There was an Austrian author called Arthur Schnitzler. A military surgeon by trade at the turn of the century. He wrote a couple of novels concerning the moral code of the imperial army by then, which got him the boot from the military. I don't know how popular they are in non german speaking countries, but I stumbled over an old film version of "Lieutenant Gustl" on tv, which got me thinking. There's another one, called "Spiel im Morgengrauen" (game at dawn - without knowing, if this is the real english title or if it has ever been translated).
Both deal with the archaic moral codices of the officer's corps by then. Gustl is about a Lieutenant who's sabre gets accidentally pulled by a civilian. He's going through all kinds of distress because by rights he's obliged to call for a dueal. Game at Dawn is about another lower officer getting into massive debt in one night's game. By rights he either has to pay up or commit suicide. He spends the whole ensuing day trying to get that money. Both end in a tragic way.
My interest is, what do you know about your own armies about a century ago. Were there similar codices calling for similar behavior?
Both deal with the archaic moral codices of the officer's corps by then. Gustl is about a Lieutenant who's sabre gets accidentally pulled by a civilian. He's going through all kinds of distress because by rights he's obliged to call for a dueal. Game at Dawn is about another lower officer getting into massive debt in one night's game. By rights he either has to pay up or commit suicide. He spends the whole ensuing day trying to get that money. Both end in a tragic way.
My interest is, what do you know about your own armies about a century ago. Were there similar codices calling for similar behavior?
![[Image: Bumper+Sticker+-+Asheville+-+Praise+Dog3.JPG]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-d-3rfdI7nG0%2FTerwtFyFXoI%2FAAAAAAAACak%2F7kFSmHeVrng%2Fs320%2FBumper%2BSticker%2B-%2BAsheville%2B-%2BPraise%2BDog3.JPG)
