Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Morale crisis and recovery; 2. Technology, firepower and morale; 3. Quality of manpower and morale; 4. Environment, provisions and morale; 5. Welfare, education and morale; 6. Leadership, command and morale; 7. Training and morale; 8. In search of a theory to explain combat morale in the desert; Conclusion.

Promotional Information

A challenging analysis of the important yet controversial North African campaign, examined through the lens of morale.

About the Author

Jonathan Fennell is Lecturer in Defence Studies with King's College London, at the Airmen's Command Squadron, Royal Air Force, Halton.

Reviews

'[This] book is a tremendous work of scholarship. It is an archivally driven study that impresses the reader on nearly every page with the breadth and depth of its analysis. In many respects it sets a new standard for the study of the British and Commonwealth armies in the Second World War and the study of morale more generally in the twentieth century.' James Kitchen, English Historical Review

'[A] path-breaking study … Through heroic labour in the archives in the UK and overseas, Fennell has constructed a richly detailed picture … This is an important book by a very promising historian.' Gary Sheffield, BBC History Magazine

'A groundbreaking study … This is a major contribution to the historiography of the war in the desert.' Book Review Supplement, National Army Museum

'… a model of primary investigation into a subject extensively wrapped in supposition and myth … The book makes a significant contribution not only to the history of the desert war but also to the methodology of military morale.' Dan Todman, Twentieth-Century British History

'A fine piece of scholarship … The success of Fennell's work rests on … the scholarly effort and rigour poured into it through extensive archival investigations carried out in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.' Craig Stockings, Journal of Military History

'[Fennell] marshals a considerable amount of evidence … [and] has made a major contribution to the debate over the desert war in this valuable study of the significance of morale in warfare.' Martin Kitchen, Cercles: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone

'… Fennell has made a decided contribution to the literature of military history.' Stuart McClung, H-War (h-net.org/~war/)