Combat Morale Podcast

Canon Professor Michael Snape, the Michael Ramsey Professor of Anglican Studies at Durham University, talks about religion, God and the British soldier in the Great War. Drawing from a treasure trove of newly unearthed materials from military, ecclesiastical, and civilian archives, Michael paints a vivid portrait of the experiences of Britain’s citizen armies and the vital role played by the various religious organisations that ministered to them. Michael reveals the often-underestimated significance of religion in British society during the war years. This enlightening conversation underscores how faith held a prominent…

Dr. David Stahel from the University of New South Wales, Canberra, discusses his latest book, “German Panzer Generals,” and explores the motivations and morale of these soldiers who played pivotal roles in Germany’s military effort on the Eastern Front. While the significance of figures like Heinz Guderian is widely acknowledged, this discussion focuses on the lesser-known panzer commanders serving on the Eastern Front, offering a perspective derived from their unpublished wartime letters to their wives. The discussion delves into their private fears, public pressures, and the complex moral dilemmas that…

Prof Ed Coss talks about the motivation of the British soldier fighting in the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars, 1808-1815. Ed is Emeritus Professor of History at the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and was named the Army’s Civilian Educator of the Year in 2010. He is also the author of All for the King’s Shilling: The British Soldier under Wellington, 1808-1814.

Tobias Kelly, Professor of Political and Legal Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, talks about the motivations of British conscientious objectors (COs) in the Second World War (SWW). He explores their reasons for not fighting and is based on his recent book Battles of Conscience: British Pacifists in the Second World War.

Author and historian Jane Gulliford Lowes talks about her interest and research into ‘lack of moral fibre’ in RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War.

Scholar, soldier, anthropologist, author and academic Eyal Ben-Ari, talks about morale and motivation in mission formations. Mission formations may be defined as ad hoc groups of individuals drawn from different occupational and skill backgrounds drawn together for a bespoke task focused mission. Mission formations may function in military organisations, business environments and international humanitarian relief missions. Eyal discusses the nature of motivation in these groups and how they function.

Prof. Peter Stanley outlines the military ‘crime’ that members of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) committed as part of their war service in the Middle East, Britain and Flanders during the Great War.

Historian, author and academic Professor Tim Lockley, talks about the morale and motivation of enslaved African men who became British soldiers when they were conscripted into the British West India Regiment in the Caribbean between the 1790s and 1815. Tim is a scholar in the School of Comparative American Studies at the University of Warwick.

Historian and podcaster Dr Zack White talks about his research into the role of discipline and court martials in the British Army during the period of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Psychologist, historian, soldier, author and academic Professor Reuven Gal talks about his pioneering book the Portrait of The Israeli Soldier that was published in the 1980s. This examined the influences on the Israeli soldier, such as motivation and camaraderie, leadership and heroism, and their impact on the IDF’s military performance.