Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. xii, 280 pages; 23 cm

Summary

1. "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.

Alternative title

1. Experience of common soldiers in old-regime Europe

Subject

1. Sociology, Military
2. Military morale
3. Soldiers
4. History, Military
5. 1700-1799
6. Sociology, Military > Europe > History > 18th century
7. Europe
8. History, Military > Europe > 18th century
9. Military morale > Europe > History > 18th century
10. Soldiers > Europe > History > 18th century
11. History

Genre/Form

1. History.

Contents

1. 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.

Call number

1. JFE 17-5773

Bibliography (note)

1. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Author

1. Berkovich, Ilya, author.

Title

1. Motivation in war : the experience of common soldiers in old-regime Europe / Ilya Berkovich, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Publisher

1. Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Copyright date

1. ©2017

Type of content

1. text

Type of medium

1. unmediated

Type of carrier

1. volume

Bibliography

1. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Chronological term

1. 1700-1799

LCCN

1. 2016046822

ISBN

1. 9781107167735 hardcover
2. 1107167736 hardcover
3. 9781316618103 paperback
4. 1316618102 paperback

Research call number

1. JFE 17-5773