The Will to Fight: Combat, Morale, and the Experience of National Army Soldiers during the Greek Civil War, 1946–1949

Abstract

Why do soldiers fight? How do they deal with the exigencies of warfare? What methods are used by military establishments to control their rank and file and motivate them? This article addresses these questions by analysing the experience of national army soldiers during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). The research on the Greek National Army has been dominated by top-down studies that focus on issues such as tactics, logistics and the role of senior military leaders. Accordingly, the perspective and experiences of ordinary soldiers have been largely overlooked. As a result we know very little about the factors that led soldiers to take an active part in combat, their understanding of the war and how they tried to cope with the exigencies of warfare. The article fills this gap by shifting the focus to the rank and file of the Greek National Army. It explores their everyday lives, discusses the methods used by the army to shore up morale and motivate the rank and file and analyse the soldiers’ responses to these efforts. In doing so, it contributes new insights into the experiences of soldiers and the conduct of the Civil War.