I managed to listen to the latest Military History Plus podcast yesterday whilst I was flocking some of my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War collection.
This episode was entitled EXPLORING COMBAT MOTIVATION and featured an interview with Dr Tom Thorpe about his research and interest into combat motivation and resilience. The discussion covered what is meant by the term combat motivation and what factors are most important in ensuring that soldiers will fight. A range of factors were covered, including small group cohesion, ideology, and coercion.
I enjoyed this discussion, especially as it included the topic of what constitutes morale, something about which my views have changed over the years.
I highly recommend the Military History Plus podcasts. I urge my regular blog readers not to be put off by some of the negative reviews that seem to have been written by reviewers who didn’t quite understand the intended scope of the podcasts.
The Military History Plus podcasts take a deep dive into the fascinating world of conflict and its impact on various aspects of society. From the grand sweep of history to the intricate details of individual battles, the joint podcasters, Professor Gary Sheffield and Dr Spencer Jones will explore them all, including delving into the ways in which war has shaped art, literature, and even hobbies like wargaming and football.
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I gave this episode a listen yesterday and found it quite interesting. I was especially into the idea that sick call increases as morale drops. That's an interesting factor to work into a campaign game. As a unit takes losses they must check for increased non-combat losses between battles.
ReplyDeleteI think you've worked little events like that into your snakes & ladders campaign chart and it wouldn't be too difficult to use with my event card system.
The whole subject gave me a lot to consider for future games. Thanks for sharing that. FYI, this podcast is available on Google podcasts for your other Android users out there.
Mr. Pavone,
DeleteI’m very pleased to read that you enjoyed the podcast and that it has given you something to think about.
One tends to forget how much illness can impact upon an army’s performance. I once remember reading that Henry V’s army before Agincourt was so weakened by dysentery that all they wanted to do was to get to the coast and go back to England. Had the French not forced them to fight and let them retreat, there would have been no battle. As it was, the French confronted Henry’s retreating army who - despite being almost universally unwell - stood and fought where they were because they had no option but todo so … with disastrous results for the French.
All the best,
Bob
PS. Thanks for the information about the availability of the podcasts on Google podcasts. I’m sure other regular blog readers will find it useful.