Egyptian soldiers obeyed battle commands because drill made signals meaningful amid chaos

Evidence

If ever the Egyptian army could be said to have been superior to its Ottoman adversary, it was in situations like this when it was not the courage, honor or high morale that came to the rescue, but the constant drilling and repetitious training that induced the soldiers to recognize in the midst of the hubbub and clamor of the battle the familiar sight of a banner or the decipherable sound of a trumpet that signified something meaningful to them. These signals, banners and command shouts seemed to give the illusion of order in such tense moments. During the taxing hours of battle soldiers had no choice but to obey commands, not only because not obeying them brought with it the likelihood of punishment but also because disregarding them seemed to bring death closer still. The soldier stood to benefit personally from obeying orders during the decisive hours of battle since these orders gave at least a semblance of order and organization. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1105

Categorization

• XREF: Relates to how ritualized training creates automatic obedience—parallel to McLuhan-era discussion of drill as medium shaping soldiers. — connects to: Egyptians first noticed French military discipline as sign-based communication; Egyptian battle success came from drill, not morale or courage