scholarly journals Imago proelii. La cartografia storica della Prima Guerra Mondiale dal Museo Storico della Terza Armata: spigolature per una analisi tipologica e semiologica

2021 ◽  
pp. 59-79
Author(s):  
Elena Dai Prà ◽  
Nicola Gabellieri
Keyword(s):  
First World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Historical Archive ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Trench Warfare ◽  
First World ◽  
Typological Classification

International historiography has extensively assessed the innovations in war practice experienced during the First World War. However, the consequences of trench warfare in military cartographic production have not been fully investigated yet. Following this line, the essay presents the cartographic corpus of the historical archive of the Terza Armata (Third Army); the Terza Armata had a fundamental role in the conflict, settling on the Piave river after Caporetto and leading the final advance towards Istria. The analysis of the collection, which is still unpublished, can open a new front of research aimed at developing categories of semiological analysis and typological classification of military maps as sources produced in fieri, i.e. manuscript IGM maps that were constantly updated during war operations. First, the cartographic corpus is presented; second, a first typological classification and a semiological decoding of maps are proposed, based on the interpretation of the symbols used, of the legend and of the methods of representation. In particular, the contribution focuses on tactical maps, i.e. cartographies that were continuously updated in proelio to document the evolution of war events on the front line.

Russian Romances: Emotionalism and Spirituality in the Writings of “Eastern Front” Nurses, 1914–1918

2009 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-128
Author(s):  
Christine Hallett
Keyword(s):  
First World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Field Hospital ◽  
Eastern Front ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Trench Warfare ◽  
First World ◽  
Moving Front ◽  
Russian Medical

The nursing work of the First World War is usually associated with the trench warfare of the Western Front. Nurses were based within fairly permanent casualty clearing stations and field hospitals, and patients were moved “down the line” to base hospitals, and then to convalescent hospitals “at home.” The nurses and volunteers who worked on the Eastern Front and offered their services to the letuchka or “flying columns” of the Russian medical services had a very different experience. They worked with highly mobile units, following a rapidly moving “front line.” The diaries of three British (one Anglo-Russian) nurses who worked alongside Russian nursing sisterhoods in three different flying columns—Violetta Thurstan (Field Hospital and Flying Column), Florence Farmborough (With the Armies of the Tsar) and Mary Britnieva (One Woman’s Story)—stand as an important corpus of nursing writing. Written in a highly romantic style, they take up similar themes around their work on the Eastern Front as a heroic journey through a dreamlike landscape. Each nurse offers a portrayal of the Russian character as fine and noble. The most important themes deal with the romance of nursing itself, in which nursing work is portrayed as both character-testing and a highly spiritual pursuit.

A New History for a New Channel: The Great War and the Launch of BBC2

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taylor Downing
Keyword(s):  
First World War ◽  
Great War ◽  
World War ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Television History ◽  
The First World War ◽  
The Great War ◽  
First World ◽  
Intense Debate ◽  
Do So

This article considers the making of the BBC2 series, The Great War, and examines issues around the treatment and presentation of the First World War on television, the reception of the series in 1964 and its impact on the making of television history over the last fifty years. The Great War combined archive film with interviews from front-line soldiers, nurses and war workers, giving a totally new feel to the depiction of history on television. Many aspects of The Great War were controversial and raised intense debate at the time and have continued to do so ever since.

scholarly journals The impact of political unrest in Ireland on Irish soldiers in the British army, 1914–18: a re-evaluation

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (161) ◽  
pp. 50-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Destenay
Keyword(s):  
First World War ◽  
Home Rule ◽  
World War ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Political Event ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Political Unrest ◽  
Psychological Pressure ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First World

