Motivational Factors in Combat: A Comparison of German and American Soldiers in World War II Using Content Analysis - Morale, Combat Effectiveness, Military History, Ground Troops, Pilots, Flyers

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. To determine whether content analysis could be used to successfully identify major combat motivational factors for individuals, this research focused on soldiers who fought in World War II. Combat narratives written by men who fought in World War II were examined. Ten German and ten American works were examined. Of these, five of each were the works of flyers and the other five were the works of ground troops. The following factors were examined: "primary group" influence, ideology, attitudes toward the enemy, group leadership, national leadership, personal gratification, propaganda, religion, vindictiveness, desire to end the war and go home, coercion, and duty/honor/country. References to these motivational factors were tallied, and these results converted into percentages for each group. A qualitative judgment was also made as to the most important factor for each individual. Personal gratification was the primary motivational factor for the American flyers, while duty/honor/country was the most important for the German flyers and American ground troops. The primary factor for the German ground troops was the primary group. The methodology employed successfully identified common combat motivational factors within each group, yet found different factors when contrasting different groups. Further research into this methodology is recommended.

Chapter I - Introduction * Overview * Justification * Background * Research Problem * Objectives * Chapter II - Literature Review * Introduction * Primary Group * Ideology * Attitudes Towards the Enemy * Group Leadership * National Leadership * Personal Gratification * Propaganda * Religion * Vindictiveness * Desire to End the War and Go Home * Coercion * Duty/Honor/Country * Flyers and Ground Troops * Summary * Chapter III - Methodology * Overview * Data Collection and Analysis * How References Were Tallied * Converting Scores into Percentages * Qualitative Scoring * Identification of Primary Factors * Definitions * Sample * Assumptions and Limitations * Chapter IV - Results and Discussion-Flyers * American Flyers * Overview * Donald R. Currier, 50 Mission Crush * James H. Howard, Roar of the Tiger * Samuel Hynes, Flights of Passage * Leroy Newby, Target Ploesti * Robert L. Scott, God is my Co-Pilot * Conclusions * German Flyers * Overview * Walter Boener, In Defiance * Willi Heilman, I Fought You From the Skies * Heinz Knoke, I Flew for the Fuhrer * Hans Ulrich Rudel, Stuka Pilot * Johannes Steinhoff, Messerschmitts Over Sicily * Conclusions * Chapter V - Results and Discussion - Ground Troops * American Ground Troops * Overview * Paul Boesch, Road To Huertgen * Robert Leckie, Helmet for my Pillow * Charles B. MacDonald, Company Commander * George S. Patton, War As I Knew It * George Wilson, If You Survive * Conclusions * German Ground Troops * Overview * Ernst Kern, War Diary 1941-45 * Siegfried Knappe, Soldat * Helmut Pabst, The Outermost Frontier * Guy Sajer, The Forgotten Soldier * Hans Von Luck, Panzer Commander * Conclusions * Chapter VI - Conclusions and Recommendations * Overview * American and German Flyers * American and German Ground Troops * Ground Troops and Flyers * Americans and Germans * Conclusions * Recommendations