AustLit

'Why do men continue to fight in wartime? A recent book by Alexander Watson investigates psychological resilience in the British and German armies during the First World War. While much has been made of men who could not cope with the pressures of war and suffered nervous collapse, he argues little study has been made of the vast majority who were able to endure the horrors of trench warfare (5). Watson does not look specifically at the role of the imagination or the intellect in explaining the psychological resilience of British soldiers; rather, he looks to factors such as effective battalion or regimental cohesion, religion and faith, good leadership and support from the home front. This article broadens out the frame of Watson’s analysis by considering the ways in which soldiers engaged intellectually, imaginatively and creatively with the world of print. Such an approach provides deeper understandings of individual responses to war and argues for the importance of acknowledging the intellect and imagination within a strategy of endurance.' (Author's introduction)