If we eventually get a sort of blocking mechanic, perhaps it would be an idea to either add in a chance of a nearby friendly soldier automatically blocking an incoming attack, or at least making it very easy for him to do so (for example: by having a very liberal range at which blocking can be successful).

The automatic version might take a lot more time to implement, but even making it possible to block attacks that aren't directed exactly at you will help.

All of this would be to encourage people to group up to be able to protect each other. Imagine four or five soldiers shoulder to shoulder (or at least close to each other) in a line. If one enemy runs up to them and attempts to stab the guy in the middle, the other men in the line could also block the incoming thrust (especially if they are indeed shoulder to shoulder).

This would actually make it useful for people to stay in formation during a melee instead of just running off and having the entire affair devolve into a series of one-on-ones all over the place.