the rest of this surprising info is at the link, and i suspect you may be surprised, as i was;

Throughout history, when it came down to international struggle, opposing sides would always seek for means to gain an advantage over the enemy. On top of improving combat readiness and tactics, there has been a countless amount of instances when states tried to drug their troops for them to prevail on the field of battle. Throughout centuries, soldiers were sent in battle intoxicated by all sorts of herbs and more conventional mind-altering substances, with various degrees of success.

How can one forget a small unnamed Breton village of indomitable Gauls, that managed to survive in the world dominated by the Roman empire due to a secret magical position that made its inhabitants undefeatable. Of course, we’re speaking about the famous French comic-book series Asterix. The main theme of this franchise was a secret poison brewed by an old druid that was making Asterix’s Gauls both invincible and irresistible.

It’s hardly a secret that any work of fiction usually has some background story to fuel the imagination of a creative mind. And Asterix is no exception, as opium derived from poppies was a very important substance to ancient Greeks. In one of the first and most influential poems in the history of mankind – Homer’s Odyssey we find customs of the past, like soldiers drinking wine mixed with opium after battles to calm their nerves and help themselves forget the horrors of war.

Further still, the mighty vikings that were raiding England’s coastal regions for centuries were known for using so-called magic mushrooms to enhance their performance in battle, the Amanita muscaria that is more commonly known as fly amanita. A famed Norwegian botanist Frederik Schübeler suggested that the vikings drank wine made from the mushrooms.

It’s curious that Napoleon’s legions that were believed to be unbeatable for the longest time were know for their heavy hashish use and alcohol abuse.

During the WWII Japan’s kamikaze pilots that were feared by the allied navy used methamphetamin that was first synthesized in 1893 by a Japanese scientist from the Ephedra sinica plant. The Nazis were also known for their heavy amphetamine abuse. However, they were not alone.

American troops would use amphetamines both during the Second World War and Vietnam catastrophy. According to the testimony of one of the survivors of these conflicts, drugs were distributed among the troops like candies. They were used to ensure that soldiers didn’t get combat fatigue, to make them feel wired, alert, invulnerable, and incredibly aggressive. They also needed less food and less sleep while they were high on amphetamines.
https://journal-neo.org/2018/07/27/nuking-sounds-fun-when-youre-high-as-a-kite/

https://journal-neo.org/2018/07/27/nuking-sounds-fun-when-youre-high-as-a-kite/