Between Mutiny and Obedience: The Case of the French Fifth Infantry Division during World War I

Description

Literary and historical conventions have long painted the experience of soldiers during World War I as simple victimization. Leonard Smith, however, argues that a complex dialogue of resistance and negotiation existed between French soldiers and their own commanders. In this case study of wartime military culture, Smith analyzes the experience of t

"This is a serious book by a hard-working young historian on an important subject. It contains much good material, and it is particularly good at separating the combat experience into its components, distinguishing between the formal offensive, ... routine trench warfare, ... and its small events, such as patrols and raids, of which he provides some highly original narratives. It is excellent on the aetiology of the mutinies and often fascinating on the forms they took. The accounts of the exchanges between soldiers and officers ring with authenticity."--Times Literary Supplement