Psychological effects of combat

"Psychological Effects of Combat" The Trauma of Close-Range, Interpersonal Aggression During World War II, the carnage and destruction caused by months of continuous German bombing in England and years of Allied bombing in Germany was systematically inflicted in order to create psychological casualties among civilian populations. Day and night, in an intentionally unpredictable pattern, civilians, relatives, and friends were mutilated, killed and their homes were destroyed. These civilian populations suffered fear and horror of a …

…and aggression that assaults the self-image, sense of control and ultimately, the mental and physical health of human beings. The soldier in combat is inserted straight into the inescapable midst of this most psychologically traumatic of environments. Ultimately, if the combatant is unable get some respite from the trauma of combat, and if not injured or killed, the only escape available is the psychological escape of becoming a psychiatric casualty and mentally fleeing the battlefield.