Character, Discipline, Law: Courts Martial in World War I
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Accepted Manuscript (AM)
Author(s)
Finnane, Mark
Smaal, Yorick
Year published
2020
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Courts martial were as ubiquitous in the experience of World War I as criminal courts in civil life, yet they remain largely neglected in the Australian war historiography. Their remarkable evidentiary record, transmitted from the field of battle into the custody of the Attorney-General, has been used to highlight wartime dimensions of individual character and collective discipline. In this article, we review the uses of the courts martial in those respects. We note the significance of Australian exceptionalism in this military domain, and consider the potential of an approach that treats the court martial as a legal event.Courts martial were as ubiquitous in the experience of World War I as criminal courts in civil life, yet they remain largely neglected in the Australian war historiography. Their remarkable evidentiary record, transmitted from the field of battle into the custody of the Attorney-General, has been used to highlight wartime dimensions of individual character and collective discipline. In this article, we review the uses of the courts martial in those respects. We note the significance of Australian exceptionalism in this military domain, and consider the potential of an approach that treats the court martial as a legal event.
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Journal Title
Australian Historical Studies
Volume
51
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Australian Historical Studies,51 (3), pp. 324-340, 29 Jul 2020, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1031461X.2020.1741657
Subject
Australian history
Military law and justice
Historical studies
Heritage, archive and museum studies