Morale Of Troops Research Articles

War-Tested Resilience in Ukraine: Surviving Year One

Abstract The war in Ukraine, a NATO-Russian proxy war, continues to influence the global security architecture, but the immediate consequences are felt especially by those in the conflict area. The local population decided, through the actions carried out from the very first moment of the invasion, to oppose the Russian occupation and was categorized as an extension of the armed forces and a central pillar of the Ukrainian resistance. The paper analyzes the pressures to which the civilians in Ukraine were subjected during the first year of the conflict, such as: the bombing of residential areas, energy blackmail, torture, killings, rapes, robberies or the deportation of children from the occupied areas. After a year of war, the resilience of the population continues to fuel the morale of frontline troops, and a future peace agreement cannot be concluded without holding those guilty of war crimes or crimes against humanity accountable.

Imperial Russia as a Failed State: The Role of Orthodox Church

The purpose of this article is to assess the role of the Orthodox Church during the prelude to the February Revolution. Recent historiography on the Great War in Western scholarship has foregrounded the role of the Churches, Protestant and Catholic, in sustaining popular support for a war that entailed unprecedented death, suffering, and hardship. That new research, seeking to explain the “endurance problem” (Durchhaltsproblem), point to the Churches in the West as the pillar of the existing regimes right to the very end of the war and as an effective instrument in mobilizing support and patriotism to defend each country’s “civilization”. Hence, no less important than brilliant military plans and effective governance, the Churches provided critical support and raised morale of both troops and civilians. Such was not the case in Russia. With few resources at its disposal, the Orthodox Church provided initial but ephemeral support. As is shown here, the Church was not only unable but unwilling to embrace the ancient regime: against a background of general war weariness, the Church elites, parish clergy, and ordinary parishioners were increasingly determined to pursue their own interests, not those of the state. By February 1917 the Church did not condemn but welcomed the overthrow of the monarchy that ultimately led to the Bolshevik seizure of power and years of brutal civil war. The monograph by I. V. Potkina “On the eve of the catastrophe. The state and the economy in Russia in 1914–1917” has many positive elements, but it is important — given recent historiography, which foregrounds the role of Churches and religion in sustaining society’s willingness to endure the Great War — to pay attention to the role of the Russian Orthodox Church.

State of Military Discipline in Units and on Ships of the Baltic Fleet Submarine Brigade During the 1944 Campaign

The article deals with the issue of military discipline on the ships and in the units of the Submarine Brigade of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet in the conditions of the 1944 campaign. On the basis of the number of sources reviewed the strategic situation in the theater of operations in the period, factors of formation of the moral and psychological state of the personnel subject to the disciplinary practices of KBF. Question of military discipline is one of the most important in determining the level of morale of troops, which in turn plays a crucial role in the readiness of combatants to participate in the fighting.

Nigerian Soldiers On The War Against Boko Haram

Abstract This study explores two main questions: What are the experiences of soldiers who have fought against Boko Haram? What can these experiences teach us about the seeming incapacity of the Nigerian military to defeat Boko Haram? Six major themes are explored. These are perspectives on the mission, morale of troops, military equipment and weapons, suicide and murder–suicide among troops, intelligence leaks, and relationships of troops with the Civilian Joint Task Force, an extralegal militia. Soldiers’ discourses on the mission against Boko Haram reveal three overlapping dimensions. First, there are suspicions about the sponsors and political godfathers of Boko Haram. This suggests a belief that Boko Haram is a conspiracy involving the government and top brass of the military. Second, the patronage system involved in deployment into key positions on the war front. Third, participants believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged because it is a moneymaking machinery for the political and military elites. The evidence suggests that availability of weapons varies by unit and the agency of commanders—their networks and influence within the military and willingness to disobey orders from superiors if their demands are not met. This situation produces radically variegated wartime experiences among troops. Non-commissioned soldiers believe senior commissioned officers perpetrate intelligence leaks and are responsible for the protracted war. Senior Army Generals interviewed in this study support this perspective. The study has major policy implications for successful operations against Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin area and the broader war against terrorism in the Sahel.

