Conscription

I

Introduction

Conscription, system of compulsory enrolment of men and women into the armed forces, also known as “national service”, “call-up”, or “the draft”. Conscripts are distinguished from volunteers and professionals, as well as from mercenaries, who offer their service to any government solely for pay. Conscripts may be called to serve in time of peace in order to train for war; they may be called into uniform in time of emergency.

II

Origins

Military service as a fundamental obligation of citizenship dates from early times. In the ancient Greek city-states, young men were required to serve several years in the citizen militia, a system that reached its highest development in the citizen-soldier class of martial Sparta. In the Roman Republic, compulsory service in the militia was regarded as a privilege, and all male citizens between the ages of 17 and 60 served without pay, the older men being restricted to garrison duty. Delinquency was punished by imprisonment and confiscation of property. Towards the end of the 2nd century bc, the citizen militia was replaced by professionals and mercenaries.

When weapons were expensive, armies were small and aristocratic, as in the Middle Ages. When weapons were cheap, armies became large and democratic, as after the development of firearms. Universal compulsory service was suggested by the Italian political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli in the 16th century, and the Swiss army was composed entirely of conscripted troops. By the 18th century, military ranks were filled by the poorest of society, and impressment and enticement were the usual methods of recruiting.

III

The Early Modern Era

Conscription in its modern form arose during the French Revolution, when universal military service in France was regarded both as a Republican duty, based on the principles of equality and fraternity, and as a necessity for national survival. In August 1793, a law limited liability for service to men between the ages of 18 and 25. They registered in their localities, and the youngest were called first, the others being chosen if more men were needed. On the eve of war with Austria in 1796, France modified the procedure by instituting universal military service by age groupings for men between 20 and 25 years of age. The first age grouping consisted of men of 20 and 21 years, who provided the basic contingent of conscripts. The other age groupings served to the extent necessary to meet military requirements. Conscripted troops constituted the bulk of the French armies in the Napoleonic Wars, and more than 2.6 million men were inducted between 1800 and 1813.

In the United States, the colonial tradition of the militia saw all men, usually those between 16 and 60 years of age, liable for service, and during the American War of Independence Congress urged all the states to use conscription. In 1808, Prussia instituted a system of universal conscription and, after 1815, put it into practice fully, without exemption because of social class or payment. All young men served a specified term of duty for military training.

By the end of the 19th century, all the major countries, except Britain and the United States, had systems of conscription during peacetime. By then, however, conscription began to decline in usefulness. Compulsory education replaced military service; weapons became more technical, requiring professional operators; and armies could not absorb all the young men of growing populations. Abuses in granting exemptions and deferments became common.

IV

The Two World Wars

In World War I all of the major combatants were compelled to fight with conscripted military forces. Britain depended on volunteers until 1916, and then resorted to compulsion. The United States enacted the Selective Service Act of 1917 upon entering the war. Canada relied on volunteers until 1918, when it used conscripts. Australia used volunteers throughout the war, and New Zealand conscripted between 1901 and 1930.

Between the two world wars, all the major countries except Britain and the United States continued universal military service. In the 1930s, with total populations now vulnerable to attack from the air, industrial resources began to be mobilized on a forced basis, together with human resources, and the nation-in-arms concept of Napoleonic times developed into the rigorous organization of the entire state conscripted for total war, as in Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union. Germany, although prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles from conscripting troops, reintroduced the system in May 1935. In May 1939 the British parliament adopted a Conscription Act, establishing a system of peacetime military training. Upon the outbreak of World War II, a law adopted on September 3, 1939, provided for conscripting all males between 18 and 41. In May 1940 Parliament adopted the Emergency Powers Defence Act, which mobilized the human and industrial resources of the nation. Both Australia and New Zealand used conscription in that conflict, although Australia sent only volunteers to fight in Europe and North Africa.