There was a military saying in ancient China: "Listen to the drums and go forward, and listen to the sound of gold and retreat." It can be seen from this that because the ancient armies did not have advanced modern communication equipment, they all used "penetrating" musical instruments such as drums and gongs to convey a series of military orders such as platooning and deployment.
Ancient drummer of our country
On the other hand, the importance of a drummer is even comparable to that of a senior general in the army. Moreover, the ancient war drums in our country are generally made of cowhide, and the thick drum sound when tapped will also stimulate the morale of soldiers.
Therefore, the drummers who cheered for the whole army in ancient times and played the role of command and dispatch at the same time were forces that could not be ignored. At the same time, the "drummer" on the ancient battlefield is actually a high-risk profession, and they will become the first target of the opponent. Therefore, the degree of danger is even higher than that of the marshal.
Liang Hongyu beat the drum to cheer
Liang Hongyu, a famous anti-Gold heroine of the Song Dynasty, once personally beat the drum to help the team. You must know that in ancient times, Liang Hongyu was already admired as a woman who fought in battle! And a woman's family also "beat the drum to help the battle", which is even more admirable, and for a time the morale of the whole army is extremely strong.
Of course, these battle "music" and drummers that appeared on the battlefield were not only found in ancient China. In fact, in the ancient armies of countries around the world, this kind of combat music compilation and different kinds of "musical instruments" often appeared.
legion
Ancient Greek and Roman armies, for example, have always used tube and percussion instruments to command the whole army and boost morale. What's more, the ancient Greek army even hired some professional musicians to accompany or recite poems to the soldiers in the army.
Of course, the poems recited are all odes to ancient heroes. The purpose of this, of course, was only one: to always remind the Greek soldiers to be as brave and fearless as the "patriarchs".
One of the most commonly used "battlefield instruments" by the ancient Roman legions at that time was a horn called "Buchena". But it is not really a horn, "Butchena" is slightly narrower than the normal horn inner diameter, and the end horn is larger. This trumpet was used in important ceremonies of the Roman Empire.
The offensive "trumpet" of the ancient Roman legions
Later, as the territory of the Roman Empire continued to expand, such trumpets appeared in the army as an important battlefield signal for them to convey warnings, charge and retreat.
In addition, the Roman legions were also equipped with some drummers, and some legions even accompanied by a perfect band when they went out. However, according to the regulations of the Roman legions at that time, these "musicians" could not walk in front of the leading generals.
One of the main enemies of the Roman Empire at the time, the Celts, would also use a lot of music on the battlefield to help. Although the Celtic peoples were ruled by the Romans for centuries, the Celts always had their own unique style of trumpets, drums and bagpipes to accompany the army in battle.
As an ancient musical instrument, the bagpipe was originally brought to Europe by the Sumerians in ancient West Asia. It was then introduced to Scotland after the Roman army invaded the island of Great Britain, and later evolved into a national instrument widely popular in Europe.
This bagpipe later became the main instrument of the modern British army, and there will be a more detailed description at the end of the article (according to the timeline to tell the music of the army)!
After Europe entered the medieval era, the music of European courts and churches developed rapidly. But since the Roman legions, battlefield music has not been more widely used in European armies. This did not change until after the Crusades: the Saracens used military music heavily on the battlefield to issue orders to troops, and were also one of the weapons to intimidate their opponents.
A knight charging with a trumpet
The Saracen practice impressed the Christian knights at the time and was quickly emulated in the Crusaders. According to historical records, in the Syrian campaign of 1191, the "sound of the horn" has become the iconic music of the Crusader charge and battle.
The time came to the era of platoon guns in Europe, during which military bands developed rapidly: in order to keep soldiers moving in formation, they usually had drummers in combat units, or each unit brought a small military band. As the battle progressed, the sergeants would follow the sound of drums and music in formation.
Drummer of the Era of Platoon Guns
Napoleon the Great, who swept through Europe at that time, had a large number of drummers and musicians under his command. Although these musicians are not equipped with smoothbore guns, they only have a broken drum or a small horn in their hands.
However, Napoleon was well aware of the role of these people, and resolutely mixed them into the army, marching through various musical rhythms such as "the first eight and the sixteenth, the first sixteen and the last eight". It can be said that these regularized "military bands" brought endless combat effectiveness to Napoleon's army.
Napoleon's legions on the move
Generally speaking, as long as the drummer does not die, the main body of the queue will not collapse. Therefore, the musicians in the European army at that time were always the focus of protection! And at that time, due to some so-called "gentleman" factors, both sides generally did not take the initiative to deliberately shoot at the officers and the band.
After all, military bands are not combat units, so they are generally not the first targets of shooting, and it is pure bad luck to be hit by stray bullets. In addition, in the case of both sides killing red eyes, there are of course special cases of these bands, such as "Les Misérables", there is a description of the cuirassiers hacking the Scottish bagpipers.
Scottish bagpipes
Know how important bagpipes players were in the Scottish Army! So much so that in 1746, after the British defeated the Scottish army, they forbade the Scots to play that kind of long bagpipe. But soon after, the British lifted the ban on bagpipes.
Not only did the Scots like to blow that kind of "Scottish Highland bagpipes", but the British army later began to use bagpipes in large quantities in the war to boost morale. This small musical instrument even once became the "living" war history of britain in modern times. In the bloody two subsequent world wars, wherever the Scottish bagpipes sounded, There would be British soldiers.
British bagpipe bearer
For example, in the famous "War Horse" movie, the British soldiers launched a final death charge against the German positions under the tragic sound of Scottish bagpipes. During the Normandy landings of World War II, there was also a bagpipe bearer named Mirin, who braved the German artillery fire to blow the bagpipe in his hand, and while blowing it, he marched against the gunfire.
"Piper Millin" returned to Normandy in his later years
It was under the leadership of this "brave" British bagpipe bearer that the British soldiers all stood up and blew up the German fortifications on the shore with a single blow! The British lost only 12 men during the battle, and the bagpiper Millin himself was unharmed.
Sculpture of "Milin the Bagpiper"
Today, on the beachhead of Normandy, a sculpture of "Bagpiper Millin" is still erected, so that future generations will always remember the greatness of this bagpiper and battlefield music.
epilogue
Looking back at the "tragic sounds" that appeared on the battlefield of history, perhaps when it sounded, it did not represent "victory". However, it can often play a substantial command role, and at the same time, it can greatly boost the morale of the soldiers to kill the enemy!
This "tragic" battlefield music on the modern battlefield has disappeared, because it seems to have no need to exist! However, in the history of human warfare, this alternative music is an indelible battlefield imprint.
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