Frontline : combat and cohesion in the twenty-first century / edited by Anthony King.

Format:

Book

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Unit cohesion (Military science).

Combat.

Sociology, Military.

Infantry drill and tactics--History--21st century.

Infantry drill and tactics.

Infantry--History--21st century.

Infantry.

Military history, Modern--21st century.

Military history, Modern.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xvi, 359 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Combat and cohesion in the twenty-first century

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2015.

Summary:

Since 2001, Western forces have been involved in a series of major military campaigns, primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan but also in Africa. For all the sophistication of the contemporary Western way of war with its digital technologies and precision weapons, infantry soldier have been frequently involved in close combat of an intensity which is comparable to the wars of the twentieth century. At the small unit level, combat has been as brutal as ever. Yet, in many cases, they have prevailed even when they were surprised or disadvantaged. How and why have professional Western soldiers been willing and able to fight effectively together during these campaigns? Through a series of rich historical and ethnographic case-studies, this collection seeks to analyse the experience of combat soldiers on operations in the last decade. The book explores the motivation, training, and culture of the professional Western soldier, highlighting differences and commonalities between the troops of different nations. This book is a project of the Changing Character of War programme at the University of Oxford. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Concepts

1 On Cohesion / Anthony King King, Anthony 3

2 Subaltern Soldiers: Eurocentricism and the Nation-State in the Combat Motivation Debates / Tarak Barkawi Barkawi, Tarak 24

3 Killing and Cohesion in Close Combat: Contexts and Concepts from the First World War to the Present / Rob Johnson Johnson, Rob 46

Part II Current Debates

4 From a Sociology of Units to a Sociology of Combat Formations: Militaries and Cohesion in Urban Combat / Eyal Ben-Ari Ben-Ari, Eyal 73

5 Discipline and Punish: Encouraging Combat Performance in the Citizen and Professional Army / Anthony King King, Anthony 93

Part III Historical Experience

6 Combat and Cohesion in the Early Twentieth Century: Strengthening the Inverted Pyramid / Antulio J. Echevarria II Echevarria, Antulio J. II 119

7 Re-evaluating Combat Cohesion: The British Second Army in the Northwest Europe Campaign of the Second World War / Jonathan Fennell Fennell, Jonathan 134

Part IV Case Studies

8 New Model Diggers: Australian Identity, Motivation, and Cohesion in Afghanistan / Garth Pratten Pratten, Garth 167

9 A Profession of Love: Cohesion in a British Platoon in Afghanistan / Patrick Bury Bury, Patrick, Anthony King King, Anthony 200

10 Hierarchy, Status, and Combat Motivation in the French Foreign Legion / Mikaela Sundberg Sundberg, Mikaela 216

11 Cohesion and Misconduct: The French Army and the Mahe Affair / Pascal Vennesson Vennesson, Pascal 234

12 Cohesion, Political Motivation, and Military Performance in the Italian Alpini / Chiara Ruffa Ruffa, Chiara 250

Part V The Home Front

13 Of FOBs and Families / Leonard Wong Wong, Leonard, Stephen Gerras Gerras, Stephen 269

14 Beyond the Battlefield / Christopher Dandeker Dandeker, Christopher, Simon Wessely Wessely, Simon 291

15 The Future of Cohesion / Anthony King King, Anthony 309.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780198719663

0198719663

OCLC:

907661203