During the early 1900s, soldiers who fought did not have any say in their actions. They were told what to do, where to go, and who to take up arms against. These actions led to multiple complications and controversies among different World War 1 historians. Soldiers were taught to comply with all orders of their commander and disobeying such commands was rewarded by harsh punishments. Over time however, the soldiers began to see the situation from a different vantage point, As a result, they began to formulate escape plans, and they began to reject orders more frequently, and began to voice disapproval. This behavior infuriated their commanders, so as time progressed the soldiers attitudes changed. To say a soldier’s life during World War
A big problem in American army was that soldiers was taking care for their own interests and not for the interest their fellow soldiers. An example of this was when Martin badly injured his foot and when he went to see surgeon he was told to wait for the surgeon's game was not to be interrupted by “minor affairs”.Martin also explained his encounter with a “wounded captain” who “begged his sergeant to help him off the field”and how the captain was disregarded until Martin stepped in to help. This situation shows that instead than risking their lives for each other ,they prefer to allow their fellow colleges to die than spend extra energy in saving them. A reason for this probably was the motive for entering the army. Most of the soldiers enlisted in the army because of the money. Problems in the relations had not only soldier to soldier but also soldier to officers. Martin stated this in the comment which an officer gave him about sick soldier:”If he dies the country will be rid of someone who can do it no good.”This comment showed us that the officer did not have any respect for the sick soldier.
During the years 1800 to 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte was preparing a large army. His goal was to spread the idea of the French Revolution and ultimately expanded France's bountiful pride and glory. The way this was going to happen, according to Napoleon, was through expanding French territory. In order to do this he would need a large army, so that involved enlisting men by conscription. The army was filled with French men, as well as men from Germany and other surrounding areas. The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier looks first hand look at the life of an average soldier at the time, Jakob Walter. He was a nineteen year old german boy enlisted by conscription and assigned to regiment Romig, later known as Franquemont Regiment. In somewhat of
Refusing to follow an order or not following it precisely indicates a soldier's unwillingness to compromise for the general good of the military and presents one's actions to be more self-centered and selfishly motivated than should be for a successful soldier. An individual who does not understand the gravity of orders in the military is one who can quickly become a hindrance to others' ability to execute tasks smoothly and quickly regardless of any persona factors and emotional sate during any given day. This is of course
Following orders is one of the most important things you do being in the Army, or any branch in the armed services, enlisted or reserve. Obedience is what enables the military to operate in an organized and effective manner which is clearly very important during challenging military situations. While many individuals can question the notion of obedience in daily their life, this luxury is often not available to us in the military, where the grand goals and aims require smooth internal functioning and coordination throughout the chain of command. Indeed, many of the standards that put up with and endure would be frowned upon outside the military, yet they are essential to our work's success within. For example, punishment is never really deemed to be a positive occurrence in an average person’s life, whereas in the military, it is meant to strengthen one's determination and instill discipline. It also enables a person to learn and fully take on the importance of following orders in. Not following orders is not an optional choice that we in the armed forces can make upon signing that contract. In fact, the act of the act of disobedience is considered to be an infraction and a person who placed himself in such a situation can find himself facing negative counseling statements, or smoking’s. Thus, respect and obedience is of the utmost significance in the military as it helps
Imagine being in an authoritative position in a war. Sounds cool right? Now imagine if your subordinates didn’t follow the orders you put out to them. You just imagined chaos right? In my opinion there is no limit to the chaos that could happen if just one soldier didn’t follow the orders given to him/her. It doesn’t matter what the rank of the soldier is. Following orders in the armed
The story of African American soldiers in the American Civil War is often a forgotten one. The history of the war is usually presented as white Northerners versus white Southerners as blacks waited on the sidelines as their fate was determined. This portrayal is highly inaccurate considering over 180,000 African American troops fought in the war and eventually obtained their own regiments under the United States Colored Troops as a part of the Union Army. Composed on May, 22, 1863, the USCT strengthened the Union Army’s numbers and contributed significantly to battles such as the Skirmish at Island Mound and Fort Wagner. Even with their contributions, African American soldiers are often overlooked in favor of other narratives. However, black historian George Washington Williams was one of the first to write the history of black troops today. His belief was that the history of black troops and their valor were a major contribution to American Civil War history. While controversial at the time, this view is not uncommon today and historians have continued to study the significance of black troops. Gregory J. W. Urwin and other historians recently wrote a critique on the treatment of black soldiers, acknowledging atrocities against them were committed often. Urwin tries to provide a honest history to the brutality of the black solider.
