Enduring the Great War

Combat, Morale and Collapse in the German and British Armies, 1914-1918

Inbunden, Engelska, 2008

AvAlexander Watson,University of Cambridge) Watson, Alexander (Research Fellow

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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.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2008-04-17
Mått152 x 229 x 21 mm
Vikt620 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
SerieCambridge Military Histories
Antal sidor306
FörlagCambridge University Press
ISBN9780521881012
UtmärkelserIn manuscript form, Institute of Contemporary History and Wiener Library's Fraenkel Prize 2006

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Introduction; 1. War of endurance; 2. Why men fought: combat motivation in the trenches; 3. Self-deception and survival: mental coping strategies; 4. Junior leadership: command, cohesion and combat motivation; 5. Morale and military endurance; 6. The German collapse in 1918: strike, mutiny or an ordered surrender?; Conclusion; Appendix 1. Walter Ludwig's study of Württemberg 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.

Review of the hardback: 'Alexander Watson's Enduring the Great War is certainly a must-read for all students of World War I, as well as those who write about it. Ably written and nicely illustrated, this study boasts an impressive depth of research in fifteen archives, repositories, and collections in Britain and Germany. … [It] belongs on the shelf of any scholar who aspires to be current on the literature of twentieth-century Europe.' History: Reviews of New Books