Morale is extremely important for keeping soldiers in check.
Many militaries learned this the hard way in WW1, where conditions were so bad some countries had to order officers to shoot soldiers that were ignoring orders or even organizing revolutions.
Giving a soldier a little slice of home, sometimes literally with slices of cake and pie, keeps them in line way more effectively than pointing guns at their backs.
That was mostly cuz they spent 2+ years sending them to die in futile frontal assaults. Even with great food eventually people will catch on to the fact they’re dying for nothing and mutany
conditions were so bad some countries had to order officers to shoot soldiers that were ignoring orders or even organizing revolutions.
They didn’t have to. They chose to. They could have let the soldiers go home and not had a war. They could have just kept playing soccer after Christmas was over.
Skimmed a bit of the diary at the link: one part he’s talking about setting up the bakery in a factory, next paragraph he’s talking about how much he hates the Jerries (Germans) and nobody in his baking unit would take a prisoner, he’s itching to slit one of their throats. He calls the Jerries “he.”
You should see what the brits bring, they had a whole ass bakery at camp leatherneck in Afghanistan.
Morale is extremely important for keeping soldiers in check.
Many militaries learned this the hard way in WW1, where conditions were so bad some countries had to order officers to shoot soldiers that were ignoring orders or even organizing revolutions.
Giving a soldier a little slice of home, sometimes literally with slices of cake and pie, keeps them in line way more effectively than pointing guns at their backs.
That was mostly cuz they spent 2+ years sending them to die in futile frontal assaults. Even with great food eventually people will catch on to the fact they’re dying for nothing and mutany
They didn’t have to. They chose to. They could have let the soldiers go home and not had a war. They could have just kept playing soccer after Christmas was over.
They did that in WW2 as well. I’ll find an article about them.
83rd Mobile Field Bakery, Royal Army Services Corp.
https://wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/allied/battalion.php?pid=2081
Skimmed a bit of the diary at the link: one part he’s talking about setting up the bakery in a factory, next paragraph he’s talking about how much he hates the Jerries (Germans) and nobody in his baking unit would take a prisoner, he’s itching to slit one of their throats. He calls the Jerries “he.”