I would say that the command to "Carry On" would fit with most European Armies. Or "Step lively now", which is a little more high handed, but would work. Of course in the Napoleonic era, things were a little less professional than they are now, with Wellington himself even calling his men the "scum of the earth", so just a command to get moving. If you can find an episode of it, try watching the Sharpe series (Sharpe's Regiment would be particularly useful) or even reading the Sharpe books. They are written by Bernard Cornwell and follow Richard Sharpe as he is promoted from the ranks to an officer in Wellington's army due to an act of outstanding heroism, it is very well researched.
Actually Cornwell's research is very patchy. Yes, he has read and used a lot of memoirs of the period, and so long as he sticks to that material and recycles incidents and phrases from those memoirs, he's mostly OK, if a bit tin-eared; but as soon as he strays from that specific material he drops clangers all over the place.
And the scripts for the TV series, and the tactics and drill (or lack of same) shown there, are just terrible. When I started watching them I made notes of the glaring errors using pen and paper as I went along, but eventually realised that they came so thick and fast that at times all you could have done was count them with a clicker. And clearly nobody involved had the slightest knowledge of or feel for the language and attitudes of the period.
The first thing I think of is "Now, hop to it" (that would sound a bit old-fashioned now, but if you're going with Napoleonic, especially with an aristocrat officer, it would work). Or a variation, like "Get to it".
I would think "Step lively" would be something said after the men had already started, but were going too slow.
I can't vouch for the historical accuracy of these, but maybe...
"Move out!" or "Now get going!" sound informal and urgent (also can be said with irritation or impatience).
"Commence" sounds official, like "Commence Operation: [Name]." I imagine a team or crew getting started while a captain or general oversees them.
I agree that "dismissed" can be used as a strong ending to an explanation or command. The commanding officer expects people to act, not ask questions or delay.
See, it's one of those awkward situations where people are about to argue - the commanding officer is injured and he's telling them to go do X before of helping him, and they very visibly hesitate. So on one hand he needs to get them moving, and on the other hand he's inclined to be a bit forgiving of the lapse in the discipline since the problem is their concern for him. He's also the kind of guy who defaults to formal when stressed, i.e. he's not about to tell them to "just #$^$ do it, you %&^# ^%@!#", which probably would've been the most effective and natural line under circumstances :D
So I'm now torn between "dismissed" and "now get to it". Probably "now get to it".
Ohhh, okay! Well, if he defaults to formal when stressed, then "dismissed" would work. A little cold and distant, but reminding the others of rank and jolting them back to attention and action. It's up to you, of course! XD I don't think you need a real military command in that type of situation. "Now, get to it," or more simply "Now, go," would be enough, since it's more about how he says it and what he means by it.
Comments 15
Reply
Reply
And the scripts for the TV series, and the tactics and drill (or lack of same) shown there, are just terrible. When I started watching them I made notes of the glaring errors using pen and paper as I went along, but eventually realised that they came so thick and fast that at times all you could have done was count them with a clicker. And clearly nobody involved had the slightest knowledge of or feel for the language and attitudes of the period.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
I would think "Step lively" would be something said after the men had already started, but were going too slow.
Reply
Reply
Reply
"Move out!" or "Now get going!" sound informal and urgent (also can be said with irritation or impatience).
"Commence" sounds official, like "Commence Operation: [Name]." I imagine a team or crew getting started while a captain or general oversees them.
I agree that "dismissed" can be used as a strong ending to an explanation or command. The commanding officer expects people to act, not ask questions or delay.
Reply
So I'm now torn between "dismissed" and "now get to it". Probably "now get to it".
Reply
Reply
Thanks for the input, seriously :)
Reply
Leave a comment