Quote:
Originally Posted by jester
Cob;
Thus, you would have the draftees/conscripts who just want to survive and go home. They would be less enthusiastic to go on the offensive and as they are not part of the military regime, they may even voice their disagreement more so than a regular. A regular well that is his home and his proffession. A civilian, well, he is there for a temporary time, then he is going back to his home and proffession and well, the military just doesn't matter to his long term career plans. So, he can care less. Further, he wouldn't be upset at sitting in a nice comfy stockade rather than being on the recieving end of an enemy attack.
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If this were generally true, wouldn't far more American units be going rogue/marauder c. 2000?
I think your point is valid but a bit overstated. What about all of the draftees who generally fought well for nearly all armies involved in WWII?
Also, many of the conscripts/draftees c.2000 would have some idea that there wasn't really any home to return to. The army would, for all intents and purposes, become their new "home".
I think the German army of late WWII is an interesting case study for soldiers' motivations. Their home cities being bombed to rubble, weapons, ammo, fuel and food supplies increasingly scarce, and enemies pressing in on all sides, most German units- even ones made up mostly of late-war conscripts and "surplus" Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine personnel- fought on, some until the bitter end.
Some historians argue that this was because of the Prussian military tradition and the totalitarian police state that many young Germans had grown up in. This may be the case. But, once again, study after study have shown that the fighting man's primary motivation is their comrades.