,drums,conches,carnyxes,bagpipes,bugles,etc. (see alsomartial music).

AMāoriperformer giving aHakaat a folk festival in Poland
NZDFsoldiers performing a battle cry
All Blacksperforming aHaka,1:39 min

Battle cries are closely related to other behavioral patterns ofhuman aggression,such aswar dancesand taunting, performed during the "warming up" phase preceding the escalation of physical violence. From theMiddle Ages,many cries appeared onspeech scrollsinstandardsorcoat of armsas slogans (seeslogan (heraldry)) and were adopted asmottoes,an example being the motto "Dieu et mon droit"(" God and my right ") of the English kings. It is said that this wasEdward III's rallying cry during theBattle of Crécy.The word "slogan"originally derives fromsluagh-gairmorsluagh-ghairm(sluagh= "people", "army", andgairm= "call", "proclamation" ), theScottish Gaelicword for "gathering-cry" and in times of war for "battle-cry". The Gaelic word was borrowed into English asslughorn,sluggorne,"slogum", andslogan.

History

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Antiquity

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Middle Ages

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  • During the Scottish wars of independence, Scottish soldiers usedAlba gu bràthas a battle-cry, a phrase that means 'Scotland for ever' (literally, 'Scotland until judgement'.) This was depicted in the filmBraveheartduring whichMel Gibson,playingWilliam Wallace,shouts the phrase to rally his soldiers just before a battle commenced.
  • Each Turkic tribe and tribal union had its distincttamga(seal), totemicongonbird, and distincturan(battle cry) (hence the Slavicurah"battle cry" ).[7][8]While tamgas andongonscould be distinct down to individuals, the hue of horses anduranbattle cries belonged to each tribe, were passed down from generation to generation, and some modern battle cries were recorded in antiquity. On split of the tribe, their unique distinction passed to a new political entity, endowing different modern states with the sameuranbattle cries of the split tribes, for exampleKipchakbattle cry amongKazakhs,Kirgizes,Turkmens,andUzbeks.Some larger tribes'uranbattle cries:
    • Kipchak – "ay-bas" ( "lunar head").[9]
    • Kangly (Kangars) – "bai-terek" ( "sacred tree").[10]
    • Oguzes – "teke" ( "mount")[11]
  • Desperta ferro!( "Awake iron!" in Catalan) was the most characteristic cry of theAlmogavarwarriors during theCrown of Aragonmilitary campaigns across theMediterraneanfrom the 12th through to the 14th centuries.
  • Deus vult!( "God wills it!" in Latin) was the battle cry of the Crusaders.
  • Montjoie Saint Denis!:battle cry of theKings of Francesince the 12th century.
  • Santiago y cierra, España!was a war cry of Spanish troops during theReconquista,and of theSpanish Empire.
  • On 14 August 1431, the wholeArmy of the Holy Roman Empire(of the4th anti-Hussite crusade) was defeated by theHussitesin theBattle of Domažlice.Attacking imperial units started to retreat after hearingKtož jsú boží bojovníci( "Ye Who Are Warriors of God") choral and were annihilated shortly after.
  • Allāhu Akbar(الله أكبر, "Godis [the] Greatest ") andAllāhu Allāh(الله الله, "God! God!" ) were used by Muslim armies throughout history.Al-naṣr aw al-shahāda(النصر أو الشهادة, "Victory or martyrdom" ) was also a common battle cry; theAt-Tawbah9:52 says that God has promised to the righteous Muslim warrior one of these two glorious ideals.[original research?]
  • Óðinn á yðr alla(Odinowns you all) – A reference to Odin's self sacrifice at Yggdrasil. Attributed toEric the Victorious.

