Enduring the Great War: Combat, Morale and Collapse in the German and British Armies, 1914-1918

306 Pages·2008·4.561 MB·English

by  Alexander Watson

Enduring the Great War
AninnovativecomparativehistoryofhowGermanandBritishsoldiers
enduredthehorroroftheFirstWorldWar.Unlikeexistingliterature,
whichemphasisesthestrengthofsocietiesormilitaryinstitutions,this
studyarguesthatattheheartofarmies’robustnesslaynaturalhuman
resilience.DrawingwidelyoncontemporarylettersanddiariesofBritish
and German soldiers, psychiatric reports and official documentation,
and interpreting these sources with modern psychological research,
thisuniqueaccountprovidesnewinsightsintothesoldiers’fears,moti-
vationsandcopingmechanisms.ItexplainswhytheBritishoutlasted
theiropponentsbyexaminingandcomparingthemotivesforfighting,
the effectiveness with which armies and societies supported men and
thecombatants’moralethroughouttheconflictonbothsides.Finallyit
challenges the current consensus on the war’s end, arguing that not
a‘covertstrike’butratheran‘orderedsurrender’ledbyjuniorofficers
broughtaboutGermany’sdefeatin1918.
ALEXANDER WATSON is a Research Fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge.
In manuscript form Enduring the Great War was joint-winner of the
Institute of Contemporary History and Wiener Library’s Fraenkel
Prizefor2006.

Enduring the Great War
Combat, Morale and Collapse in the German
and British Armies, 1914–1918
Alexander Watson
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
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Contents
Listof plates vi
Listof figures viii
Listof tables ix
Acknowledgements x
Listof abbreviations xiii
Map:TheWestern Front1914(cid:2)1918 xvi
Introduction 1
1 War of endurance 11
2 Why men fought: combat motivation in thetrenches 44
3 Self-deception and survival: mental coping strategies 85
4 Junior leadership: command, cohesion andcombat
motivation 108
5 Morale and military endurance 140
6 The German collapse in1918:strike, mutiny or
an ordered surrender? 184
Conclusion 232
Appendix 1:Walter Ludwig’s study of Wu¨rttemberg
soldiers’ copingstrategies 236
Appendix 2:Psychiatric casualties inthe German
andBritish armies 238
Appendix 3:Military ranks andstatus inthe
GermanandBritish armies 241
Glossaryof Germanterms 244
Bibliography 246
Index 283
v
Plates
1.The battlefield: British trenches from theair,
September 1915.Archive of ModernConflict, A 2883c page13
2.The cost: German corpses after theFrench Artois
offensive, September 1915.Author(cid:2)sCollection 18
3.The power ofartillery: shell exploding in no-man(cid:2)s-land,
December 1916.Imperial WarMuseum, Q 1688 25
4.Aconstrictive environment: thetrenches from the ground,
January 1917.Imperial War Museum, Q4654 30
5.Volunteering: female coercion. From thesketches of
John Patrick MacKay. CostelloeCollection 55
6.Comradeship: German troopsat Lens,winter 1917–18.
Archive of ModernConflict, A4682 68
7.Disillusionment? AGerman protest –(cid:3)wedidn(cid:2)t
wantthewar(cid:2).Author(cid:2)s Collection 73
8.Faith(1): (cid:3)Pals(cid:2)from the diary ofArthur Wrench.
Heldin theImperial War Museum,85/51/1 78
9.Faith(2): padreblessing German troops, October1917.
Archive of ModernConflict, Vol.298 D 94
10.Officers(1): Britishofficers on theSomme, 1July 1916.
Imperial War Museum, Q66 112
11.Officers(2): German officers atVerdun, March 1916.
Archive ofModern Conflict,A 2883a 121
vi
Listofplates vii
12.Hunger: German military kitchen inFrance.
Archive of ModernConflict, A5048 127
13.Material might (1):British 6-inch howitzerand crew,
1July 1916.Imperial War Museum, Q 2 152
14.Human decline: (cid:3)The Guard once andnow(cid:2),1917 and1914.
Archive of ModernConflict, A4682 159
15.Preparation: inspection at aGerman recruit training
depot behind thelines. Archive of ModernConflict, A 4743 162
16.Material might (2):British tank. Archive of ModernConflict,
A 4579 166
17.Prisoners (1):British soldiers captured intheGerman
spring offensive, 1918.Archive of ModernConflict, A4360 177
18.Material might (3):British shells being unloaded,
23 March 1918.Imperial War Museum, Q 8610 180
19.Prisoners (2):captured German soldiers,
28 September 1918.Imperial WarMuseum, Q 9342 218
20.Prisoners (3):captured German officers,
10 August 1918.Imperial War Museum, CO 3001 225
Figures
1. Voluntary enlistments into theBritish army,
August 1914–December 1915 page50
2. Voluntary enlistments into theWu¨rttemberg army,
August 1914–December 1916 52
3. Ratio of BEFpersonnel captured and missing tothose
killed, August 1914–June 1918 144
4. Ratio of Germans captured andmissing tothose killed
(British sector), February 1915–October 1918 151
5. German prisoners captured weekly in theBritish sector
of theWestern Front, 31 July1917–11 November 1918 216
viii