"Dave Eadsforth" wrote in message
...
In article , ArtKramr
writes


That was a distinct improvement on the WWI practice of the British army
of allowing kids in their mid-teens to lie about their age and enter the
war; and then shoot them when they (unsurprisingly) cracked. It is said
that the army simply could not afford to acknowledge the fact of shell-
shock - although the army of 1939-45 seemed to have managed things a bit
better and only used the firing squad when it seemed to be absolutely
necessary to stop things unravelling. The execution of Eddie Slovik in
January 1945 owed more to a view of practical necessities during the
Battle of the Bulge than to the 'shock' of finding a deserter; there
were an incredible number - Hitler executed 50,000 men for cowardice; a
price in manpower paid for not correctly choosing between the men who
should be holding muskets; and those who should be away from the front
line.

I guess we just cannot expect sympathy and an objective view of the
human condition to reign supreme during wartime. As ever; management is
at fault, but believes it cannot afford to admit it.


I'm not sure I entirely agree.

As you have mentioned the RAF and British Army at least attempted
to address the issue in a more realistic and enlightened way. I recall
my father speaking about a number of men who simply cracked under
the pressure of constant fear in the line. It wasnt just a matter of courage
as at least one of them had been awarded the military medal.

One case he never forgot was when they were pinned down for
2 days by German mortars and machine guns just outside
Caen in 1944 when his mate who had been in the regiment since
1938 and served throughout France in 1940 , North Africa and
Italy had a breakdown. They had to physically restrain him or he'd
have bolted from the trench which would have been suicidal.

He rejoined the regiment in early 1945 after treatment and nobody
thought the worse of him, he was just another casualty of
the war. A more well known example is the late comedian
Spike Milligan who broke down in Italy in 1944 after
being shelled on a mountain side in Italy while acting
as a forward artillery observer.

I'm sure the US forces were equally enlightened by the way its just
that my only direct knowledge is related to the British armed forces.
I do recall the furore that resulted after Patton slapped a man
suffering from combat fatigue.

In WW1 that man would have been shot.

Keith