British Troops Morale On The Western Front Case Study

Plan:
Intro
* British troops morale better than that of the French and the Germans in 1918 on the Western Front * Petain stated that morale had become the essential factors of the struggle * Whilst there is little dispute between historians over the motivational factors there are different areas historians focus on when determining factors that sustain morale. * Gary Sheffield suggests the bond between the officers and the troops as a factor * Rachel Duffett suggests that food was a source of demoralisation but at the same it provided entertainment that motivated the troops. * Geoff Bridger suggests that boredom was the curse of life on Western Front and therefore entertainment would be the source of sustaining morale.
Officer man relations & relations between the troops * * Camaraderie
played a crucial part in maintaining the troop’s morale * Fought for the regiment * Geoff Bridger * Gary Sheffield * Correlli Barnett
* Paternal relationship between the officers and ‘their’ men * Officer training geared towards paternalistic behaviour
Food rations * * The food supplied by the army was poor and decreased morale therefore soldiers set about to find further food to increase morale * Entertainment from securing more food to appease their appetite * Food parcels sent from home lift morale * Rachael Duffett
Entertainment * * Rachael Duffett suggests that it was not just the appeal of extra food that attracted the men to such activities but also to cure their boredom * Poetry * Songs * Gambling * Games * Jokes and humour bottling up emotions and masking them with dark humour

Letters * Sense of normality and continued connection with loved ones at home * Kept the letters safe showed the significance * However, heavily censored possibly frustrate rather than motivate * Also if they were uneducated and illiterate impossible to write and they could end up using cliché slogans the army has used
Rest
* Cafes * Away from the front line * Brothels
Conclusion
The sense of community within the platoons would have spurred the troops on during the war. Their loyalty towards their fellow ‘chums’ and their admiration for their officers would have no doubt given them the motivation to carry on the fight. * Factors that stop the troops feeling alone & isolated would be major factors in maintaining morale on the Western Front * Gary Sheffield * Correlli Barnett
Soldiers would gain morale from activities that gave them something to look forward to. This would be factors that would have driven them to fight on, whether it was letters from their loved ones or for their own personal benefit such as brothels. * Factors that allow the soldiers to temporarily forget about the war are crucial in maintain morale. If they couldn’t escape from the horrors that war brought to them then they would have surely lost morale. * Geoff Bridger * Rachael Duffett

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[ 1 ]. Duffett, Rachel, Beyond the Ration: Sharing and Scrounging on the Western Front, “20th Century British History”, 2011, Vol. 22:4, p. 453