What is meant by "elan"?

[Croaker]

Excuse my ignorance, but I keep hearing this term "elan" being mentioned in the game description and in the manual but I see no description of this term anywhere. The English definition is "liveliness or vigor"; which makes no sense in the context of the game. So what exactly is it and why is it important?

[Athos1660]

Elan is the psychological trait of those who do things in an energetic and confident way. Depending on its level of elan, a unit can be terrified, nervous, steady, fearless, indomitable... Along with the other trait 'experience', it describes units in FoG2 system. The mean of both traits provides the troop quality of a unit as shown in game : average, superior...

[Mr Glenn Apples]

If you're interested, Croaker, the concept is difficult to translate into English, but it refers to the idea that morale, speed and aggression can be more important that weapons or numbers. It has a long history in France, and persists to this day. I know of it from my WW1 history and its influence on the doctrine of Offensive à outrance. If you watch rugby at all, the French team sometimes displays elan- rapid, dashing, somewhat chaotic attacks.

I think a better translation for elan in English is 'balls to the wall' :P

[wibblywobblywonder]

I think they mean spirit - You know, spirit, bravado, a touch of derring-do.

[pinwolf]

I would say it's Enthusiasm = -> increased pleasure in certain subjects or actions, an extreme commitment to a cause, or an unusually intense interest in a special field.

According to its origin, the term originally denoted inspiration by a divine inspiration or by the influence or presence of a god. Originally, an enthusiast was understood to mean a person possessed by a god.

In the 18th century, the meaning of the word became more general and secular: In today's common usage, the term enthusiasm has lost its specific religious meaning and instead denotes an unrestrained, emotional, and personal commitment to an ideal or common cause. The term is also used to describe the special effort with which one pursues certain goals. Sometimes the term pejoratively denotes an overly partisan devotion and a radical authoritarian dogmatism that is closed to all difficulties and objections raised against it.

[[ACG] =NEY=]

This french word can means various things:


- A strong will to keep charging with no hesitation (*)

- The momentum of a charge


(*) pinwolf is right when talking about enthusiasm

[SamHill]

AFAIK, and I may end up with a QI klaxon for it, the term in a military sense originates from the theory that the French armies of the Revolutionary Wars, where the inexperienced Revolutionaries had to take on basically the rest of Europe, were carried by their enthusiasm, in contrast to their more experienced, and better funded and organised, but unimaginative and lacklustre enemy. And this elan was used to great effect when Napoleon rocked up, and ended up beating the lot on land, for about 15 years.

In relation to the game, they might just average it out. The normal thing would be for troops to have similar levels of experience and elan, but there would be examples of low experience/high elan - Early Arab conquest? high experience/low elan - Late Roman? But their performance on the battlefield would be a combination of the two qualities, and be hard to separate.

[Athos1660]

The idea is already present during the Renaissance in the expression ‘furia francese’ during the Italian Wars, the use of Enfants perdus and King’s musketeers during the storming of strongholds and cities, the practice of a fierce charge by the French Infantry to disrupt the enemy at impact or the French cavalry of Louis XIV relying on the impetus of their charge, sword in hand, to shatter the enemy formation.

However, such a trait is often translated in game into capabilities, such as Impact Foot or Impact Mounted.

[Mr Glenn Apples]

Haha @SamHill, reading your post I actually heard the QI Klaxon in my head when you said it.

At least you didn't say 'The Blue Whale'.

[pinwolf]

It's also used in modern German language. But more in sentences like "Ich hab jetzt nicht mehr den Elan das Geschirr abzuwaschen." ( = I don't have the drive to do the dishes now.)
when you come home after a hard day at work.

[Majickthyse]

French General used the term 'Elan' a lot before the First World War. They didn't use it so much afterwards.

[Athos1660]

The latest bayonet charge launched by the French Army dates back to… the successful recapture of the Vrbanja Bridge on 27 May 1995 (by French UN peacekeepers).

[Mr Glenn Apples]

That fact is going in my 'useless but interesting war facts' memory, Bill :) thanks!

[SamHill]

The concept was always around, but the particular term "elan" apparently comes from a popular pre-WW1 theory by the French philosopher Bergson, Élan vital, about free will amongst other things which was taken up by the French military, in an attempt to regain the prestige it had achieved under Napoleon, and lost in the Franco-Prussian War....... phew, I still get my klaxon, but haven't minded a good klaxon since the Dukes of Hazzard.