Goose step

This article is about the marching step. For other uses, see Goose step (disambiguation).
Russian Kremlin Guards goose-stepping at slow march near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Moscow.

The goose step is a special marching step performed on formal military parades and other ceremonies. While marching in parade formation, troops swing their legs in unison off the ground, while keeping their legs straight and unbent.

Originating in Prussian military drill in the mid-18th century, the step was called the Stechschritt (literally, "piercing step") or Stechmarsch. German and Soviet military advisors spread the tradition throughout the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. The goose step is now used by the militaries of nearly sixty countries, comprising three-fifths of the world's population.

The term "goose step" originally referred to a British military drill, in which one leg at a time was swung back and forth without bending the knee. Apparently standing on only one leg reminded soldiers of how geese often stand. The term was later applied to the German march step during World War I and to the Soviet march step during the Cold War.[1][2] As a result, the term has acquired a pejorative meaning in some English-speaking countries.

Ceremonial usage

The goose step is a difficult marching style that takes much practice and coordination. It is therefore reserved for ceremonial occasions.

Goose stepping is often seen in military parades. Because it is difficult to maintain for long periods of time, troops only begin to goose-step when they approach the reviewing stand and return to a normal march step once they have marched past. Large military parades require several days of practice to ensure that troops can perform the goose step without injuring themselves. Preparatory training includes having soldiers march in small groups, with arms linked to maintain balance.

Honour guards also use the goose step during solemn ceremonies such as at war memorials or military cemeteries. It has been featured in several Olympic opening ceremonies held in countries that use the goose step, as military units pay the same respect to the Olympic flag as they would to their own flag.

In the most rigorous form of the goose step, often found in guard mounting ceremonies, the pace is done at a slow march, and the leg is raised horizontal or nearly horizontal. In a standard goose step, found in large military parades, the pace is done at a quick march and the leg is raised only to knee-height, or even to calf height. The lower goose step improves balance and unit cohesion at the standard march tempo of 120 paces per minute. Flagbearers and honor guards will frequently march with a higher goose step than the mass of troops following.

History

German soldiers of the Weimar Republic's Reichswehr goosestepping in 1932.

Like other march steps, the "Stechschritt" originated in the 18th century as a method to keep troops lined up properly as they advanced towards enemy lines. It was introduced into German military tradition by Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, a Field Marshal whose close attention to training transformed the Prussian infantry into one of the most formidable armed forces in Europe. Other armies adopted different march steps that served the same purpose: in the British Army, soldiers were trained to swing their arms in a wide arc to allow officers to keep the advancing line in order.

By the mid-19th century, the replacement of muskets with rifles greatly increased the accuracy of defensive fire. The practice of marching forward into battle in precise formation became hazardous and obsolete. However, armed forces continued to drill recruits in marching techniques that now focus on team building, military uniformity and ceremonial functions. This was true in Prussia and the later German Empire, where the goose step became emblematic of military discipline and efficiency.[3][4]

Adoption outside Europe

The goose step became widespread in militaries around the world in the 19th and 20th centuries. Military modernization and political influence carried the practice to Asia, Africa, and Latin America from its origins in Prussia and Russia.

The first wave of adoption took place in the late 19th century, as the Prussian army became greatly admired for its complete victory in the Franco-Prussian War. This led many countries to modernize their military forces along the Prussian model. The Chilean Army was the first non-European country to adopt the goose step, importing many Prussian military traditions after the War of the Pacific. The practice of goose stepping then spread widely throughout Latin America thanks to Chilean and Prussian influence.

Goose stepping continued to gain ground even after Germany's defeat in World War I, as many nations still looked to the German model for military organization and training. Notably, the army of Nationalist China was trained by German advisors in the 1920s.

The Russian Empire adopted the goose step during the 1796–1801 reign of Paul I.[5] During the Cold War, the Soviet Union trained the military forces of many of its client states with Soviet military drill and ceremonial practices. This led to the second great wave of adoption, as the goose step was introduced into many Third World countries in Asia and Africa.

Countries that use the goose step

Cuban Honor Guards goose-stepping at the Mausoleum of José Marti, Santiago de Cuba

The goose step is a feature of military ceremonies in dozens of countries, to varying extents. Some countries use the goose step as a general parade step performed by all troops, while others reserve it for honour guards and ceremonial units.

America

The goose step is very popular in Latin America, where it has been adopted by most Spanish-speaking countries. It is not found in countries where English, French, or Portuguese is the official language.

Europe

The National Guards Unit of Bulgaria goosestepping in the Bastille Day Military Parade 2007 in Paris.

Goose-stepping is found primarily in Central and Eastern Europe, areas that were in close proximity to Germany and Russia.

Africa

Most African militaries trace their adoption of the goose step to the Cold War, when the Communist countries supplied them with military aid and training. The German colonies used the goose step until World War I, when they were absorbed by Britain and France, but all of them restored the goose step after independence.

Middle East and Central Asia

Afghan Army soldiers goosestepping during the 2010 Mujahideen Victory Day parade in Kabul, Afghanistan.

East Asia and Southeast Asia

Indonesian Army soldiers formal goosestep marching
Soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China goosestepping, 1943
A Chinese People's Liberation Army honor guard company goosesteps.
The Vietnam People's Navy honor guard company goosestepping at ASEAN defense ministers meeting, 2010

High-stepping as an alternative

Many militaries choose to use a high step in which the legs are lifted high off the ground, but the knee is bent. The high step is commonly found in countries that abandoned the goose step, were under German military influence, or border countries that use the goose step.

