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for giving meaning to the efforts of the frontline soldier, whether this was in termsof patriotism, ideology or practical reality.67 Discipline and training helped slowdown the onset of battle fatigue by underpinning small-group cohesion and unitesprit de corps.68 Sound logistics and administration—the provision of adequatefood, rest, other required military resources and medical support—also playedimportant, but less glamorous, roles in maintaining combat effectiveness.69 Thenature of combat tended to ‘magnify the perception of grievances’, particularlyif the troops felt they had been in action for too long.70 Dealing effectively withsuch perceptions was also important. Finally, it should be noted that when thefactors that served to strengthen morale failed, and the psychological contestagainst battle fatigue was lost, the collective decline in will could spread quicklyand make recovery difficult.7167 ‘Notes on Bougainville by Major General H.H. Hammer’, p. 2, AWM 67, Item 3/156.68 Strachan, ‘Training, Morale and Modern War’, pp. 216–18.69 Baynes, Morale, pp. 253–4.70 Kellett, ‘Combat Motivation’, in Belenky (ed.), Contemporary Studies in CombatPsychiatry, p. 228.71 Marshal, Men Against Fire, p. 105 and Holmes, Firing Line, pp. 334–5.A tale of three battalions — 13