BOOK
REVIEW
Introduction
1.
Personalities always matters
in different fields but in this book it is conveyed to readers how
personalities affect in war results and how they influence their soldiers. The
professional excellence no doubt plays a vital role in the war but it is always
the man behind the gun who actually is held capable of utilizing it. It is
always through the courageous and dedicated personality of soldiers which can
alter the fate of battle field and earn honour and dignity for the nation.
2.
About the
Book
a.
Title of the Book : The
power of Personality in War
b.
Author : Major
General Baron Von Freytag
Loringhovan
c.
Year of Publication : 1955
d.
Published by : Army Education Press
e.
Pages : 129
f.
Quality of Paper : Good
3.
About the
Author. Major
General Baron Von Freytag is a renowned Scholar of strategic studies. The
author’s dynamic personality and self experience of wars make his research and
written work more practical, realistic and interesting.
4.
Summary of
the Book
a.
Courage. To live in this “element of
danger and daring”, courage is the prime requisite of a warrior, According to
Clauswitz, courage in the face of personal danger, is of two kinds. “First it
may be an indifference to danger resulting from the nature of the individual from
a disregard for life from habit. In any of these cases it may be regarded as a
permanent characteristic. The second type of courage results from positive
motives, such as ambition, patriotism, or inspiration. In these latter cases,
courage is not a characteristic, but a feeling or an emotion.
b.
Integrity
and Honour. The
character of army may at times compel a commander to forego bold operations and
restrict himself to an active defence. The character of people is tested in a
long defensive war just as much as in an offensive one initiative, which
promotes success in tactical operations.
c.
Self
Motivation. The
influence of great military personalities appears most clearly and most
strongly when some great idea motivates the actions of these great leaders.
Frederick lavished on his army, he still took it for granted that the private
soldier could not be imbrued with enthusiasm for a cause. He said, “All that
can be done is to develop in him esprit d corps, that is, to make him believe
that his regiment is the best in the world, and since his officers must
sometimes lead him through the greatest of dangers, he must face his officers
more than the enemy”. In the king’s mind only the officer was the depositary of
the spirit of the army.
d.
Self
Discipline. Discipline
acquired during peace and the power of personal example are both used to gain
great sacrifices. General Kuropatkin, the Russian commander in chief in Eastern
Asia, who was formerly chief of staff to Skobeleff, tells that a disciplined
army knows the pulse of the battle accurately when rapid and when slow.
e.
The Degree
of mastery over the troops. The degree of mastery, which a leader has over his troops, depends
upon the extent of the physical exhaustion and nervous strain to which they
have been subjected. While the duties of leaders of all grades today are more
difficult than they were in the Napoleonic times, the influence which an
infantry officer can exercise upon a skirmish time through his personal
influence and example is less immediate and more limited. The mark of the
genuine hero is found on almost every battlefield hero. The general’s strength
of character, his decisiveness, his steadfastness, his boldness, may even be
more severely tried than in former times.
f.
Physical
Endurance. For
trained soldiers of the need for bodily endurance to withstand the stress of
weather, hunger, thrust and all the other hardships of war-summed up in a world
of the need for that stoicism which comes, not suddenly, but gradually from
military training and which, after all, is simply the ingrained spirit of
honour and duty.
g.
Ideological
Spirit. The warlike spirit fades even sooner
when there is no inspiring object of fight for and so help soldiers over the
hardships of the moment. The body grows stronger and better able to bear
hardship, but the heart and spirit become worn down, and begin to long for an
end to their troubles. When unfit for further marching or for battle. Instinct
of Self-preservation Produces Astonishing Feats of Endurance. Soldiers take
pride in the difficulties they have overcome and dangers they have faced.
5.
Recommendations. The book bring to the limelight,
the various desired aspects related to the personality of military men.
Therefore, it is extremely useful and recommended to be studied by Young Officers.
Conclusion
6.
To conclude few basic training
and discipline matters a lot in war, personalities can turn the result of war with
their influence on soldiers. Army fights a war as skilfully and successfully as
is the morale and personality of soldiers. Therefore, the personality of soldiers
matters a lot in war. Only the courageous and dynamic personalities possess the
guts to change the fate of battle field.
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