[LMB] OT: pour encourage les autres was Convert and quotation

[Richard Suitor]

On 7/5/06, Marna Nightingale <marna at marna.ca> wrote:

> > Paula:
> >
> >> That was how the British Army operated, the enemy MIGHT kill the
> >> soldiers,
> >> the British officers WOULD kill them, if they turned tail and ran.

> >me:
> > I believe many armies have that as the bottom line.  Have no idea of
> > relative incidences.  I understand it was not good for career or
> > health to be a repatriated Soviet POW after WWII.
>
> Well, in the case of the Brits it's mythical.
>
> Probably mythical in most cases, though DESERTERS is another matter.

<snip> several detailed instances - thank you.

Yes, I was thinking court martial as the bottom line, but not just
desertion, but also failure to fight.  The Soviet retributions were
post-war and bureaucratic.  I agree, there are few instances that
occur to me where an officer can positively influence the course of
the battle by shooting one of his own on the spot.  Should that
succeed, I would have doubts about the officer's longevity.  :<).

Actually, something you'd know a lot more about than I - I gather
treatment on ships was often brutal.  In that environment, the
enlisted (or pressed) did not have general access to small arms, and
were often dependent on the officers to get them home.  How would
treatment of the naval rank and file compare to the army's?

Richard