UID:
almafu_9959230699202883
Format:
1 online resource (xv, 288 pages) :
,
digital, PDF file(s).
ISBN:
1-139-69852-4
,
1-139-86152-2
,
1-139-86064-X
,
1-139-86850-0
,
1-139-87063-7
,
1-139-86492-0
,
1-139-19560-3
,
1-139-86278-2
Series Statement:
Cambridge military histories
Content:
This book is an innovative comparative history of how German and British soldiers endured the horror of the First World War. Unlike existing literature, which emphasises the strength of societies or military institutions, this study argues that at the heart of armies' robustness lay natural human resilience. Drawing widely on contemporary letters and diaries of British and German soldiers, psychiatric reports and official documentation, and interpreting these sources with modern psychological research, this unique account provides fresh insights into the soldiers' fears, motivations and coping mechanisms. It explains why the British outlasted their opponents by examining and comparing the motives for fighting, the effectiveness with which armies and societies supported men and the combatants' morale throughout the conflict on both sides. Finally it challenges the consensus on the war's end, arguing that not a 'covert strike' but rather an 'ordered surrender' led by junior officers brought about Germany's defeat in 1918.
Note:
Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).
,
Cover; Enduring the Great War; Title; Copyright; Contents; Plates; Figures; Tables; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Introduction; 1 War of endurance; Deadlock; Loss of control; Resilience; 2 Why men fought: combat motivation in the trenches; Enlistment; Military and combat dynamics; Disillusionment?; 3 Self-deception and survival: mental coping strategies; Adaptation; Optimism, religion and superstition; Positive illusions; 4 Junior leadership: command, cohesion and combat motivation; Function and influence; Privilege and paternalism; Deficiencies and disadvantages; Performance
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5 Morale and military enduranceMorale in the British Expeditionary Force, 1914-17; Morale in the German Field Army in the west, 1914-17; The Kaiserschlacht, March-July 1918; 6 The German collapse in 1918: strike, mutiny or an ordered surrender?; Morale and the Materialschlacht - 1918; Indiscipline?; Surrender at the front: an 'ordered surrender'?; Conclusion; Appendix 1 Walter Ludwig's study of Wurttemberg soldiers' coping strategies; Appendix 2 Psychiatric casualties in the German and British armies; Appendix 3 Military ranks and status in the German and British armies
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Glossary of German termsBibliography; MANUSCRIPT AND ARCHIVAL SOURCES; PRINTED PRIMARY SOURCES; PRINTED SECONDARY WORKS; UNPUBLISHED THESES; Index
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English
Additional Edition:
ISBN 0-521-12308-9
Additional Edition:
ISBN 0-521-88101-3
Language:
English
Keywords:
Electronic books
URL:
Volltext
(lizenzpflichtig)
URL:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139195607
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