Pre-modern

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  • When suppressing peasants' rebellions in Germany and Scandinavia around 1500, such as in theBattle of Hemmingstedt,the Dutch mercenaries of theBlack GuardyelledWahr di buer, die garde kumt( "Beware, peasants, the guards are coming" ). When the peasants counterattacked, they responded withWahr di, Garr, de Buer de kumt( "Beware, Guard, of the peasant, [who is] coming" ).
  • The Spanish criedSantiago( "Saint James" ) both when reconquering Spain from theMoorsand during conquest in early colonial America.
  • Polish "Winged Hussars"used to shoutJezus Maria( "Jesus,Mary") orMatka Boska( "Mother of God") during their charges.
  • KingHenry IV of France(1553–1610), a pleasure-loving and cynical military leader, was famed for wearing a striking white plume in his helmet and for hiswar cry:Ralliez-vous à mon panache blanc!( "Follow my white plume!" ).
  • Burmese soldiers of theKonbaung DynastyunderAlaungpayawere recorded to shoutShwebo-Thar(Sons of Shwebo) during theKonbaung-Hanthawady War.
  • Most of thejaikaraswere popularized byGuru Gobind Singh.TheSikhshave a number of battle cries or jaikara: the most popular ones are as follows:
  • ThePashtunsoldiers' war cry against theMughalswasHu, Hu.[13]
  • TheGurkha(Gorkha) soldiers' battle cry was, and still is,"Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali!"( "Victory to GoddessMahakali,the Gurkhas are coming! ")[14][15]
  • The "rebel yell"was a battle cry used byConfederatesoldiers during theAmerican Civil War.
  • Finnish light cavalry troops in theSwedish Armyin the 17th and 18th centuries would use the battle cry"Hakkaa päälle!"( "Cut them down!" in Finnish), lending them the nameHackapell.
  • Irish regiments of various armies used and continue to use Gaelic War cries,"Faugh a Ballagh"( "Clear the way!" ) or "Erin go Bragh" ( "Ireland Forever" )
  • TheSwedish armyin the 18th and 19th centuries would be issued with the command to attack with "För Fäderneslandet, gå på, Hurra!" ( "For the Fatherland, onwards, Hurrah!" )[16]
  • ArgentinegeneralJosé de San Martínis known inSouth Americafor hiswar cry:"Seamos libres, que lo demás no importa nada!"(" Let's be free, nothing else matters! ").
  • In theTexas Revolution,following theBattle of Goliadand theBattle of the Alamo,Texan soldiers would use the battle cry "Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!"
  • In theBattle of Dybbølin 1864, both Danish and German forces used "Hurrah" as a war cry.
  • DuringWorld War Iin theItalian Frontof 1915. Before battle, Italian soldiers would yell "Savoia" or "Avanti Savoia", which is "Come onSavoy!"or" Onwards Savoy! "in Italian (compare" For the king! "among British soldiers of the same era).

Modern

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See also

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References

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  • Guilhem Pepin, ‘Les cris de guerre "Guyenne!" et "Saint George!". L’expression d’une identité politique du duché d’Aquitaine anglo-gascon’,Le Moyen Age,cxii (2006) pp 263–281
  1. ^Burkert, Walter,1992.The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influences on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age,p 39f.
  2. ^Per Hesiod, Penguin Edition of Works and Days
  3. ^T.J. Craughwell, 2008,The Vikings, Vandals, Huns, Mongols, Goths, and Tartars who Razed the Old World and Formed the New,Fair Winds Press, p. 41,ISBN978-1-59233-303-5
  4. ^Kakatiya Journal of English Studies.Department of English, Kakatiya University. 1999. p. 15.
  5. ^Kalki R. Krishnamurthy'sPonniyin Selvan: The first floods,Macmillan India Limited, 2000, p. 300[ISBN missing]
  6. ^"'Vetrivel Veeravel' slogan at entrance of Madukkarai Army battalion complex creates row ".India Today.15 July 2021.Retrieved7 November2024.
  7. ^Shipova E.N., 1976,Dictionary of Türkisms in Russian Language,Alma-Ata, "Science", p. 349
  8. ^Dal V.I.,Explanatory Dictionary of the Live Great Russian language,vol. 4, p. 507, Diamant, Sankt Peterburg, 1998 (reprint of 1882 edition by M.O.Wolf Publisher), (In Russian)
  9. ^Zuev Yu., 2002,Early Türks: Essays of history and ideology,Almaty, Daik-Press, p. 76,[ISBN missing]
  10. ^Zuev Yu., 2002,Early Türks,p. 73
  11. ^Karpovdun G.I.,Тіркмöн uruuluk en tamgalary. maalymattarynyn negizinde,in Karataev O.K., 2003,Kyrgyz-Oguz History (Кыргыз-Огуз Тарыхый – Этникалык Байланыштары), Kyrgyz Utuluk university, pp. 199–207
  12. ^"ਆਕੀ - Meaning in English - ਆਕੀ Translation in English".
  13. ^M. I. Borah (1936).Baharistan-I-Ghaybi – Volume 1.p. 177.
  14. ^Kanwal, Gurmeet (20 November 2011)."Ayo Gorkhali! The war cry that has done us proud".The Times of India.Retrieved14 December2020.
  15. ^"'Ayo Gorkhali!'; 'The Gurkhas are upon you!' Is the battle cry of one of the world's famous hands of fighting men: Nepal's 'happy warriors.' (Published 1964) ".The New York Times.18 October 1964.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved14 December2020.
  16. ^"Reglemente – Westgiötha Gustavianer".gustavianer.
  17. ^p.3, The Cambridge history of Japan, by John Whitney Hall,1988 Cambridge University Press,ISBN0-521-22352-0
  18. ^Hống ・ kình sóng ( đọc み ) ときArchived26 October 2018 at theWayback MachineKotobank
  19. ^えいえいおう ( đọc み ) エイエイオウKotobank
  20. ^Til Valhall – Norwegian Soldiers Battle Cry.5 May 2011 – via YouTube.[dead YouTube link]
  21. ^"In India, hate-filled songs are a weapon to target Muslims".Associated Press News.22 April 2022.
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