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E-book
Author Berkovich, Ilya, author.

Title Motivation in war : the experience of common soldiers in old-regime Europe / Ilya Berkovich
Published Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2017
©2017

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Description 1 online resource
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
Summary "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 Includes bibliographical references (pages 232-268) and index
Subject Military morale -- Europe -- History -- 18th century
Soldiers -- Europe -- History -- 18th century
Sociology, Military -- Europe -- History -- 18th century
Military morale
Sociology, Military
Soldiers
Alltag
Erfahrung
Identität
Männlichkeit
Militarismus
Soldat
Europe
Europa
Genre/Form Military history
History
Military history.
History.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781316711835
1316711838
Other Titles Experience of common soldiers in old-regime Europe