РОЗВИТОК І ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ ЗАПАЛЮВАЛЬНОЇ ЗБРОЇ У ПЕРШІЙ СВІТОВІЙ ВІЙНІ

The purpose of the study – generalization of world experience in the invention of incendiary weapons during World War I, the analysis of tactics for its employment in defensive and offensive operations. The methodology was based on the general scientific principles of historicism, objectivity, systemics, determinism and the dialectical unity of the historical and the logical methods. They are implemented through the application of general scientific methods of a scientific research: generalization, analysis and synthesis, logical, chronological, periodization, as well as specific methods of historical research, in particular: historical and genetic, historical and comparative ones. The combination of these methods of a scientific research in a comprehensive analysis of sources and literature has triggered achievement of the designated objective. The Scientific Novelty. On account of a significant source base and modern methodological approaches, the world experience due to the invention of the incendiary weapons during World War I has been generalized and systematized. The tendencies which emerged in the course of evolution of diverse incendiary weapons, in particular land, aviation and sea types have been revealed. The data related to the place of the incendiary weapons among other types of weapons, their tactical and technical specifications and methods of employment in defensive and offensive operations, including Ukraine, have been clarified and supplemented. The Conclusions. During World War I, under the influence of science and the conditions of war, new promising incendiaries (jet flamethrowers based on land and sea, incendiary air bombs, shells, hand grenades, subversive incendiary devices, etc.), as well as incendiary substances and mixtures were rapidly to be created. Under modern conditions their unique combat properties have not lost their significance. Under conditions of a maneuverable and “trench warfare” flamethrowers, as auxiliary weapons of close combat, proved efficiency against tanks and various defensive structures, which the infantry could not destroy or suppress with artillery, machine gun or rifle fire. They turned out to be efficient under specific circumstances, in particular during the offensive or defensive combat in the urban area, especially in producing powerful fires and smoke screens. In addition to the destruction and fires caused, the incendiary weapons crucially impacted on the morale of troops and civilians, causing panic and fear.The experience gained by mankind in development of the incendiary weapons and their use during World War I has not only scientific but also practical significance from the perspective of enhancing the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Its consideration will contribute to the further development of incendiary means, as well as tactics for employment in diverse combat environment. Key words: World War I, incendiary weapons, flamethrower, incendiary substance, flame tank, incendiary bombs, incendiary means for subversive activities

THE EFFECT OF THE RELIGIOUS FACTOR ON THE MILITARY MEN VALUE BASED ORIENTATION FORMING

This article reveals the problem of the role of the religious factor in the formation of the value orientations of the military personnel of the Russian army from its inception to the present state. In the article, the author reveals the significance of the Church in the formation of the value orientations of military personnel. The problem of religious situation in foreign armies is considered. The article presents data from sociological studies confirming the increase in the number of religious servicemen in the modern Armed Forces. The concept of “religious factor” is revealed. The author suggests considering the influence of the religious factor on the formation of value orientations through the functions of religion. The article provides examples of the influence of religion on the formation of value orientations of military personnel from the time of the Baptism of Russia to the present. Examples of writers of Russian classical literature about the influence of religion on the morale of troops are given. Examples of religious participation in major battles and wars of the past years are shown. The significance of the religious factor in uniting the people and the army is shown. The work of officials of the Ministry of defense of the Russian Federation in strengthening values among military personnel in modern conditions is demonstrated. The role of the Minister of defense of the Russian Federation, General of the army S.K. Shoigu in strengthening the faith of the Russian army is outlined. Issues related to the construction of the Main Temple of the Armed Forces and its impact on the public masses were discussed. In this study, the author aims to show the significant role of religion in the formation of value orientations in Russian military personnel. The analysis shows an increasing role of religion in the minds of military personnel in modern conditions.

AUDIÊNCIA DE CUSTÓDIA

A audiência de custódia passou a ser implementada em todo o Brasil após sua regulamentação através da resolução nº 213/2015 do Conselho Nacional de Justiça. Em Santa Catarina, esse procedimento foi implantando em setembro de 2015 em Florianópolis, estendendo-se posteriormente às principais comarcas do Estado. Desde então, a audiência de custódia tem sido alvo de reclamações por parte dos policiais militares, haja vista que, na prática, vêm sendo postos em liberdade diversos criminosos reincidentes e o aumento significativo de instauração de procedimento investigativo para apurar a conduta policial militar. A discussão acerca do tema é de suma importância no ambiente acadêmico e seu aprimoramento é essencial. Buscou-se com o presente trabalho fundamentar o uso da força e sua origem histórica, assim como, identificar a origem da audiência de custódia no Brasil e seu objetivo dentro da Guerra Cultural idealizada por Antônio Gramsci e Hebert Marcuse. Aplicou-se um questionário aos Policias Militares do 1ºBPM – Itajaí, identificando os reflexos da audiência de custódia no moral de tropa e na predisposição profissional ao uso da força em ocorrência policial militar.

Fear in Hebrew

This article examines Hebrew translations of World War II–era psychology handbooks as means of transmission for scientific knowledge and as a mechanism for the cross-cultural spread of behavioral modernity. While drawing a broad, vivid picture of transnational military mobilities postwar, the article centers on the story of one such handbook: John Dollard’s Fear in Battle, a 1943 self-help guide on combat behavior. Produced in the context of efforts to manage the morale of American troops, Fear in Battle then traveled overseas along with volunteers, mercenaries, and special advisors from the former Allied powers, and played a role in decolonization and nation-building in the Middle East. The article reconstructs each phase of the text’s geopolitical and institutional itinerary: the experimental work on aversive conditioning that led to its writing and the larger neobehaviorist agenda it formed a part of; its function within the United States Army and subsequent transit to Palestine; and its translation into two new versions that circulated among Jewish militia members during the 1948 Palestine War. Analyzing in detail changes in language, style and format, the article thus aims to unpack the process by which behavioral science had been vernacularized and its mode of explanation went global.

