Table Of Content

Soldiers’ Lives through History The Nineteenth Century Soldiers’ Lives through History Dennis Showalter, Series Editor The Ancient World Richard A. Gabriel The Middle Ages Clifford J. Rogers The Early Modern World Dennis Showalter and William J. Astore The Nineteenth Century Michael S. Neiberg The Twentieth Century Robert T. Foley and Helen McCartney Soldiers' Lives through History THE NINETEENTH CENTURY * * & Michael S* Neiberg Soldiers’ Lives through History Dennis Showalter, Series Editor GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut * London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Neiberg, Michael S. The nineteenth century / Michael S. Neiberg; Dennis Showalter, Series Editor. p. cm. — (Soldiers lives through history) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-313-33269-X (alk. paper) 1. Soldiers—History—19th century. 2. Sociology, Military—Europe— History—19th century. 3. Military art and science—Europe—History— 19th century. 4. Soldiers—History—20th century. 5. Sociology, Military—Europe—History—20th century. 6. Military art and science— Europe—History—20th century. I. Title. U41.N45 2006 355.0094'09034—dc22 2006029487 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2006 by Michael S. Neiberg All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006029487 ISBN: 0-313-33269-X First published in 2006 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 987654321 CONTENTS Series Foreword v- Acknowledgments ¡x Introduction: From Class to World x{ Timeline xv^ part i: The Age of Men: From the French Revolution to German Unification One: Recruitment, Evasion, and Desertion 3 Two: Training and Leadership 27 Three: Weapons, Uniforms, and Daily Needs 49 Four: "Seeing the Elephant”: Soldiers and the Nineteenth-Century Battlefield 71 part ii: The Age of Machines: From 1871 to 1918 Five: Recruitment, Evasion, and Desertion 97 Six: Training, Leadership, Discipline, and Mutiny 121 vi -¥■ Contents Seven: Weapons, Uniforms, and Daily Needs 145 Eight: Soldiers and the Modern Battlefield 169 Conclusion 191 Bibliography 195 Index 199 if if SERIES FOREWORD The song “Universal Soldier” has been a staple of peace rallies since the 1960s. Writ ten by Buffy Sainte-Marie and performed by Donovan Leitch in 1965, when it became popular, the song indicts the soldier as war s agent, unlike most other songs of its type, which cast the soldier as war s victim: “He knows he shouldn't kill / And he knows he always will...." The killing, of course, goes on apace. Sometimes it will be by neighbors once thought of as friends, as in Rwanda during the 1990s. Sometimes it will be by bureaucratic Uto pians who see the path to the future obstructed by Jews in Hitler s Germany—or by class enemies in Stalin's Russia—or by people who wear glasses in Pol Pot's Cambodia. Sometimes it will be by zealots who expect to gain paradise by dying while killing oth ers, like the Crusaders of the Middle Ages, or today's Jihadis. Historians are currently engaged in a debate on the existence of a “Western way of war,'' which distinguishes the West from the rest of the world, and arguably defines Western civilization as well. Underlying that debate, and structuring it, is the ques tion of whether there is a distinctively Western soldier. Victor Davis Hanson writes eloquently of free men voluntarily committing themselves to conquer or die in order that they might return to the homes they saved. Critics such as John A. Lynn in Battle: A History of Combat and Culture assert the cultural specificity of approaches to war in both Western and global contexts. The ancient Greeks, for example, sought quick decisions because of particular values emphasizing individual worth and independence. Nineteenth-century Europe's concept of the decisive battle was influenced heavily by a Romantic high culture as opposed to specific military factors, such as rapid-firing weapons and mass armies. viii Series Foreword This series, Soldiers Lives through History, is the first to address comprehensively the cutting-edge experiences of the Western soldier from his initial appearance at the beginning of history to his latest avatars in Vietnam and the Middle East» Richard Gabriel's volume on the soldiers of the ancient world notes that the first archaeological evidence of organized war is in present-day Iraq. Thousands of years later the wheel has turned a full circle. The authors of each volume, Richard A. Gabriel; Clifford J. Rogers; Dennis Showalter and William J. Astore; Michael S. Neiberg; and Robert T. Foley and Helen McCartney, address not only "the face of battle," but also its frameworks. The soldiers' civil origins, their emotional and intellectual makeup, their daily lives in peace and war, and above all their reactions to facing death and dealing it-these are the kinds of themes developed in all five volumes of the series. The authors' intentions are to facilitate understanding of one of history's fundamental questions: Why do humans fight wars? That question's continuing relevance is made plain everywhere, in television and in newspapers, on the Internet, in video games, and not least in the cemeteries where bugles still sound over those who gave all in war and to war. Did they do so as heroes, fools, perpetrators—or perhaps a little of all three, structured by individual fac tors defying collective analysis? In this series, Greenwood Press takes a major step in providing substance to the issue of the soldier's identity and the soldier's place in Western civilization. One point that Hanson and his critics share is an agreement that war making in the West has evolved away from any class or caste restrictions on participation. War has been every man's business—and, increasingly, the business of women as well. Most men and women who will read these books have known someone who was a solider, have soldiers in their family trees, and have the potential to be soldiers themselves. In that sense, this series is about all of us: the heirs and successors of the Universal Soldier. Dennis Showalter ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgments are an opportunity to thank the people who helped an author put a work together» I have been fortunate in having a network of friends and colleagues upon whom I can call for such help» I would like to thank the series editor Dennis Showalter for offering me the opportunity to write this book» William J. Astore, who will have his own volume in this series, graciously read the manuscript and, as always, offered numerous helpful comments» Several Air Force Academy colleagues deserve mention. My department chair, Colonel Mark Wells, was an invaluable resource on Napoleonic warfare» Major Michael R, Terry (ret) helped me to shape the airpower portions of this book. Major David "Q" Schlortt and Captain Jonathan Klug, USA, shared their knowledge of small arms with me. Lt. Colonel John Abbatiello and Major Derek Varble served as important sounding boards for ideas. Professor Jeanne Heidler patiently answered my questions on aspects of the American Civil War and let me raid her library whenever I needed to do so. Several colleagues from other institutions helped as well. Donald Mrozek, who came to USAFA as a visiting professor from Kansas State University, helped me to shape the concepts of the conclusion. The University of Calgary's Holger Herwig and the University of Exeter's Jeremy Black took time from their own busy research and teach ing schedules to help me clear up finer points. I also wish to thank Heather Staines at Praeger for her support of this project. All translations are my own, except for the as sistance I received from Richard Lemp on “Quand Madelon," and, of course, I take full responsibility for any errors that remain. Thanks are also due to my wife Barbara, and my daughters Claire and Maya, for forgiving me for taking the time I needed to write this book. My in-laws, the Locldey x Acknowledgments family, have provided a wonderful support system for which I am eternally grateful. I am long overdue in dedicating a book to my parents, Larry and Phyllis Neiberg, and my sister, Elyssa Neiberg. They have been unwavering in their support of all I have tried to do. I hope they will pardon the tardiness of this dedication and accept it with my love and thanks.