МОРАЛНИ ФАКТОР У РАТУ ‒ ПРЕМА ТЕОРИЈАМА ДОМАЋИХ И СТРАНИХ АУТОРА КРАЈЕМ 19. И ПОЧЕТКОМ 20. ВЕКА
THE MORAL FACTOR IN WAR ACCORDING TO THE THEORIES OF NATIONAL AND FOREIGN AUTHORS AT THE END OF THE 19TH AND BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Summary/Abstract: This paper is an attempt to establish, on the basis of a number of articles and publications from the end of the 19th century to 1914, what was the view of the role of morality, that is, the will in modern war. The way in which the First World War was waged and huge losses prove that the role of determination and will was overestimated in relation to material and technical conditions. In numerous texts and polemics led within the Serbian officer corps on the pages of Ratnik and other sources , an essential disagreement came to light. On the one hand, there was the old‐time Prussian and Russian influence that requested training and drill of individuals, while on the other hand there were those that assessed the human nature and its demands more rationally and soberly. For the former, the goal and ideal were obedient automaton soldiers or religious‐national fanatics who attacked and died without thinking, while for the latter, soldiers who would soberly accept the fight because that was the way to victory without unnecessary sacrifices. The impression is that the first school of thought prevailed among Serbian officers. Also, such outdated views on war, in completely changed technical circumstances, prevailed in other armies, as well, so the conclusion is drawn that such wrong assumptions at the start contributed to this war becoming bloodier than it would have been if it had been theoretically approached in a different way. Opinions, which emphasized the volitional‐motivational factor as the decisive one for a victory, were mainly expressed in numerous articles published on the pages of Ratnik, as well as in special publications, while the technological performance of improved weapons was frequently underestimated.

• Details
• Contents