Discipline and Morale of the African, British and Indian Army units in Burma and India during World War II: July 1943 to August 1945

AbstractTowards the end of World War II, the morale of British units stationed in Burma and India was on a downslide. In contrast, the morale of Indian units was quite high. In fact, after the 1943 Arakan Campaign, the morale of Indian units rose slowly but steadily. The morale and discipline of Indian troops are also compared and contrasted with another colonial army: the African troops. By making a comparative study of the Commonwealth troops deployed in Burma and India, this paper attempts to show how and why the contours of morale and discipline changed among the various groups of troops at different times. The study of morale and discipline of the troops deployed in these two regions represents two extreme conditions: while Burma remained a war front, India did not experience any actual warfare except for some skirmishes with Indus tribes at the northwest frontier. In general, bad discipline is partly responsible for bad morale and vice versa, which adversely affects the fighting power of armies. This turns to the issue of ‘why do men fight’? The ‘will to war’ is directly proportional to good discipline and strong morale amongst troops. This paper will look for the causative factors shaping discipline and morale of both metropolitan and colonial soldiers, based mainly on military intelligence reports on morale. We will see that rather than grand ideas like nationalism and anti-fascism, mundane factors like the supply of good rations, access to sex and service conditions, influence the morale and discipline of soldiers, and hence their combat-worthiness.

A control theory model of deployed soldiers' morale

The actions of our enemies in the global war on terrorism indicated one of their principle targets is our morale and fighting spirit. This study provides a supposition which can be implemented to model the morale of troops in combat. By investigating the troop's morale and combat spirit, the impact to their combat effectiveness can be better investigated. An operational description of average morale is provided. Previous models of morale are then reviewed. A theoretical modelling framework of combat spirit is then introduced. The research concludes with an application of the modelling framework to a notional example based on US deployments into Iraq. A notional excursion based on the impact of multiple deployments is also presented.

A Lovely War

SUMMARY This article explores the Canadian military entertainment units during World War II (WWII), specifically those formed by the Navy, Army and Air Force from talent found amongst their own personnel. These entertainment units toured extensively in Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe with the goal of increasing the morale of combat troops while encouraging the enlistment of Canada's domestic populations in the war effort generally and the armed forces specifically. By focusing on male to female cross-dressing in the performances of these entertainment units and their pre-WWII antecedents, it will become clear that the nature and importance of the representation of femininity within the virtually all-male milieu that existed near the battlefront changed over time in response to the demands of the audiences. Until the second half of WWII, soldier audiences were generally unwilling to form any ideological links between cross-dressing and homosexuality. Female impersonators were the key cast members in troop shows during the Great War, but eventually fell out of favor in the last years of WWII after women were recruited in large numbers into the Canadian military and thus its entertainment infrastructure. With women then on the military stage, men who persisted in female impersonation were decreasingly popular with audiences, ultimately under growing suspicion of being homosexuals and gradually removed from the productions.

The Political Education of Soldiers.

What is the role of political education in maintaining the morale of troops? At what point does education and political training become unacceptable in a democracy? What are the identifiable differences between educating soldiers about government organizations and ideology, and mere indoctrination? Nine internationally respected experts -- historians, political scientists, social psychologists and sociologists -- report on political education in the military of specific countries, and consider the crucial larger issues of effective group cohesion and personal belief. '...this is a pioneering work. Similar studies are limited to single countries. It will be very useful as an introduction to research methodology on the armed forces. The essays of Janowitz and Wesbrook are excellent...Recommended for college libraries.' -- Choice, July/August 1983

Baron Dominique Jean Larrey (1766-1842): Father of modern military surgery, innovater, humanist

There is no question that Baron Larrey was the first modern military surgeon. The high morale of Napolean's troops, which contributed to the success of his armies, was in a major way dependent on Larrey's superb medical care of the wounded. It was Napoleon's brilliance to recognize this and to give Larrey free rein. Beginning in the Civil War, when ambulances first brought in the wounded to receive surgical care at the Battle of Antietam (1862), down to World War II and the Vietnam War, his principles were increasingly followed by the U.S. Army Medical Corps. In Vietnam a true "flying ambulance," the medical helicopter, was obviously the final perfection of Larrey's ambulance volante. Perhaps his dedicated humanism in the care of the wounded soldier was his best characteristic and the one that should be followed most carefully today. Even in this era of great ethical concerns for the sick and wounded, Larrey's principles set the highest of standards for all.

The Morale of Troops on Occupation Duty

The Morale of Troops on Occupation Duty