Egyptian troops in the Acre siege showed shell-shock type breakdowns

Evidence

It was then that the men started showing signs that could only be read as “shell shock” and resembled the experiences of the British soldiers eighty years later. In one incident during that siege a soldier was killed by the shells fired from the fortress. On seeing his body his comrades panicked, left the battle scene together, and headed back to the relative security of the trenches. Their captain also deserted his position and went all the way back to the army camp to inform his commander of the incident. Four days later these men were court martialled. The captain was told that his reasons for deserting his position were not accepted since it was ridiculous to go and inform the commander of every soldier who died. The soldiers were also told that their actions were unmanly and cowardly, and violated the law which said that “if a certain soldier dies and in order to prevent fear spreading his body should be promptly hidden from his colleagues.” — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1086

Categorization

• XREF: The military law ordering dead bodies hidden from comrades resonates with the reader’s interest in small acts of decorum toward corpses.