How did soldiers maintain discipline in the napoleonic era.

by Fatdognonce

So I read On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society which said it wasn’t uncommon for poorly drilled soldiers to have an aversion to firing, some recorded instances troops where found to have loaded their weapons with musket balls over and over again.

So my question is, if it’s hard enough to get men to fire at the enemy how hard was it get the discipline for mean to stay in formation and give/take volley fire.

I can’t imagine having the discipline to stand in formation as musket balls ripped around me causing Devastating injuries. How did the generals and commanders of these days deal with the psychological aspect of this.

Thanks.

DanKensington

More can always be said on the matter, so if anyone would like to speak about the common soldier's motivations during the era of Napoleon, please don't let this post stop you! For the meantime, OP, you may be interested in this thread as answered by u/dandan_noodles, with two relevant posts - the first addresses how the fighting went, and the second addresses motivations specifically.