AbstractIn order better to understand the impact of political unrest in Ireland on Irish troops fighting in the First World War, it is necessary to acknowledge that the role of the 1916 Rising has been significantly overestimated, while the influence of the 1914 home rule crisis and the repercussions of the anti-conscription movement have been underestimated. The 1914 home rule crisis significantly impacted on the Germans’ view of the Irish and conditioned the treatment of Irish P.O.W.s from December 1914 onwards. In addition, the post-1916 Rising executions and the conscription crisis had a severe impact on Irish front-line units, while also sapping the morale of other British combatants. The 1916 Rising might have been dismissed as a military operation conceived by a handful of republicans, with little support from the wider population, but the conscription crisis brought about widespread defiance towards British rule throughout the whole of nationalist Ireland. In line with British public opinion, British front-line officers and men strongly resented Ireland’s refusal to support the war effort at such a crucial moment. The consequence was the widespread targeting and stigmatisation of their Irish comrades-in-arms. Some British officers and men resorted to a form of psychological pressure, aimed at the public shaming of Irish troops. This article draws on new primary sources available at The National Archives in London, Dublin City Archives and University of Leeds Library to argue that the 1916 Rising was not the only political event in Ireland to have repercussions for Irish battalions fighting in the First World War.

Strachan and the Great War: A Lifelong Quest

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 590-604
Author(s):  
Holger H. Herwig
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
First World War ◽  
Great War ◽  
World War ◽  
Total War ◽  
The First World War ◽  
The University ◽  
Trench Warfare ◽  
The Great War ◽  
First World

Sir Hew Strachan of the University of St Andrews is the doyen of World War I studies. He approached his work from a serious multinational, multilingual, and comparative perspective. He was never afraid to challenge well-established interpretations and to add fresh analyses of concepts ranging from total war to trench warfare. He was always keen to include diplomacy, politics, imperialism, industrialization, and the sinews of war in his writings. From ‘origins’ to ‘consequences’, Strachan led his readers through the challenging shoals of Great War studies. One can hardly wait for the second instalment of his opus, The First World War: No Quarter.

Cinema on the Front LineCinema on the Front Line offers the first comprehensive history and analysis of how the medium of cinema intersected with the lives of British soldiers during the First World War. Documenting the use of cinema from domestic recruitment drives to make-shift theatrical venues established on the front line, and then in convalescent hospitals and camps, the book provides evidence of the previously unacknowledged importance of cinema as recreational support and entertainment for soldiers living through the trauma of the first world war. Chris Grosvenor makes extensive use of war diaries and other military records to foreground the voices and perspectives of British soldiers themselves.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Grosvenor
Keyword(s):  
First World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Front Line ◽  
The First World War ◽  
First World ◽  
Comprehensive History

Cinema on the Front Line offers the first comprehensive history and analysis of how the medium of cinema intersected with the lives of British soldiers during the First World War. Documenting the use of cinema from domestic recruitment drives to make-shift theatrical venues established on the front line, and then in convalescent hospitals and camps, the book provides evidence of the previously unacknowledged importance of cinema as recreational support and entertainment for soldiers living through the trauma of the first world war. Chris Grosvenor makes extensive use of war diaries and other military records to foreground the voices and perspectives of British soldiers themselves.

The Great War 1914–1918 and Manipulation of Humans’ Consciousness in the Circumstances of the New World-System Birth: the Experience for XXI century. Consciousness in the Circumstances of the New World-System Birth: the Experience for XXI century

2020 ◽  
pp. 91-100
Author(s):  
S. Troyan ◽  
N. Nechaieva-Yuriichuk ◽  
L. Alexiyevets
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
World System ◽  
First World War ◽  
Great War ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
World War ◽  
Front Line ◽  
The First World War ◽  
The Great War ◽  
First World

The Great War of 1914-1918 went down in history as the first armed clash of two warring coalitions of States on a global scale. The centenary of the end of the First World War of 1914-1918 became a significant information occasion for a new unbiased view in the context of a retrospective analysis of the problems of war and peace, war and politics, war and diplomacy, war and society, war and culture and the like. During the Great War at the beginning of the XX century the governments of countries – participants of the war used different ways for manipulation of human consciousness like fiction, poetry, postcards etc. The main aim of that was the achievement of people mobilization for war. The reaction of people of European states for the war was ambiguous, but a high percentage of population was in favor of the war. Even a famous French writer A. France (who was 70 years old) tried to become a volunteer to the war. So, what is possible to tell about younger men? But the reality of the First World War changed the vision of people toward it. They saw that the war is not a festival. It needs patience, first of all. New strategies, new armament demonstrated that the individual person had a small influence on result. The enemy was often invisible. All that affected the identification of soldiers and contributed the development of front-line brotherhood. Disappointment became the special feature of those who went through the war. They returned to the unstable world where it was difficult to find appropriate place for former soldiers. And again it was used by radical elements like A. Hitler in Germany. The author’s points out that it is necessary to understand the processes that took place at the beginning of the XX century to not repeat them at the beginning of the XXI century. Understanding the events of the world war 1914-1918, their impact on the human mind and psyche are a necessary component for understanding the processes that are currently taking place in our country. The state and government circles should take into account the experience of the past and develop an adequate strategy to overcome the destructive effects of war on the human consciousness, the integration of front-line soldiers into peaceful life and the protection of democratic ideals and freedoms.

