Motivation in war : the experience of common soldiers in old-regime Europe / Ilya Berkovich, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
| Author/creator |
Berkovich, Ilya author. |
| Format | Book and Print |
| Publication Info | Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2017. |
| Copyright Notice | ©2017 |
| Description | xii, 280 pages ; 23 cm |
| Subject(s) |
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| Portion of title | Experience of common soldiers in old-regime Europe |
| Contents | Motivation: new research & contemporary sources -- Reconsidering desertion in old-regime europe -- Discipline and defiance: a reciprocal model -- Why they enlisted? -- A counter-culture of honour -- Networks of loyalty and acceptance -- Concluding remarks. |
| Abstract | "This book fundamentally revises our notion of why soldiers of the eighteenth century enlisted, served and fought. In contrast to traditional views of the brutal conditions supposedly prevailing in old-regime armies, Ilya Berkovich reveals that soldiers did not regard military discipline as illegitimate or unnecessarily cruel, nor did they perceive themselves as submissive military automatons. Instead he shows how these men embraced a unique corporate identity based on military professionalism, forceful masculinity and hostility toward civilians. These values fostered the notion of individual and collective soldierly honour which helped to create the bonding effect which contributed toward greater combat cohesion. Utilising research on military psychology and combat theory, and employing the letters, diaries and memoirs of around 250 private soldiers and non- commissioned officers from over a dozen different European armies, Motivation in War transforms our understanding of life of the common soldier in early modern Europe."--Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Genre/form | History. |
| LCCN | 2016046822 |
| ISBN | 9781107167735 hardcover |
| ISBN | 1107167736 hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781316618103 paperback |
| ISBN | 1316618102 paperback |
Available Items
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions | |
| Joyner | General Stacks | U22.3 .B47 2017 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |