# Did ancient warriors run headlong into battle shouting “For \[their cause\]!” **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** middle-earth\ **Created:** [January 27, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067 "2026-01-27T00:14:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/21 "2026-02-03T15:57:03Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Gaelic for “Sons of the Hounds, Come Hither And Get Flesh!” > Basically telling their enemies that they’ll killed and fed to the Cameron dogs. Sounds like war cries haven’t changed much since coming off the battlefield and onto the soccer field. That’s the sort of thing a football team’s fans will yell about fans of the opposing team… ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/22 "2026-02-03T16:12:30Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Sounds like war cries haven’t changed much since coming off the battlefield and onto the soccer field. “War. War never changes.” ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2026, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/23 "2026-02-03T16:19:04Z")
I suppose some form of “die, losers, die!” would be common but some warlords at some point found it too obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/24 "2026-02-03T16:24:50Z")
A.k.a. “ululating.” It’s memorably featured in _The Battle of Algiers_. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/25 "2026-02-03T18:29:03Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > > [@gkster](#): > > > > Chlanna nan con thigibh a’ so 's gheibh sibh feòil! > > Too long, hard to harmonize into a concentrated roar during a mass charge. Everybody yelling with a different cadence - just ends up sounding like gibberish crowd noise. Fail, Camerons. > > Compare that to the Mackintosh “Loch Moigh!” - so much more economical. Is it any wonder the Mackintoshes were more regularly on the winning side of their 300-odd year feud? No - no, it is not 😉. LOL I wonder if there’s a way to measure the correlation between success in combat and good battle cries. Also, after generations of use, there must have been a tune and cadence to the war chants. Think of the sports fan chants: they’re not just yelling out the words; they have a rhythm and pattern. Here’s a passage from the novel where I first encountered the Cameron chant, D.K. Broster’s _The Flight of the Heron_. The hero, Ewen Cameron, is surrounded by British soldiers, and the word “strain” means melody: "a familiar and most welcome sound came to him through the closed window behind him. No mistaking that strain; and that the soldiers should hear it too he turned a little and dashed his elbow, protected by the curtain, through the nearest pane of glass. In it flowed, wailing and menacing, the Cameron rant: ‘Sons of the dogs, come hither, come hither and you shall have flesh . . .’ ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2026, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/26 "2026-02-04T04:14:09Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > And even more recently, the Japanese had “Banzai!” in WW2. The Imperial Japanese Army first started this tactic when faced with poorly trained Chinese troops with poor discipline and morale. It also worked in the Malaya Campaign in 1941 and early ‘42 against mostly inexperienced and / or badly led troops. WWI had shown that charging at machine gun fire or even troops with bolt action rifles mostly didn’t end well for the offensive, but the Japanese changed that. They would do the banzai charges at night so it was harder to defend and they loved getting up close and personal with combat. They would overload a point in the line and break through, which would lead to routing the enemy. However, once they ran into better trained, disciplined and led troops, while it was an intense experience for all involved, the effectiveness sharply declined and became more of a ritual of suicide. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2026, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/27 "2026-02-04T10:57:50Z")
When I was a feral 1970’s child running the woods and creeks of Northern Virginia, we would often jump across the creek in places where one side was fairly high to help us get all the way across. When the jump was a particularly scary/challenging one, we always yelled “Jeronimo” as we leapt. It weirdly helped, as if we were calling his warrior spirit to boost our courage. I can definitely see how a good war cry would make all the difference in a charge. The infamy of the rebel yell was not so much in that use though. They would send scouts to surround the enemy and yip all through the woods. It could make a few men sound like hundreds, and it was just a spooky sound. Yankee soldiers shivered when they talked about it echoing through the fog. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/28 "2026-02-18T18:52:39Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > The clans of Scotland had their own war cries. The fiercest is Clan Cameron’s, > Chlanna nan con thigibh a’ so 's gheibh sibh feòil! — Gaelic for “Sons of the Hounds, Come Hither And Get Flesh!” Clan Cameron represent! > [@](#): > > Basically telling their enemies that they’ll killed and fed to the Cameron dogs. Or just, “Bite me, you sons of bitches.” > [@Tamerlane](#): > > Compare that to the Mackintosh “Loch Moigh!” - so much more economical. Is it any wonder the Mackintoshes were more regularly on the winning side of their 300-odd year feud? No - no, it is not 😉. _Glares at Tamerlane in Celtic_ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/29 "2026-02-18T20:41:43Z")
That may be true, but the Camerons have three of the top five highest grossing films in history, and what do the Mackintoshes have? A raincoat? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/30 "2026-02-18T20:44:43Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > and what do the Mackintoshes have? Overpriced computers? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/31 "2026-02-18T21:36:52Z")
¿Por qué no los dos? > **[Cameron Mackintosh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Mackintosh)** > > Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York Times. He is the producer of shows including Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Oliver!, and Hamilton. > Mackintosh was kn... ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/32 "2026-02-18T21:48:50Z")
My full name in real life is just three different Scottish clan names. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/33 "2026-02-19T10:07:09Z")
Mine is a book of the Bible followed by a Napoleonic battle. But we digress. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/34 "2026-02-19T15:13:26Z")
I don’t know what your real name is, but to me, you’ll always be Deuteronomy Waterloo. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/35 "2026-02-19T15:36:45Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I don’t know what your real name is, but to me, you’ll always be Deuteronomy Waterloo Half the books in _Nevi’im_ are just dudes’ names and you go to the Torah 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/36 "2026-02-19T16:22:44Z")
I thought he was Judges Austerlitz ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/37 "2026-02-19T16:23:08Z")
What about Hiob Leipzig? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/38 "2026-02-19T16:33:01Z")
But Isaiah Berlin has been dead for years. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/39 "2026-02-19T17:23:18Z")
One thing to note is that Banzai is not just a battle cry, thought that is where people outside of Japan first encountered it. Now it is often used like Hooray! or something akin to that. It means something like 1000 years, or Live Long and is a term that is used, though not pronounced in the same way in many Asian countries including China, Korea and Vietnam. Of course the ultimate battle cry is Spoooon! as uttered by that supreme warrior The Tick! `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067/40 "2026-02-19T18:43:50Z")
> [@icon](#): > > One thing to note is that Banzai is not just a battle cry, I thought they were just appreciating their dwarf trees… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-ancient-warriors-run-headlong-into-battle-shouting-for-their-cause/1027067.md?page=3)