"Motivation in War: The Experience of Common ..." Topic

….Soldiers in Old-Regime Europe.

"A view prevails amongst military historians that the soldiers raised and trained on behalf of the monarchs of old-regime Europe compare unfavourably with those who fought for the French Republic. The soldiers who made up the armies of Republican France are said to be enthusiastic combatants committed to a revolutionary ideology while the typical old-regime soldier, by contrast, is thought to be apolitical and motivated primarily by fear of the brutal disciplinary system which was wielded over him. Although the notion of the willing and highly-motivated French revolutionary soldier, has been interrogated and somewhat revised by the likes of Alan Forrest (1), the ‘negative' portrayal of the men who served in the armies of 18th-century European monarchies continues to hold sway. In Motivation in War, Ilya Berkovich disputes the claim that old-regime common soldiers were brutalized automatons and he sets out to re-evaluate and significantly downgrade the importance of coercion within the ‘motivational system' which led ordinary men to enlist, to serve, and to fight. For Berkovich, old-regime common soldiers should be viewed primarily as willing participants who saw themselves as engaged in a distinct and honourable activity…"

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Amicalement
Armand

Bought and read the book. A fasinating work of research and a real in-depth look into a subject with many misconceptions.

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand