'Red Tabs Life and death in the 6th South African Armoured Division,1943 – 1945

[摘要] The thesis seeks to understand, first and foremost, what the members of the 6th South AfricanArmoured Division in Italy during the Second World War experienced in their day-to-daylives on campaign. It is therefore primarily a social history.Although an exhaustive analysis of the demographics of the division is beyond the scope ofthis study, an attempt was made in Chapter 2 to identify some of the characteristics of thevolunteers and their motivations for enlisting. Recruitment statistics and other sources showthat in the final stage of the war, volunteers were most likely to be school-leavers anduniversity students.Chapters three to eight detail the daily life in camp and on the road as the division progressedup the length of Italy. The main themes revolve around the necessities of life, recreation,leisure and ways of dealing with long periods of inactivity. The more controversial topics ofsexuality, alcohol use, and battle fatigue are not avoided. Regardless of the capacity in whichthey served, all those attached to the 6th South African Armoured Division experienced thecountry and its people. Homesickness, discomfort and the fulfilling of basic needs was thecommon bond.Chapter nine examines the topic of casualties and what it reveals about the men and theirexperience. At first glance, it would appear that the casualty rate was exceptionally low for afront line division. However, on closer examination, the casualty rate was found to be in linewith that experienced by other nations involved in the Italian campaign. As expected, it wasfound that casualties occurred mainly in infantry units, although accidents accounted for 25per cent of injuries.In the final chapter, the conclusions are presented and discussed in a theoretical context.Memory is used as a category of analysis. Scholars are in agreement that distortion andcleansing occurred due to the tendency of contemporary accounts to accentuate the positive.The needs of post-war society also helped to ensure that the language and experience of thefront line soldier was overwhelmed

[发布机构] University of Pretoria