The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-02-05
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
OF WAR DISCUSSED

Eyes, / wept, as SO many other:
have done-wept without being
ASHAMED of my tears, or ~regrettine
now that I did weep" says an officer
with the German army in Poland, IN
discussing the psychological side Of
men in action. He points out that
this as a rule is not an outbreak OF
"maudlin sentimentality." but just
a sort Of physical and tremendous
reaction following the tremendous
strain upon body and mind in a bat.
tile.
1.-THE heavy Russian batteries" he
continued, chad been using poor am.
munition, and many of their pieces
had been silenced by our fire. We
had been able, moreover, to send
strong forces against their entrench-
ed positions, and as these advanced
we took the Russion trenches under
a terrific fire with our heavy bat
teries. There is no infantry that will
Withstand this shock. Here and there
the Russians left their trenches,
merely to be cut down by our ma
chine guns, or to be decimated by
our shrapnel.
Tears Gain Victory
"And as this day ended and the
firing began to weaken, l wept. Why
| don't know. I lay in the straw and
wept. Not because we had gained a
victory-those were not tears of joy.
There was no occasion for tears OF
sorrow. It was over quickly.
"It is said sometimes that this is
the beginning of the end. But that,
thank God, was not the case. have
not slept in two nights.
after I had made all necessary
arrangements, | left the battlefield
and rode past smouldering houses
and villages toward my quarters,
where, without taking off my belt
greatcoat, or even helmet, I threw
myself upon the straw. I slept from
8 o'clock in the evening until mid
night like one dead. When they
finally managed to bring me to my
senses, I was absolutely unable to
believe that several heavy shells had
dropped around the place s~heltering
us
"a cup of champagne given me
by a comrade helped to bring my
wits together. After thatI sat down
beside the others at the large farm
table covered with maps and an over
active telephone instrument, and
felt quite fresh.
Studies Experience
II began to think of my weeping
spell. Was it a case of nervous
breakdown, or one of u%nsoldierly
sentimentalism? I believed in the
one as little as the other. I had been
a witness to tears before. Those who
wept seemed to be as far removed
from u%nstrung nerves as they were
from silly sentiments.
"The experiences of war bring the
entire mel vous system and its physio-
logical and mental subsidiary func-
tons into sympathetic relations.
When one suffers the other suffers
The tension of the mind-caused by
continuous readiness to act and the
sense of responsibility, the hardships
undergone " the body-the lack OF
sleep and rest, and last, but not least,
the passions of the battle, the noise
and din, the cruelty of war, and who
would dare gainsay this, the canstant
recurrence of the fear of death and
the worry over the loved ones at
home-all these are forces SO ter.
rible that in the end they will shake
even the will of the man of steel to
it's foundations.
"The causes of tears on the battle
field are not connected with traits
we possess in times of peace. MOI
has the personal quality Of the man
much to do with them. believe thai
the tears shed by men on the battle
field are the typical expression of 6
mute tragedy Of the soul."-Capita
Nouc