The Uses of Flags and Standards
-Jason

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            Flags and standards play an important role in military history.  They are the easiest way to relay orders across the battlefield before the invention of radio.  The use of flags and standards goes to the armies of large empires and kingdoms of the ancient world.  These flags and standards either represented the location of individual units, their commanders, the overall leader of the army, or the state.  A general could see the advance, or retreat, of not only his soldiers but those of the enemy as the flags and standards shifted.  This could prove vital to the success or failure of an entire campaign.

            Flags and standards were key instruments in keeping high the morale of the soldiers who followed them.  Infantry and cavalry advanced under their flags as combat commenced.  Having these banners on the battlefield gave those troops an idea of where they needed to advance or withdraw towards.  The noise and press of ancient and medieval battlefields drown out the sound of drums, fifes, or horns: the standard, and later flag, was a ready symbol to keep soldiers from scattering.  Since the flags and standards were usually attached to long poles, they could be seen by several of the front ranks, and these would lead their fellow soldiers into the teeth of battle.

In ancient Rome, the Legionary Standards, or Aquila (Eagles) were a symbol of the unit’s honor and glory.  The Aquilas were not just a simple standard that represented just the legion, it was believed to be spiritually tied to the Roman State and Roman rule.   Legionaries fought bitterly to protect the Aquilas during hand-to-hand combat and in many cases the hardest fighting was done around it.  If the Legionary Standard was lost, the honor of that legion was damaged and efforts to reclaim these symbols were launched.  A legion that lost its Aquila was viewed to have bad luck and possibly be cowardly.  A rather famous pop culture reference to this tragedy is Bryan Blessed portraying Caesar Augustus crying “Quintus Varius, where are my eagles!” after the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. 

Flags were also key pieces of communication on the medieval battlefield: they relayed commands and gave soldiers a rallying point just as in classical times.  When medieval armies prepared for battle, the commander’s (and occasionally, a king’s) tent was set up in a prominent location (usually a hill) and their personal banner was raised.  This served as the main way for a commander to relay orders to subordinates on the battlefield.  The location of the command tent was a vital target for an enemy commander: if they could decapitate the command structure of the opposing army, victory was a likely outcome.  A good indication that your army was losing was to see the flag of your commander collapse to the ground. Seeing that command flag drop was the not-so-subtle indicator that you had to decide whether to retreat or surrender.

The use of fortifications in the medieval era was also vitally important.  The flag of the ruler of the city, or commander of a castle, would be flown to show everyone passing near it to whom the territory belonged.  Seeing the personal banner of a highly acclaimed commander may very well ensure that a city or fortress did not come under siege.  When attacking a defensive feature, flags would be used by assaulting troops to indicate whether they had seized a section of wall or tower.  Seeing an enemy flag raised over a strategic region of a defensive wall could break the morale of the defenders and force them to surrender.

With so many noblemen fighting for glory and honor, their flags and banners took on even more significance in deciding who would be overall commander of an international alliance.  The Siege of Acre in 1191 CE is an excellent example of how the personal ranking of allied military commanders could go awry is.  The Third Crusade was conducted as an alliance between English under King Richard I, French under King Phillip II, and German under Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa forces fighting into the Syria and Palestine. 

At the beginning of the Crusade, it had been decided that Emperor Barbarossa would be the overall leader due to his age, experience, and the overall size of his military contingent.  However, Barbarossa died during the march through Turkey and his forces fell under the command of Duke Conrad of Austria.  At this point, Richard I felt that he should have taken overall command as he viewed himself as the most powerful surviving nobleman.  This division deciding overall command of the Crusade would lead to disastrous consequences.

King Richard I of England and King Philip II of France joined the German contingent outside the city of Acre, located in northwestern Syria.  After a bitter siege, the Crusaders were victorious and it seemed that despite the loss of Emperor Barbarossa, the Christian forces would operate well together.  This sense of common brotherhood was shattered when Richard and Philip raised their banners on the walls of Acre.  Conrad also put his personal banner up and Richard saw this as an affront.  He threw the Austrian banner off the walls, supposedly saying “the banner of a Duke does not fly at the same level as a King’s” thus reinforcing the lower social status of the Austrian nobleman.  This act caused Conrad, and most of the German contingent, to abandon the Third Crusade thereby ensuring it would fail to achieve its goal of liberating Jerusalem.

As technology improved, flags adapted for the armies to identify and communicate within themselves.  Gunpowder weapons created a new problem of communication between generals and their soldiers: not only was there the noise but now there was smoke generated by these weapons that could drown out sight and sound.  Larger flags were adopted which could be seen from long distances.  Even the shape of flags changed depending on which type of unit was using it to help prevent confusion regarding orders.  This type of differentiation was especially prevalent in the flags and pennants used in naval warships.

Eventually, the practice of lowering a flag to half of its staff height became a common indicator of mourning, whether personal or national.  As flags signifying individual people disappeared, the idea of them representing their nations took on more and more meaning.  This ideal of national representation could bridge the gaps that separated citizens based on the boundaries like race, gender, religious identification, and economic class.  A state’s or nation’s flag embodied the honor of the people it represented and was a visible symbol of unity.  The death of a head of state, soldiers, or victims of a national tragedy could be communally acknowledged and mourned by having the flag raised to only half its normal height.  This act is an indicator of a loss and call for people to stop and honor those who are no longer with us.