British Courts Martial in North Africa, 1940–3

This article seeks to demonstrate that the exemplary aspect of military law was applied in courts martial cases in North Africa between 1940 and 1943. It will show that there was a clear desire to make examples, which coincided with the preoccupations of the High Command concerning the state of discipline and morale within the British Eighth Army. The article will reveal that Auchinleck, Montgomery, and Alexander shared many common ideas on discipline and morale, but that their concerns often overstated the scale of the supposed problem. These fears created an atmosphere in which the details of individual cases were often overridden in the name of discipline and military efficiency. Paradoxically, such an attitude only added to the High Command’s concerns, for by ensuring a high level of convictions, the outcomes of courts martial appeared to confirm the validity of its views.