III.

Conscription in Europe

Conscription in its modern form arose in revolutionary France, where universal military service 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 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 Great Powers, 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.

When total populations became vulnerable to attack from the air in the 20th century, industrial resources were mobilized on a forced basis, together with human resources. 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 during the 1930s.

In the United States, conscription was first based on the colonial tradition of the militia, in which all men, usually those between 16 and 60 years of age, were liable for service. During the American War of Independence, Congress urged all the states to conscript men.