Shell Shock

Joseph Persico writes about "shell shock," the physiological reaction of soldiers who faced the seemingly endless barrage of artillery fire and shelling from the enemy:

In a curious sociological phenomenon, as the level of responsibility rose, the incidence of shell shock declined. An officer looking after his men, inspecting fortifications, checking on rations, in short, a man whose attentions were directed outward--was less likely to crack than a simple, uneducated solider left alone on sentry duty or crouched in a shell hole for hours, even days, his thoughts fixed obsessively on his fate.

Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918: World War I And Its Violent Climax, Random House: 2005, p. 155.