A prominent theme in A Long Way Gone is about the loss of innocence from the involvement in the war. A Long Way Gone is the memoir of a young boy, Ishmael Beah, wanders in Sierra Leone who struggles for survival. Hoping to survive, he ended up raiding villages from the rebels and killing everyone. One theme in A long Way Gone is that war give innocent people the lust for revenge, destroys childhood and war became part of their daily life.
The United States during the Civil war was a divided nation and filled with gruesome fighting. It hit all parts of the country and brought the fighting right to the back yards of families. While the men of the nation fought the combat war, woman fought different wars in the shadows. Fighting split millions of families up, and it affected woman in multiple ways. Challenges differed for woman from North and South. While some woman’s homes were turned into hospitals, other woman had to learn how to tend to their plantations while their husbands were away fighting. Many women disguised themselves as men to fight in the war because in the 1860s, a woman fighting in the war was not allowed yet. Numerous enslaved
A “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemmingway is an intriguing story about a man by the name of Krebs who enlists in the Marine Corps during his attendance at a Methodist college in Kansas. After serving for two years at the Rhine, he returned with the second division in 1919 but Krebs wasn’t in the same state of mind as before he left. The reason why Krebs was so distraught when he returned home was not because of the fact that no one wanted to listen to his war stories but because him and other soldiers were without any real benefits such as medical, education, extra remuneration, or anything to help him get back into the real world. This reason stated is the reason that Krebs and soldiers alike came home from war with nothing to show for
“War at its basic level has always been about soldiers. Nations rose and fell on the strength of their armies and the men who filled the ranks.” This is a very powerful quote, especially for the yet young country of the United States, for it gives credit where credit is truly due: to the men who carried out the orders from their superiors, gave their blood, sweat and tears, and in millions of cases their lives while fighting for ideals that they believed their country or government was founded upon, and to ensure the continuation of these ideals. Up until the end of the 20th Century, they did so in the worst of conditions, and this includes not only the battle scene, but also every day life. In
The Civil War shook the United States in 1861, forcing families and soldiers, both in the North and South, to reevaluate what it meant to live and die under less-than-ideal circumstances. In Drew Gilpin Faust’s essay, titled The Civil War Soldier and the Art of Dying, Faust goes through every change the Civil War made in the standard perception of death and mourning at the time and the lasting implications death in the Civil War would have for years to come. In every sense, the changes Faust outlines were put in place to cater towards the They of Heideggerian thought and ultimately did not help Civil War soldiers and families think authentically about death, but rather shaped social norms that still support the They and prohibit Dasein from authentically anticipating death as a possibility.
Many former soldiers of World War 1 pronounce the experience as hell on earth. The atmosphere was a constant smell of burning flesh, dead animals, and booming artillery. Animal and human waste mixed with acrid smell of the high explosive artillery shells. Many soldiers descried the smoke as getting closer to the smoke of death. The trenches were so uncomfortable and usually partially flooded with mud and water. The
We Were Soldiers Once and Young is a history book written by LT. GEN. Harold G. Moore (RET.) and Joseph L. Galloway. The history book is based on the Vietnam War, which took place in 1965. The Battle of Ia Drang was said that it was the battle that changed the war in Vietnam. The book is a tribute to all the soldiers in the war and for their great braveness, love, and care for one another. It was a bloody war, but very inspiring to read about the courageous soldiers who put their lives on the line for the United States of America.
The beginning of Charlie Wilcox’s story begins during the age of World War I, where he is shipped off to England, and straight into a war zone only at the age of fourteen. This would have made him known as a ‘boy soldier’.
The First World War witnessed an appalling number of casualties. Due partly to this fact, some historians, developed the perception that commanders on both sides dependence on only one disastrous approach to breaking the stalemate. These historians attributed the loss of life to the reliance on soldiers charging across no-man’s land only to be mowed down by enemy machineguns. The accuracy of this, however, is fallacious since a variety of tactics existed on both sides. The main reason for battlefield success and eventual victory came from the transformation of battlefield tactics; nevertheless, moral played a major role by greatly affecting the development of new tactics and the final outcome of the war.