Just practicing a little social distancing, being a responsible citizen in an era of plague

Hear they got some nasty caimans up that way

Well, there’s also the fact that at the time, the Federal government was hunting down racist paramilitaries like the mad dogs they were

We should’ve never stopped, tbqh

But it was standard tactic before,

But as you yourself also noted, it had fallen out of frequent usage amongst the flintlock-wielding armies of European nations over the course of the 17th century.

I noted that the innovation was simply the wider usage of the square. But you are correct - the hollow square even dates back to the Roman Empire, and probably before.

https://zbiory.mnk.pl/en/catalog/373095

https://zbiory.mnk.pl/en/catalog/229379

https://www.khalilicollections.org/collections/islamic-art/khalili-collection-islamic-art-war-mask-mtw1390/

https://www.khalilicollections.org/collections/islamic-art/khalili-collection-islamic-art-dagger-and-sheath-mtw-1135/

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/255488

Note the falx damaging the Roman shield at center-right - the penetrative power (and reach) of the falx was so great that the Roman legions temporarily uparmored themselves for operations in Dacia during the Roman-Dacian Wars, including ridged helmets and armguards to protect themselves.

Those pieces were largely discarded after the war as unnecessary weight (and probably as an unnecessary expense too), but against the dreaded Dacian falx, every protection was needed!

There’s also, in the top-left, a Dacian draco, a dragon-standard that made an eerie whistling sound as the wind passed through it that unnerved horses. The Romans themselves found this standard so interesting and useful that they would adopt the draco after the Dacian Wars for their own cavalry!

There are several subtler details here which show an attention to historicity that tickle me pink (the artist, Angus McBride, was a very highly respected historical illustrator, so it’s to be expected from his work).

First, note the Germanic tribesman with a knobbed wooden club - such primitive weapons were still common in Germanic warfare, even against outsiders, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Quite the technological disadvantage - but a club can still bash in skulls and break bones!

Second, note that both of the Roman shields still have their leather marching covers on (used for protection from the elements, and usually removed before battle), signifying the suddenness of the ambush - and a dropped pack in the bottom-right corner. Likewise, one of the Romans still has his cloak on - again, worn for protection from the elements and usually removed before battle.

Third, note that one of Roman soldiers is wielding an axe-like weapon - this is a dolabra, an entrenching tool that was sometimes used in extreme circumstances as an additional weapon.

Fourth, that the Germanic tribesmen have a mixture of native style blades and Roman-style blades - both the fact that a betrayal of Roman ‘allies’ were key in this battle, and that there was widespread blade smuggling along the frontier, are responsible for this detail. Many weapons found in this early iron age period for the Germanic tribes were not just Roman style, but actually Roman-made. Later Germanic tribes would develop a more robust and distinct bladeworking industry.

Love this illustration.

Grenade pouches! Armor of this period was somewhat more dieselpunk!

Explanation: In the modern day, identification of friend or foe is a complicated process, considering that much of warfare is a game of “Who sees who first”. There’s a delicate balance of “Shoot first” and “Don’t ice friendlies.”

In the early modern period and into the 19th century (with khaki adopted by the Brits only near the end of the 19th century), increasing concern for friendly fire led to distinct and clearly colored uniforms being adopted by most modern polities, so as to identify friend from foe even in a smoke-covered battlefield. If you see red, fucking shoot!

Unfortunately, this was also undermined by how decentralized and near-feudal most states were at this time - many individual military units and military commanders insisted on unique uniforms or colors, deeply counterproductive to the core issue of “We need to figure out who is who in a very short period of time.” Particularly, in the US Civil War, the innumerable state regiments, often aping the uniform of other well-known units like the French Zouaves, would often confuse each other for enemy forces and fire on each other, resulting in unnecessary casualties.

JUST WEAR THE DAMN STANDARD UNIFORM

Explanation: One of the powerful innovations of the British military in the 19th century was the wide use of the infantry square. While pushing troops together to resist cavalry had always been a tactic, the robust discipline of redcoats and usage of the square formation by infantry with guns and bayonets made them nearly impenetrable to cavalry - and highly resistant to other infantry.

Even armed with bayonets, troops often fled before cavalry, and even if they stood their ground, they could end up trampled. By presenting a solid, immovable (and intermittently firing) mass of bristling spikes, horses shied away rather than impale themselves, and cavalry charges were thus blunted. Infantry also found it difficult to penetrate the square - being immune to being flanked, prepared for melee, and yet still able to return a reasonable amount of fire.

The British colonial poet Rudyard Kipling, notably, once praised the skill of Sudanese swordsmen who, in a battle the Sudanese were defeated in (due to superior British firepower), nonetheless ‘broke the British Square’ with their charge - a feat of exceptional valor and ferocity!

Least bloodthirsty Canuck!

Veterans of the Arditi, interestingly enough, were instrumental in the streetfighting which led to the rise of Italian fascism - with other veterans of the Arditi, calling themselves the People’s Arditi, opposing them with great vigor.

Unfortunately, the People’s Arditi were supported by neither the Communist Party nor the Socialist Party of Italy, and thus, despite a daring assassination attempt on Mussolini, ultimately could not stop the rise of the better-supported fascists.

They’re so precious! 🥺

Explanation: In WW1, novel and daring tactics were developed as part of a pattern of ‘trench raids’, wherein small groups of highly-motivated troops would assault an enemy trench by surprise, clearing it out, either for later troops to hold, or just to damage and demoralize the enemy.

While firearms were still widely used in these attacks, especially pistols, shotguns, and the then-new submachinegun, many trench raiders found that the most effective tools were speed, stealth, grenades, and a positively medieval level of close-combat. Crawl up to grenade throwing range, saturate the trench with grenades, then go in and finish off the dazed occupants. Canadian forces were noted to be particularly good at trench raiding.

On the Western Front, brass knuckles, maces, and spikes were used; on the Italian Front, the Italian Arditi, a kind of proto-special forces, used narrow daggers - stereotypically held between the teeth to keep the hands free and allow a grenade to be thrown first.

The Arditi, in particular, prided themselves in charging before the grenade exploded - timing their charge so that they would be just before the lip of the trench when the grenade went off. This was highly effective - having some lunatic with a knife on you 0.4 seconds after an explosion is a hard thing to fight off - but it was also noted to lead to casualties during training. If your timing is off, the momentum of being at a full dash towards a trench is unlikely to allow you to skid to a halt for the 0.2 seconds you need to not get blasted in the face by your own grenade, like every other poor bastard in the trench! That’s timing that needs practice - and practice was hard to do with anything except live ammunition…

Explanation: With thanks to @lumidaub@feddit.org for the meme!

In the 1st century AD, a Roman poet we know as Martial penned a large number of short, incisive poems mocking friends and foes (which are which are sometimes ambiguous!). In one of them, he excoriates an acquaintance for always having money to get laid, even if he has to go hungry to do it.