Introduction

What was once known as the “new” military history has now been a distinct field for over a generation, and is better known as war and society studies. Its initial innovation was that in considering the historical phenomenon of war, practitioners went beyond accounts of battles and campaigns—ones that privileged the role and decisions of top commanders. Academics began to scrutinize the experience of war in itself, while also examining the broader interaction societies and polities have had with respect to preparing for and engaging in military conflict. As these scholars have pursued these methodologies and applied them to a growing range of topics and issues, new ones have emerged, particularly studies of how culture has shaped perceptions of military service, conduct, and sacrifice (for an overview, see Morillo with Pavkovic, 2014).