Originally Posted by Watchman Originally Posted by

I've read the Romans made a point of keeping all quiet (save for officers' command of course) in battle except just before contact when about the whole army would go all out at once. Created a nicely shocking contrast between first an impeccable line of eerily silent "iron men" and a sudden earth-shaking war cry. That a massive wave of pila would be coming in around the same time hardly hurt, of course.