The Truth About Killing (C4): IF, during the course of battle, you came face-to-face with the enemy, would you shoot him with the loaded gun in your hand?

For soldiers, at least, you'd expect the answer to be "yes". After all, that's their job, what they're trained to do. But a survey carried out by two American psychiatrists in 1947 in the aftermath of the Second World War produced surprising results.

It showed that less than a quarter of the men had been willing to fire weapons when confronted by the enemy, and a mere two per cent were willing to kill.

As presenter Grub Neal put it: "Only a tiny handful of soldiers relished the necessary but dirty business of killing."

The figures sound absurd. Neal's investigation into what makes men tick, or more precisely, what makes men kill seemed to back up this result. Experts, psychologists and military men agreed that in the chaos and confusion of battle, less than 25 per cent of soldiers are actually shooting their weapons.

The rest aren't running away and hiding. They're not cowards. They're doing other things on the battlefield, just not pulling the trigger. They might engage in "posturing dynamics", which means looking frightening in a bid to scare off the enemy. Brightly-coloured uniforms, big hats and lots of gung-ho shouting are all employed to terrify the foe into fleeing.

Neal employed various tests to see how men react under fire. As someone whose favourite toy was Action Man and comic book hero Captain Hurricane, who consigned hundreds of "square heads" to kingdom come, he assumed, like millions of other men, that he could kill for his country.

He joined IT consultants and a barrister to play at being a weekend warrior, fighting ex-paras and commandos in simulated battles. Panic and fear set in during a night exercise, although everyone pulled the trigger in the mock battles. As the stress of the situation took hold, Neal admitted that he was "not just losing the will to kill but the will to live".

In a real war, military experts declared it would be possible to go through without shooting and not be spotted by colleagues too busy trying to stay alive themselves.

Neal needed to be scared out of his wits to see how he reacted. When he was attacked, his mind went blank and he failed to carry out the defensive moves he'd been taught.

Perhaps men don't want to fire because of a biological instinct that says to them "thou shalt not kill". The idea of taking life is against human nature. But where does that leave the two per cent who apparently do all the killing on the battlefield? A handful might be psychopaths, having a complete lack of emotional empathy with other people, which allows them to kill.

Neal was relieved to find he was not among them. He was tested for psycho tendencies and found to lack the killer instinct.

Philharmonia of the Nations, Middlesbrough Town Hall

AN audience comprising an overwhelming majority of elderly people was treated to a display of the infectious spirit of youth when the Philharmonia of the Nations appeared at Middlesbrough Town Hall.

The multicultural orchestra, which brings together highly talented young musicians from over 40 countries and five continents, injected an evening's programme with edge-of-seat energy and vitality.

Showing how the common language of music can transcend cultural boundaries, the orchestra began with Shostakovich's Festival Orchestra. Every twist and turn brimmed with exuberance as febrile strings and woodwinds romped home to a fiery climax.

The American pianist Derek Han then took on Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2. One of the most popular works in the piano concerto repertoire, it is also one of the most demanding. But Han tackled the task with gusto, his touch at turns feather light and emphatic, his runs a feverish flurry of sound. It seemed at times more wanted to come out of the work, but overall it was executed with technical perfection and flair. The highlight was the performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. The shimmering stringwork, swooning woodwinds, brash percussion, brass fanfares and rich harp painted a fantasy wonderland.

The orchestra, headed by conductor Justus Frantz, has discovered many stars, including virtuoso violinist Maxim Vengerov. If there is anyone following hot on his heels it has to be the orchestra's present lead violin Catalin Desaga. The Romanian's performance was pivotal to the work and his sterling solos enthralled, with the climactic gossamer note bringing the house down. The only disconcerting thing to note was the pitiful number of young people in the audience.

Gavin Engelbrecht

Published: 09/03/2004