Život v armádě a s armádou v 19. století – Jiránek Tomáš (2026)

This Czech-language book examines the nature and significance of military service in the Habsburg monarchy during the “long” 19th century, a period of profound cultural, political, economic and social change. As science, technology and medicine rapidly developed, warfare also underwent major transformation: armies took on a new form, modern weapons emerged, tactics and organization changed, and universal conscription made military service an experience that affected almost every man. The book explores how military life differed from civilian life, the impact of service on individuals and society, and how the army coped with the monarchy’s extraordinary national, social and cultural diversity. It examines soldiers’ everyday lives, including training, accommodation, food, hygiene, relationships, healthcare and conflicts with authority, while revealing how service shaped their bodies, discipline and identity. For many men, military service marked a transition from village to city, civilian life to the strict order of the barracks, and youth to adulthood. Whether experienced as an obligation, a trial or an opportunity, it left lasting traces and opens new questions about the relationship between the army, society and the individual as the modern world emerged.