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As a military historian, I am instinctively skeptical of any work or theory that claims to overturn all existing scholarship – indeed, overturn an entire academic discipline – in one fell swoop... Lieutenant
Colonel Grossman's appeals to biology and psychology are flawed, and that the bulwark of his
199:. British soldiers executed for cowardice were often not commemorated on war memorials, and their families often did not receive benefits and had to endure social stigma. However, many decades later, those soldiers all received posthumous pardons in the UK
207:. Unlike British, Canadian, French, German, and Russian forces, the U.S. military tried soldiers for cowardice, but never followed through with execution while German commanders were less inclined to use execution as a form of punishment.
63:
As the opposite of bravery, which many historical and current human societies reward, cowardice is seen as a character flaw that is detrimental to society and thus the failure to face one's fear is often stigmatized or punished.
220:
121:'s habit of putting its tail between its legs when it is afraid. Like many other English words of French origin, this word was introduced in the English language by the French-speaking
224:. Marshall's findings were later challenged as mistaken or even fabricated, and were not replicated in a more rigorous study of Canadian troops in World War II.
117:. It would therefore have meant "one with a tail", which may conjure an image of an animal displaying its tail in flight of fear ("turning tail"), or a
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214:, who claimed that 75% of U.S. combat troops in World War II never fired at the enemy for the purpose of killing, even while under direct threat.
56:. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumbs to cowardice is known as a
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in face of the enemy and surrendering to the enemy against orders. The punishment for such acts is typically severe, ranging from
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In German, the word translates into "Feigling" and "Weichei", the latter of which translates back to "soft egg" in literal.
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historical evidence – S.L.A. Marshall's assertion that soldiers do not fire their weapons – can be verifiably disproven.
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Acts of cowardice have long been punishable by military law, which defines a wide range of cowardly offenses, including
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Canadians
Against Fire: Canada's Soldiers and Marshall's "Ratio of Fire" 1944-1945
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prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of
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On
Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
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143:), however, has the same origin and meaning as the word "cowherd".
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lack of courage to face danger, difficulty, opposition, pain, etc.
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96:), which is a combination of the word for "tail" (Modern French
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274:"Cowardly definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary"
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Considerable controversy was generated by military historian
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385:"10 U.S. Code § 899 - Art. 99. Misbehavior before the enemy"
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445:"Call to rethink cases of French WWI 'coward' soldiers"
509:"Killing for Their Country: A New Look At "Killology""
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218:attempted to explain these findings in his book
562:on 10 December 2005 – via War Chronicle.
575:"The Secret Of The Soldiers Who Didn't Shoot"
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357:"From French to English:Surprising Etymology"
19:"Coward" redirects here. For other uses, see
414:"Executed WW1 soldiers to be given pardons"
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550:"S.L.A. Marshall and the Ratio of Fire"
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187:Generally, cowardice was punishable by
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602:Engen, Robert Charles (March 2008).
203:and have been commemorated with the
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333:from the original on 28 April 2007
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548:Spiller, Roger J. (Winter 1988).
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424:Guardian News & Media Limited
389:LII / Legal Information Institute
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558:. pp. 63–71. Archived from
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48:is a trait wherein excessive
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476:Woodward, David R. (2009).
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82:came into English from the
75:Online Etymology Dictionary
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127:Norman conquest of England
39:The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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514:Canadian Military Journal
278:www.collinsdictionary.com
180:as a crime punishable by
174:military codes of justice
322:Dictionary.reference.com
197:executed by firing squad
21:Coward (disambiguation)
649:Quotations related to
410:Norton-Taylor, Richard
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205:Shot at Dawn Memorial
201:Armed Forces Act 2006
31:
216:Author Dave Grossman
176:define cowardice in
521:(2). Archived from
484:Infobase Publishing
479:World War I Almanac
355:Garreau, Joseph E.
160:corporal punishment
613:Queen's University
412:(16 August 2006).
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337:24 February
317:"cowardice"
193:World War I
141:Noël Coward
78:, the word
675:Categories
260:References
84:Old French
664:cowardice
651:Cowardice
621:1974/1081
394:19 August
189:execution
156:desertion
129:in 1066.
107:) and an
68:Etymology
46:Cowardice
450:BBC News
331:Archived
299:"Coward"
254:Weakness
228:See also
691:Courage
191:during
162:to the
137:surname
134:English
123:Normans
54:courage
36:, from
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283:5 July
249:Virtue
178:combat
115:suffix
93:couard
80:coward
58:coward
609:(PDF)
529:8 May
244:Pussy
239:Sissy
182:death
109:agent
105:cauda
102:Latin
98:queue
88:coart
86:word
686:Fear
628:2019
589:2019
531:2011
488:ISBN
463:2019
431:2019
396:2020
371:2015
339:2019
285:2019
234:Fear
169:The
132:The
112:noun
50:fear
32:The
617:hdl
455:BBC
119:dog
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