Yeah, I don't think Framert apreciated his answer being savaged.

I don't think they are any more or less brave, they are just called upon to fight in a different way. If you compare medevil combat, most of which was about flagwaving and scaring your opponant rather than actually killing him (with the spates of combat only lasting a matter of minutes) and you compare it to something like street fighting in Mogadishu or Iraq or any time as far back as WW2 I think you would find them to be equally harrowing. The biggest difference I can think of is the increased presence (and effectiveness) of 'indirect fire' weapons on the battlefield. That is to say that soldiers are more at risk of being hit by an enemy they couldn't see now than ever before and so actually it takes a fair bit of courage to be anywhere within a combat zone. At least for the Roman legionnaire he could walk a mile from the front and be reasonably sure that no one could hurt him.

Like I said, I don't think soldiers are a different breed or anything, they are just fighting in a different way and have different expectations. They appear 'softer' perhapse than their historical counterparts only because they are used to a different quality of life (compare Russian peasant soldiers in WW2 of VC in Vietnam to their western counterparts, they were no tougher they just didn't know what an 'easier life' was).

As for Framert's post, Greenjacket raised a couple of good points, it takes a hell of a lot of courage to march straight towards an enemy who is standing 100m away blasting away with musket and rifle supported by cannon fire, perhapse even more courage than it takes to be part of a charging Roman formation since the enemy are not really shooting back, just waiting with axe and sword ready. I think if you traind an infantryman and stuck him in an Imperial French column or a Saxon shield wall he would do just as well. The biggest problem would be dissatisfaction with life outside of battle because it would not be up to the standards one expects today, but that is another issue.

How is that for the most rambling post in the thread? I hope it makes sense to someone!

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There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.