Re: [SGII] Furry troopers

Beth Fulton wrote:

>

> >>-Proud warriors (Kzinti, Klingons, etc.).  They fight individually
for
> >>honor.  In a hopeless situation, they'll fight to the last man. 
They
> >>refuse to retreat, which gives them staying power but reduced
tactical
> >>flexibility.
>
> Watch out on thsi one, a race/species with this kind of attitude ain't
> going to last long in an evolutionary sense. The odd individual 'yes',
but
> as a general race characteristic I'd steer well clear.
>
> Cheers
>
> Beth

Ahhh, today, I watched a documentary about the ancient Roman Empire. 
They were
discussing the attitudes of the Roman Army.  Besides the training,
excellent
equipment (for the period), they had a standing order...no retreats.

This stems from the fact that two well trained warriors with shields had
a real
problem seriously hurting each other.  Only the man who turned and ran,
could be
easily hurt.  So hense the standing order.

Rome defeated many opposing armies this way.  And at it's hight (about
117-120AD), ruled an empire about 2 million square miles for about six
and a
half centuries. (Thats about 54% of the land area of present day United
States...with an army of about 850,000 men.  Awesome!)

Perhaps a race with the "no retreats" attitude could do quite well, if
properly
organized and supplied.

Donald Hosford