Ethos: Rule 3: Trial and Error

[MorGrendel]

Ethos: Rule 3: Trial and Error

Assume for one moment that no tactic works. That ultimately what ever happens on the battlefield is going to happen one way or another, and today it is not going your way. Orders can be given, decisions can be made, but in the end the enemy is still there. Conventional wisdom does not always work; experience is not always the end all be all of possibilities. Sometimes even the most unlikely of plans might be just different enough, just odd enough, just unexpected enough to work.

There can be no attempt without the possibility of failure. With every plan there are shortcomings and weakness. Errors will be made, and often in war he who makes the least amount of blunders will win. However, whenever there is an opportunity to try something new, that opportunity should be taken. Whether it be practice or a battle of lesser consequence, this will be your best chance to evaluate those around you. Any unit can be good when everything goes to plan, but only the really great units can win when nothing goes to plan.

Practice uneven sides, whether that be uneven numbers or uneven experience. You will always be surprised what new fighters come up with. Teach your unit that life is not fair, and to always expect to be outnumbered and fighting an enemy that refuses to die. Challenge fighters to come up with new solutions, and reward them with praise even when they fail. No device is as effective to building confidence as praising those who tried, and no weapon is as destructive to moral than that of admonishing a fighter for trying. Combat is a constant cycle of trial and error. I am certain the first time someone tried to shoot a bow from horse back, or jam black powder in a tube, there was some ney-sayer there to remark that it would never work.