Sure, they say this NOW...

[sirdaniel1975]

There's no written record of German's commenting on the effect that Highland regiments had on them because they lost. History is written by the victors. I firmly believe that the Germans feared the Scot's.

-They probably didn't know what to make of the Highland psychological warfare.

-I've heard historians say that WWI Kilts were bullet proof, by shere chance. That's probably why they checked under the kilts. (It's supposed to be noticable in WWI footage, the bullets bouncing off kilts that is.)

-There's a story about a Highland officer who caught his kilt on barbed wire, removed the kilt to preserve the tartan, and continued with combat scaring the $%^ out of his German enemies. In other words he was wearing no bottoms at all.

[Warhoover]

-There's a story about a Highland officer who caught his kilt on barbed wire, removed the kilt to preserve the tartan, and continued with combat scaring the $%^ out of his German enemies. In other words he was wearing no bottoms at all.

Ahhh showing his "wild highlander" roots! It is known that in many battles between clans and other foes, they would often disrobe to make it easier to fight.

As far as whether any of the German's were scared by a Highland Regiment advancing on them , you have to remember that terms such as the "Ladies from Hell" and "Devils in Skirts" usually come from such situations. I know that just the shear frightening experience of battle is overwhelming enough to scare the hell out of any man, but to look out and see a line advancing wearing not the traditional battlefield uniform but a garment that you are not familiar with, being led by the sound of warpipes has got to be an even more intimidating and impressive sight. One that is definately going to stay with you and you are going to relate to others if your lucky enough to survive the action. That is how legends and mystique get started. In WWI the kilt was worn by the highland regiments for several reasons, one was for moral. Moral instills confidence, add to that the sound of the pipes, which for many (including myself) gets the blood going. Its all about adreniline, added to high moral and confidence. LOOK OUT! Eyes get wide, breathing gets deeper, heart is pounding... let loose a few hundred screaming soldiers in kilts, there is going to be a major fear factor there on the other side. Talk about psychological warfare! You don't get awarded a Victoria Cross for prancing in the poppies.

Sir Daniel is right the victors do write history and there is no doubt the whole psychological effect of Highland warfare. Its too bad that there are not any WW1 German veterans if very few that are still around that Dr Benjamin Ziemann could interview to verify or refute his claims. Its all too easy to just say something and state it as fact since there is "little or no evidence" to show otherwise. I am sure some of those veterans woke up in the middle of the night for a major portion of the rest of their lives reliving memories from their encounter with a highland regiment. Many did and do even without experiencing a "highland" charge. But if they had I would lay odds that those nightmares wore kilts. Its an old cliche' but its true, war is hell.