NOSTALGIA AS AN EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCE IN THE GREAT WAR

2011 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 421-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL ROPER
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
First World War ◽  
World War ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Married Men ◽  
Post War ◽  
Trench Warfare ◽  
The Great War ◽  
First World

ABSTRACTThis article is concerned with the longing for home of British soldiers during the First World War. What, it asks, can such longings reveal about the psychological impact of trench warfare? Historians have differed in the significance that they ascribe to domestic attachments. Some argue that a ‘cultural chasm’ developed between the fronts, producing anger and disillusionment among soldiers which would surface fully fledged after the war, while others assert the continuing vitality of the links with home. Evidence for both these perceptions can be found in the letters written by British soldiers to their families. The functions of nostalgia could range from reassurance or momentary relief from boredom and impersonal army routines, through flight from intolerable anxiety, to survival through the power of love. Although animated by solitude, nostalgia provided a means of communication with loved ones. Its emotional tones varied according to the soldier's age and the nature of his attachments to home. The young soldier's reminiscences of home conveyed, not just the comforting past, but the hateful present. Nostalgia, being rooted in early memories of care, could be a potent vehicle for arousing the anxieties of loved ones, especially mothers. Among married men, the desire to return to wives and children could provide a powerful motivation for survival. This analysis suggests a different and more varied account of the genesis of the ‘disillusionment story’ of the war than is put forward in some recent studies. Among men of the ‘war generation’ particularly, disillusionment was not only a post-war construction, an artefact of cultural memory, but a powerful legacy of the emotional experience of the war itself.

scholarly journals The purgatorial shadows of war: Accounting, blame and shell shock pensions, 1914–1923

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Miley ◽  
Andrew Read
Keyword(s):  
Medical Condition ◽  
First World War ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
World War ◽  
Shell Shock ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Army Service ◽  
First World

This research analyses the role of accounting in British disablement pensions awarded to men who sustained shell shock during their Army service in the First World War. In this context, “accounting” refers to the classification of medical conditions when determining pension eligibility and awards. Pension classifications were prejudiced towards men with physical disabilities and against men with shell shock. Accounting classification’s ability to make a medical condition invisible is central to this research. The invisibility of shell shock as a medical condition in the pension classification system led to financial discrimination against men with shell shock. The immorality of this discrimination was hidden by a system of accounting classification that distanced decision-makers from the ramifications of their decisions. In addition, the Minister of Pensions adopted blame avoidance techniques to protect his Ministry and the British government from criticism occasioned by the discriminatory treatment of men with shell shock.

Getting Cold Feet in the First World War: Leaky Boots, Trench Foot and Vernacular Medicine Among British Soldiers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgia McWhinney
Keyword(s):  
Medical Practitioner ◽  
First World War ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Medical Conditions ◽  
World War ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Trench Warfare ◽  
The Great War ◽  
First World

Summary During the First World War, trench warfare spurred the onset of various medical conditions. Yet, when soldiers fell ill, it was not immediately recognised that some maladies stemmed from contamination—soiling, infestation and poisons—in their uniforms. With a new focus on preventive medicine, doctors and medical scientists investigated numerous medical conditions that spread through contaminated uniforms. It is well known that these medical professionals developed a body of knowledge on the prevention of uniform contamination. It is far less known that soldiers also developed a set of medical ideas. Different ‘systems of medical ideas’ developed simultaneously during the Great War, and this is demonstrated through the study of trench foot. This article employs soldiers’ voices not only to highlight their reliance on vernacular medicine in the trenches but also to reformulate the boundaries of medical practice and ask who can be considered a medical practitioner.

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