Abstinence and satisfaction of needs

It was not so much a question of morality as of health. To safeguard the combat capability of the army, it was important to prevent any increase in venereal infections. While the wives of the soldiers at the front were called upon to be faithful and abstinent so as not to endanger morale, male promiscuity was extensively accepted and a generally pragmatic approach adopted. The warring armies nevertheless tried different ways of preventing the spread of venereal diseases.

Medical experts disagreed as to the effect of sexual abstinence on health. Some argued that the satisfaction of sexual drives was essential to health. Their opponents claimed that sexual abstinence had no damaging effect and was the ideal means of preventing venereal diseases.

Within the armies themselves, a variety of approaches were used to solve the problems of sexual morality and health. Some officers called for abstinence and fought to maintain morality, while others actively attempted to find heterosexual contacts for the troops.

The Prussian Ministry of War made a distinction between young, single soldiers and older married men. It assumed that sexual abstinence could be demanded only from younger, unmarried soldiers but not from men used to regular sexual relations within marriage. British and American officers were not in favour of banning prostitution, as they regarded moral “dissipation” in the form of masturbation or homosexuality as far more serious. As can be read from the field reports of the commandant of the Austro-Hungarian army on the south-west front, male sexuality was seen as a natural drive:

“Experience has shown that the nervous tension and physical stress of the men at the front are connected to a certain extent with increased sexual desire and that moral and religious proscriptions often fall down in the face of this powerful elementary drive.”

There was a desire on the one hand to address the sexual needs of the soldiers but on the other to prevent the spread of venereal diseases. A wide variety of measures were undertaken to prevent venereal infections, from compulsory examinations and reporting of venereal diseases to calls for abstinence, regulated prostitution and the issuance of prophylactic aids.

Translation: Nick Somers