Countries that abandoned the goose step:

Countries that were under German military influence:

Countries that border goose-stepping countries:

Abandonment

As a ceremonial march that requires substantial training, the goose-step is often abandoned in times of war as more pressing needs occupy the available training time. Opinion on the goose-step was divided even in the German Wehrmacht in the 1930s.[13] In the later part of World War II, the goose step nearly disappeared because of manpower shortages, accelerated courses in basic training, and a paucity of appropriate occasions.

After the Second World War, West Germany opted for an hybrid march step based on the parade drills of France, the USA and Great Britain. East Germany preserved the goose step and renamed it the "drilling step" (Exerzierschritt) to avoid references to old Prussian and Wehrmacht military traditions. The longstanding German tradition of goose stepping finally ended with German reunification in 1990, as East German forces were absorbed into the Bundeswehr and conformed to West German military customs.

Ethiopia adopted the goose step during the Derg military junta, which espoused socialist ideals and sought Soviet military aid.[14] The practice was dropped after the Derg were overthrown.

Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy, introduced the goose step in 1938 as the Passo Romano ("Roman Step"). The custom was never popular in Italy's armed forces except amongst the Blackshirts.[15] The goose step was dropped after World War II.

Switzerland is a majority German-speaking country that absorbed many German military traditions. After the German defeat in World War II, Switzerland abandoned the goose step in 1946.[16]

During the Rhodesian Bush War of the 1970s, ZIPRA was trained and supplied by the Warsaw Pact, adopting East German uniforms and the goose step.[17][18] Meanwhile, ZANLA was supplied and trained by China in Maoist guerilla tactics. However, Zimbabwe ultimately attained black majority rule thanks to British influence. As a result, the unified Zimbabwean Army maintained a British march step.

Association with dictatorship

Wehrmacht troops parading in Warsaw on 5 October 1939.

The goose step was ridiculed by Allied propaganda in the World Wars as a symbol of blind obedience and senseless attachment to military form. Prior to U.S. entry into World War I, American military observers had remarked favorably on the goose step as a means of building unit cohesion.[3][4] However, its association with Nazi Germany in World War II proved fatal to the goose step's reputation in English-speaking countries. It was condemned in George Orwell's essay The Lion and the Unicorn, and proved an easy target for parody in many editorial cartoons and Hollywood films.

During the Cold War, the Anglo-American hatred of the goose step transferred itself to the Soviet Union. George Orwell commented in "England Your England" (1946) that the goose step was used only in countries where the population was too scared to laugh at their military.

Cultural references

In colloquial English, the phrase goose-stepping has connotations of blind obedience and submission. The term does not carry this negative connotation in countries that actually use the goose step. This can result in mistaken interpretations due to cultural bias:

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-goo3.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=goose+step
  3. 1 2 3 Ruhl, Arthur (1916). Antwerp to Gallipoli: A Year of War on Many Fronts - and Behind Them. Scribner. pp. 115–116. You have heard, let us say, of the German parade step, sometimes laughed at as the "goose step" in England and at home. I was lunching the other day with an American military observer, and he spoke of the parade step and the effect it had on him. "Did you ever see it?" he demanded. "Have you any idea of the moral effect of that step? You see those men marching by, every muscle in their bodies taut and tingling as steel wire, every eye on the Emperor, and when they bring those feet down--bing! bang!-- the physical fitness it stands for, the unity, determination--why, it's the whole German idea--nothing can stop them!"
  4. 1 2 Walcott, Arthur S. (January 1916). "The Japanese Coronation Military Review". The Seventh Regiment Gazette 30 (4): 66. The parade step in Japan is practically the German goose-step, and the arms are brought to horizontal position in front at each swing. This may, to the superficial observer, seem absurd, but it conveys a strong sense of momentum and force, and I fully believe it has a sort of hypnotic effect on the soldiers, making them feel stronger and more consequential. It is by no manner of means to be laughed at, that I am certain of.
  5. ↑ Haythornthwaite, Philip J. (1987). The Russian Army of the Napoleonic Wars: Infantry, 1799-1814. Osprey Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 978-0850457377.
  6. ↑ Honores Militares previos a la misa corpore insepulto por S.A.R. el Infante Don Carlos. Casa Real TV. 20 October 2015.
  7. ↑ SS.AA.RR. los Príncipes de Asturias presiden el desfile militar de la Fiesta Nacional. Casa Real TV. 13 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Wollenberg, Erich. "The Red Army".
  9. ↑ India-China Joint Military Exercise. Ministry of Defence, Government of India. 13 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Live: Republic Day Parade - 26th January 2016 at Rajpath, New Delhi. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. 26 January 2016.
  11. ↑ How to march like the North Korean military, The Guardian, 2010/oct/11
  12. ↑ Military Parade In Tokyo (1930-1939). British Pathé.
  13. ↑ "Doom Of 'Goose-Step' Sought By Nazi Military Officials", The Baltimore Sun, June 6, 1937. p. 19
  14. ↑ Cuban president Fidel Castro and Ethiopian leader Mariam watch military parade. AP Archive.
  15. ↑ Time magazine, Feb. 7, 1938
  16. ↑ "Swiss Army Drops Goosestep," Associated Press, February 28, 1946.
  17. ↑ Petter-Bowyer, Peter J.H. Winds of destruction: the autobiography of a Rhodesian combat pilot. Johannesburg: 30° South Publishers, 2005. p.382.
  18. ↑ Siff, Peter. Cry Zimbabwe: Independence -- Twenty Years on. Galago, 2000. p. 97.
  19. ↑ "Bolshoi in DC -- Nutcracker". Ballet Alert!. Retrieved June 27, 2013.

Further reading

External links

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