Leadership in the Trenches: Officer-Man Relations, Morale and Discipline in the British Army in the Era of the First World War

by G. Sheffield

Overview

Why, despite the appalling conditions in the trenches of the Western Front, was the British army almost untouched by major mutiny during the First World War? Drawing upon an extensive range of sources, including much previously unpublished archival material, G. D. Sheffield seeks to answer this question by examining a crucial but previously neglected factor in the maintenance of the British army's morale in the First World War: the relationship between the regimental officer and the ordinary soldier.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349396962
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	11/02/2000
Series:	Studies in Military and Strategic History
Edition description:	1st ed. 2000
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

G. D. Sheffield is with the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Peter Simkins Preface Abbreviations Introduction Officer-man Relations and Discipline in the Regular Army, 1902-14 The Prewar Army: The Auxiliary Forces and Debates on Discipline The British Officer Corps, 1914-1918 British Military Leadership 1914-18: Influences and Training Officer-man Relations: the Disciplinary and Social Context Officer-man Relations: The Officer's Perspective Officer-man Relations: The Other Rank's Perspective Officer-man Relations, Morale and Discipline Comparisons Conclusion Appendix 1: The Morale of the British Army on the Western Front, 1914-1918 Appendix 2: British Army Conscripts Appendix 3: Discipline and Continuity in Small Units Appendix 4: Published Guides to Officership Sources and Select Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

"...Sheffield's study is impressive for its scholarship, and always presented with verve and interest" - Albion, Tim Travers

"Anyone interested in any aspect of military history can read this work with profit, any specialist in the First World War must study it." - Journal of Military History

From the Publisher