Do soldiers charge into machine gun fire without hesitation because they themselves are armed
That’s… actually more accurate than it reasonably should be. A huge, and I mean HUGE part of these things is all about morale. And a major part of that is the perception that you have a chance. For instance, despite actual testing showing that stacking sandbags or spare tracks on the front of tanks not only added weight (and thus problems), and made the armor less effective, the order was to let crews do as they wish in this regard because they fought better when they "thought* they had more protection.
Some people will feel less fear in their daily life if they carry a gun, even if they don’t know a goddamn thing about using it. (But knowing how to draw and shoot quickly and accurately, if required, is absolutely desirable if you’re going to choose to carry a firearm!) But it’s certainly not a panacea.
In the case of soldiers in WWI charging up out of trenches, often times the did it because they knew they would be shot if they didn’t, and they’d probably be shot if they did. So your odds were slightly better if you followed orders.
That’s… actually more accurate than it reasonably should be. A huge, and I mean HUGE part of these things is all about morale. And a major part of that is the perception that you have a chance. For instance, despite actual testing showing that stacking sandbags or spare tracks on the front of tanks not only added weight (and thus problems), and made the armor less effective, the order was to let crews do as they wish in this regard because they fought better when they "thought* they had more protection.
Some people will feel less fear in their daily life if they carry a gun, even if they don’t know a goddamn thing about using it. (But knowing how to draw and shoot quickly and accurately, if required, is absolutely desirable if you’re going to choose to carry a firearm!) But it’s certainly not a panacea.
In the case of soldiers in WWI charging up out of trenches, often times the did it because they knew they would be shot if they didn’t, and they’d probably be shot if they did. So your odds were slightly better if you followed orders.