The British Cheer

Psychological Warfare in the Napoleonic Era

Paul Thompson

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Hardback

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English

Pen & Sword Military
03 October 2023

Military history; Napoleonic Wars

This is a bold, painstakingly researched and wide-ranging assessment of the British Cheer in the Napoleonic era. Reference to the Cheer in accounts of the time is virtually ubiquitous and repeatedly the claim was made for cheering as an integral part of British offensive operations. However, more recent historians have tended to overlook this evidence.

Based upon a vast range of contemporary sources, this book suggests that the Cheer wielded genuine power as a true 'weapon of war'. This book first surveys the history of acclamations in battle worldwide and British battle-cries from all periods, before addressing the question of what the British Cheer actually sounded like. Issues of acoustics, physics and the psychology of battlefield morale are considered, along with commentaries from significant military scholars throughout history. Examination of the Napoleonic-era Cheer then reveals the practically invincible 'recipe' of volley-cheer-charge that propelled the British Army to victory upon victory. Comparison is drawn with French and other national patterns of vocalizing, along with analysis of those occasions when the Cheer might be suppressed. Finally, the attitude of the Duke of Wellington towards cheering is reconsidered, with surprising results. This study encompasses a vast canvas of place and time in pursuit of the elusive yet galvanizing Cheer: from the Mahratta wars in India, through campaigns in Egypt, the Mediterranean, Flanders, the Caribbean and South America, as well as the war of 1812. The Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns feature prominently as the Cheer is heard thrillingly from Vimeiro to Talavera, Salamanca to Vitoria, Orthez to Toulouse and the shocking siege of Badajoz to the charge of the Scots Greys on the ridge of Mont Saint Jean. Anyone interested in the wars of Revolutionary France and Napoleon, the British army, the career of the Duke of Wellington, or indeed the wider questions of the psychological motivations of combat will find this book illuminating and thought-provoking.

AUTHOR: Paul Thompson was born in Altrincham, Cheshire in 1960. Educated at St. Bede's College in Manchester, the London College of Music and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he has taught in the Department of Music at Southeast Missouri State University for more than three decades. Previously he taught at the Lady Eleanor Holles and Forest Schools in London, England, Colgate University in New York and Murray State University in Kentucky. With a life-long interest in British military history, he has recently had articles dealing with aspects of the Napoleonic Wars published in the Waterloo Association Journal, the Napoleon Series and the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research.

By: Paul Thompson
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781399048439
ISBN 10: 1399048430
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 03 October 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Paul Thompson was born in Altrincham, Cheshire in 1960. Educated at St. Bede's College in Manchester, the London College of Music and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he has taught in the Department of Music at Southeast Missouri State University for more than three decades. Previously he taught at the Lady Eleanor Holles and Forest Schools in London, England, Colgate University in New York and Murray State University in Kentucky. With a life-long interest in British military history, he has recently had articles dealing with aspects of the Napoleonic Wars published in the Waterloo Association Journal, the Napoleon Series and the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research.