Fear In Battle

By John Dollard and Donald Horton

John Dollard (1900-1980) was a psychologist and social scientist best known for his studies on race relations in America. From 1942 to 1945 he served as a consultant in the Morale Services Division the United States Department of War, during which time he and fellow psychologists at Yale University’s Institute of Human Relations produced a study titled “Fear and Courage under Battle Conditions.” The study investigated fear and morale of soldiers in modern combat conditions. With the active assistance of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade interviews with Lincoln Brigade veterans were carried out and a questionnaire distributed. Three hundred veterans who had served as volunteers with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War replied and became the research subjects for the study.

This book presents the findings from this intensive study for the purposes of military value.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tannenberg Publishing
• Release date: Nov 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781786256690

John Dollard

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Text originally published in 1943 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2015, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

FEAR IN BATTLE

BY

JOHN DOLLARD, Ph D.

Research Associate in

Social Anthropology (Professor)

With the assistance of

DONALD HORTON, Ph.D.

Research Assistant in Anthropology

The Institute of Human Relations

Yale University

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 5

THE GROUP——300 VETERAN SOLDIERS 6

THE FINDINGS IN BRIEF 7

PART I—SOME FACTS ABOUT FEAR 8

FEAR IS NORMAL 8

FEAR IS USEFUL IN TRAINING 10

FEAR COMES MOST OFTEN BEFORE THE BATTLE 12

REASONS FOR FEAR IN THREE PHASES OF ACTION 13

REASONS FOR FEAR BEFORE ACTION 13

REASONS FOR FEAR DURING ACTION 13

REASONS FOR FEAR AFTER ACTION 13

SYMPTOMS OF FEAR IN BATTLE 14

FEAR OF WOUNDS 16

MOST-FEARED WEAPONS 18

FEAR OF BOMBS 20

PART II—CHANGES IN FEAR 22

SOME BATTLE FEARS CHANGE, OTHERS DON’T 22

FEARS THAT DIDN’T PAN OUT 24

BATTLE-WISE MEN ARE LESS FEARFUL 26

PART III—TECHNIQUES OF FEAR CONTROL 28

RECOGNIZE FEAR EARLY 28

FEAR SHOULD BE DISCUSSED—BEFORE BATTLE 30

FEAR SHOULD BE SUPPRESSED—IN BATTLE 32

DISTRACTION 34

BELIEFS IN LUCK AND PAINLESS DEATH 38

HOW TO TREAT A PANICKY SOLDIER 40

PART IV—FEAR AND MORALE 42

FORCES THAT DRIVE MEN TO QUIT THE BATTLE 42

FORCES AGAINST FEAR—THE OVERALL VIEW 44

AGAINST FEAR...IDENTIFICATION WITH CAUSE IS A POWERFUL ANTIDOTE 46

AGAINST FEAR...LEADERSHIP 48

AGAINST FEAR...LOYALTY AND PRIDE 50

AGAINST FEAR...HATRED AND ANGER 52

MEN MAY FIGHT BETTER WHEN DANGER IS GREATER 54

AGAINST FEAR...STRAIGHT NEWS ABOUT THE WAR 56

THE BEST KIND OF DISCIPLINE 58

A FEAR POLICY FOR THE SOLDIER 60

PART V—FACTS ABOUT THE REPORT 62

RELIABILITY 62

VALIDITY 64

ERRORS OF REPORT 65

CAUSE AND IDENTIFICATION WITH CAUSE 66

CONCERNING UNCONSCIOUS FEAR 67

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 68

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study of fear and courage under battle conditions is indebted first of all to 300 veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, each of whom spent at least five hours completing an arduous questionnaire; to Yale University and the Rockefeller Foundation who have severally provided administrative and financial aids; and to many unnamed friends who have helped by discussion and action. This research has not been sponsored by the War Department, but the work has been done in the hope that the results would prove to have military value.

THE GROUP——300 VETERAN SOLDIERS

When this study was begun 18 months ago battle-wise riflemen were hard