Soldiers' Lives through History - The Nineteenth Century

Subjects:

• Military Studies » Military History
• History » European History -- Modern/20th Century

Reviews:

• A specialist in the study of war and society, Neiberg examines how European militaries reflected the development of nationalism during the century, concentrating on the experience of common soldiers. He divides the period between the age of men from the French Revolution to German Unification, and the age of machines from the Franco-Prussian war through The Great War.
  —Reference & Research Book News February 2007
• This work at first glance to be well suited for use as an undergraduate-level military history text book, but first impressions can be deceiving. Not only does this book provide a commendable overview of the less studied background of soldiers, but it also provides a framework for future study for all levels of historians. The notes, bibliography, and introductory discussion of available sources are particularly valuable guides to a reliable selection of mostly secondary works that point out excellent paths for further study....[t]he author has given us a well-written and concise synopsis of the evolution of the soldiers' lives through the nineteenth century.
  —The Journal of Military History 2007

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
  Timeline
  The Age of Men, from the French Revolution to German Unification
  Recruitment, Evasion, and Desertion
  Training and Leadership
  Weapons, Uniforms, and Daily Needs
  "Seeing the Elephant:" Soldiers and the 19th- Century Battlefield
  The Age of Machines, from 1871 to 1918
  Recruitment, Evasion, and Desertion
  Training, Leadership, Discipline, and Mutiny
  Weapons, Uniforms, and Daily Needs
  Soldiers and the Modern Battlefield
  Conclusion
  Bibliography
  Index