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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
210:. 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
218:. 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.
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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.
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132:'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
235:. 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.
128:. 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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225:, 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.
67:. 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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154:), 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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107:), which is a combination of the word for "tail" (Modern French
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285:"Cowardly definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary"
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Considerable controversy was generated by military historian
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396:"10 U.S. Code § 899 - Art. 99. Misbehavior before the enemy"
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456:"Call to rethink cases of French WWI 'coward' soldiers"
520:"Killing for Their Country: A New Look At "Killology""
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229:attempted to explain these findings in his book
573:on 10 December 2005 – via War Chronicle.
586:"The Secret Of The Soldiers Who Didn't Shoot"
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368:"From French to English:Surprising Etymology"
30:"Coward" redirects here. For other uses, see
425:"Executed WW1 soldiers to be given pardons"
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561:"S.L.A. Marshall and the Ratio of Fire"
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198:Generally, cowardice was punishable by
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214:and have been commemorated with the
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559:Spiller, Roger J. (Winter 1988).
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435:Guardian News & Media Limited
400:LII / Legal Information Institute
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569:. pp. 63–71. Archived from
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59:is a trait wherein excessive
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487:Woodward, David R. (2009).
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93:came into English from the
86:Online Etymology Dictionary
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594:. Vol. 40, no. 2
138:Norman conquest of England
50:The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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525:Canadian Military Journal
289:www.collinsdictionary.com
191:as a crime punishable by
185:military codes of justice
333:Dictionary.reference.com
208:executed by firing squad
32:Coward (disambiguation)
660:Quotations related to
421:Norton-Taylor, Richard
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216:Shot at Dawn Memorial
212:Armed Forces Act 2006
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227:Author Dave Grossman
187:define cowardice in
532:(2). Archived from
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490:World War I Almanac
366:Garreau, Joseph E.
171:corporal punishment
624:Queen's University
423:(16 August 2006).
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328:"cowardice"
204:World War I
152:Noël Coward
89:, the word
686:Categories
271:References
95:Old French
675:cowardice
662:Cowardice
632:1974/1081
405:19 August
200:execution
167:desertion
140:in 1066.
118:) and an
79:Etymology
57:Cowardice
461:BBC News
342:Archived
310:"Coward"
265:Weakness
239:See also
702:Courage
202:during
173:to the
148:surname
145:English
134:Normans
65:courage
47:, from
18:Cowards
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294:5 July
260:Virtue
189:combat
126:suffix
104:couard
91:coward
69:coward
620:(PDF)
540:8 May
255:Pussy
250:Sissy
193:death
120:agent
116:cauda
113:Latin
109:queue
99:coart
97:word
697:Fear
639:2019
600:2019
542:2011
499:ISBN
474:2019
442:2019
407:2020
382:2015
350:2019
296:2019
245:Fear
180:The
143:The
123:noun
61:fear
43:The
628:hdl
466:BBC
130:dog
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