Fear and anxiety have been crucial elements in any general’s strategy since the dawn of time. The Assyrian empire was reputedly formed through the use of generous amounts of terror and brutality. The Spartans struck such terror in their enemies that their forces often won their wars with other Greek city states simply by arriving on the battlefield. Gaius Marius, a Senator of the ancient Roman Republic, once quelled the threat of rebellion in a client kingdom by imposing upon his rival the might of a single Roman legion. The Mongol hordes claimed entire kingdoms as they swept through Europe through the use of scare tactics. The fact is, even before scorched earth strategies, fear and anxiety have long been in the arsenal of military commanders.
Fear and anxiety are immensely helpful in keeping enemy forces from not only fighting effectively, but in some cases, it might inspire them to leave your territory entirely. This was the case when Vlad III Dracula (yes, the name is in that format), more commonly referred to in history as Vlad the Impaler, faced against an overwhelming Turkish and Ottoman force. According to historical accounts, when the Shah-in Shah’s...