Between Mutiny and Obedience: The Case of the French Fifth Infantry Division During World War I - Couverture rigide

Smith, Leonard V.

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0691033048 ISBN 13 : 9780691033044

Editeur : Princeton University Press, 1994

Synopsis

Literary and historical conventions have long painted the experience of soldiers during World War I as simple victimization. This study, however, argues that a complex dialogue of resistance and negotiation existed between French soldiers and their own commanders. In this case study of wartime military culture, the author analyzes the experience of the French Fifth Infantry Division in both pitched battle and trench warfare. The Division established a distinguished fighting record from 1914 to 1916, yet proved in 1917 the most mutinous division in the entire French Army, only to regain its elite reputation in 1918. Drawing on sources from ordinary soldiers to well-known Commanders such as General Charles Mangin, the author explains how the mutinies of 1917 became an explicit manifestation of an implicit struggle that took place within the French Army over the whole course of the war. Smith pays particular attention to the pivotal role of non-commissioned and junior officers, who both exercised command authority and shared the physical perils of men in the lower ranks. He shows that "soldiers", broadly defined, learned to determine rules of how they would and would not fight the war, and imposed these rules on the command structure itself. By altering the parameters of command authority in accordance with their own perceived interests, soldiers and commanders negotiated a behavioural space between mutiny and obedience.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Literary and historical conventions have long painted the experience of soldiers during World War I as simple victimization. Leonard Smith, however, argues that a complex dialogue of resistance and negotiation existed between French soldiers and their own commanders. In this case study of wartime military culture, Smith analyzes the experience of the French Fifth Infantry Division in both pitched battle and trench warfare. The division established a distinguished fighting record from 1914 to 1916, yet proved in 1917 the most mutinous division in the entire French army, only to regain its elite reputation in 1918. Drawing on sources from ordinary soldiers to well-known commanders such as General Charles Mangin, the author explains how the mutinies of 1917 became an explicit manifestation of an implicit struggle that took place within the French army over the whole course of the war. Smith pays particular attention to the pivotal role of noncommissioned and junior officers, who both exercised command authority and shared the physical perils of men in the lower ranks. He shows that "soldiers", broadly defined, learned to determine rules of how they would and would not fight the war, and imposed these rules on the command structure itself. By altering the parameters of command authority in accordance with their own perceived interests, soldiers and commanders negotiated a behavioral space between mutiny and obedience. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton Univer

Biographie de l'auteur

Leonard V. Smith is Associate Professor of Modern European History at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, USA.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Princeton University Press
• Date d'édition: 1994
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0691033048
• ISBN 13: 9780691033044
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 296
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Princeton University Press; https://press.princeton.edu/books; ; 7th Floor, New South Building; PRINCETON; NJ; 8544; Etats-Unis
• Personne responsable: non disponible