[JenBurdoo] Marching All Before Ye

[JenBurdoo]

After a defeat, Frederick the Great once observed one of his unarmed men being pursued across an open field by an enemy soldier on horseback. The King, grimly amused by the spectacle, was surprised when his soldier found a way to escape. What was it?

[Balin]

Was the unarmed soldier on foot?
Did the soldier? Flee? Hide? Double back?
Was there any relevant plant, crop, or grass growth in the field?

[Enjay]

Did the escape involve killing or injuring the pursuer? The pursuer's horse?

[JenBurdoo]

Was the unarmed soldier on foot? Yes.
Did the soldier? Flee? Hide? Double back? No to all.
Was there any relevant plant, crop, or grass growth in the field? No.

Did the escape involve killing or injuring the pursuer? The pursuer's horse? No to both.

[wolfier]

Is a special feature of the terrain relevant, e.g. river, lake, tree, cliff?

Did the soldier eventually safe, or was he killed in some other way?

[GalFisk]

Did he escape using: terrain? Equipment? Speed? Did he improve his escaping power? Diminish the enemy's pursuing power? Scare the enemy? The horse? Give them something more interesting to do? Cause them danger? Lead them somewhere relevant? Involve other humans? Or animals? Such as bees or wasps? Wild hogs?

[JenBurdoo]

Is a special feature of the terrain relevant, e.g. river, lake, tree, cliff? No.

Did the soldier eventually safe, or was he killed in some other way? He survived.

Did he escape using: terrain? Equipment? This. Speed? Did he improve his escaping power? Diminish the enemy's pursuing power? Scare the enemy? This. The horse? No. Give them something more interesting to do? Cause them danger? Lead them somewhere relevant? Involve other humans? Or animals? Such as bees or wasps? Wild hogs? None of the rest.

[GalFisk]

Equipment: clothing? Armor? Other gear? Did the enemy think: his life was in danger? More of his enemies where present? The unarmed man was armed? There was an animal?

[JenBurdoo]

Equipment: clothing? Armor? Other gear? This. Did the enemy think: his life was in danger? This. More of his enemies where present? The unarmed man was armed? This. There was an animal? None of the others.

[GalFisk]

Did the enemy think he had a: spear? Sword? Bow? Sling? Gun? Grenade? Crossbow? Knife? Other blade? Other projectile weapon? Snare? Club?

[JenBurdoo]

Did the enemy think he had a: spear? Sword? Bow? Sling? Gun? This. Grenade? Crossbow? Knife? Other blade? Other projectile weapon? Snare? Club?

[wolfier]

Did the pursuer see the soldier's "gun" clearly and identified it as such? Did the pursuer see something that would *imply* his possession of a gun? Would the enemy still think he's got a gun if they got closer?

[GalFisk]

Is it in reality: a stick? Tube? Pipe? Spade? Other tool? Body part? Gun accessory? Such as a muzzle-loader ramrod? Cannon ramrod?

[wunderland]

Is it an actual gun that was dropped by another soldier?

[JenBurdoo]

Did the pursuer see the soldier's "gun" clearly and identified it as such? Yes. Did the pursuer see something that would *imply* his possession of a gun? No. Would the enemy still think he's got a gun if they got closer? No.

Is it in reality: a stick? Tube? It is tubular. Pipe? Spade? Other tool? Body part? Gun accessory? Such as a muzzle-loader ramrod? Cannon ramrod? None of the others.

Is it an actual gun that was dropped by another soldier? No.

[GalFisk]

Is it tubular from the start? Rolled up into a tube? Is it a paper or parchment? Straw/reed? Does it look like metal?

[JenBurdoo]

Is it tubular from the start? Yes. Rolled up into a tube? No. Is it a paper or parchment? No. Straw/reed? No. Does it look like metal? Yes.

[JenBurdoo]

What might a soldier be carrying, that is not a gun, but is metallic and roughly the same shape?

[markobr]

Is it something most of Frederick's soldiers had? Soldiers of certain units had? Soldiers with certain functions/tasks? Soldiers in certain situations? Is it something that was commonly used by civilians, too? Is it carried by soldiers today?

Is it something usually used by soldiers to attack? To defend against attacks? To protect themselves from other dangers? For orientation? As part of their uniform?

[JenBurdoo]

Is it something most of Frederick's soldiers had? No. Soldiers of certain units had? No. Soldiers with certain functions/tasks? Yes. Soldiers in certain situations? No. Is it something that was commonly used by civilians, too? Yes. Is it carried by soldiers today? Yes.

Is it something usually used by soldiers to attack? To defend against attacks? To protect themselves from other dangers? For orientation? As part of their uniform? None of these.

[markobr]

Certain functions or tasks: Constructing something? Repair? Preparation of food? Transportation? Communication? Music? Handling animals? Administrative tasks?

[JenBurdoo]

Certain functions or tasks: Constructing something? Repair? Preparation of food? Transportation? Communication? Music? This. Handling animals? Administrative tasks?

[markobr]

He took his trumpet or clarion and aimed it at the enemy soldier?

[JenBurdoo]

He took his trumpet or clarion and aimed it at the enemy soldier? Close enough.

Spoiler:

The fleeing man was a musician. He halted and "aimed" his long bassoon at the cavalryman, who mistook it for a musket and fled.

(Sorry if I gave the impression it was not a woodwind, with my description as "metallic.")

[irishelk]

Ha ha! Open up the "best of" list for next year!

[markobr]

Well, there's enough metal around a bassoon so that the description fits. I'm somewhat surprised, however, that they took bassoons into battle - compared to the usual brass instruments, they are quite unwieldy and consist of a lot of stuff that can be broken.

[JenBurdoo]

It was actually a "hautboy," which can also be defined as an oboe. "The hautboys marching all before ye, oh" is a line from the Irish folksong "Maid of Fyvie."

Irishelk, I'm flattered you think so well of this one! Thanks.