Battle Exhaustion at Tobruk

Discussion in 'North Africa & the Med' started by Andreas, May 2, 2022.

  1. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    Osborne2, Flamula, TTH and 5 others like this.
  2. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    I was very recently read the section on battle exhaustion in Alan Allport's Browned Off and Bloody Minded. I didn't read much of the reference material you presented but it's an interesting article - thanks for sharing!
     
  3. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    That's interesting. I emailed the article to him (have never read his books, but reviewed the Mediterranean section of Britain at Bay for him before he finalised the draft) and he immediately came back with the point on how influential the paper was.

    All the best

    Andreas
     
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  4. Orwell1984

    Orwell1984 Senior Member

    Another great article!
    Thanks for sharing
    Mark
     
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  5. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    Thanks Mark!

    All the best

    Andreas
     
  6. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Andreas most interesting thank you for posting


    Regards
    Clive
     
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  7. Alex1975uk

    Alex1975uk Well-Known Member

    Well hello!
     
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  8. TTH

    TTH Senior Member

    I think I missed Sinclair's article in The Medical Journal of Australia, but I dealt with this subject in my own book. Battle exhaustion (typically described by the medicos as Not Yet Diagnosed, Nervous, or NYDN) was quite a serious problem in 9th Australian Division in Tobruk. It tended to cluster in certain groups (particularly older soldiers, of whom the 2nd AIF had too many) and in certain units which had disciplinary and command problems or unsuccessful combat experiences (2/1 Pioneer Battalion, 2/1 HQ Guard Battalion, 18th Australian Infantry Brigade). The British AA units in the garrison, which were exposed to constant Axis bombing, also had a high rate of neurosis. And yes, 21 Army Group's system of dealing with combat exhaustion was very similar to that developed in Tobruk by 9th Australian Division.
     
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  9. andy007

    andy007 Senior Member

    Thanks for sharing that Andreas, an interesting read indeed.
     
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  10. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    Thanks Andy. Hope all is well.

    All the best

    Andreas
     
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  11. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    Which book is that?

    All the best

    Andreas
     
  12. Orwell1984

    Orwell1984 Senior Member

    TTH and Andreas like this.
  13. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    Thanks!

    All the best

    Andreas
     

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