The Battle Of The Somme

In May 1917, Congress passed a   Selective Service Act.   , authorizing a draft of young men for military service

Scotland played a substantial role in World War One, it provide manpower, ships, machinery, food, and money. Scotland sent 690,000 men to the war. Scottish urban centres, were a popular source of soldiers for the British army. Dundee, where the women dominated jute industry had one of the highest number of reservists and serving soldiers than any other British city. Concern for their families' life during the war made men wait to enlist; soldier enlistment rates rose after the government gave a weekly salary for life to the survivors of men who were killed or disabled. After the introduction of enlistment from January 1916 all of the country was

President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 which established the Selective Service System as an independent Federal agency within the Department of Defense (Smith, par. 3). Young men were only drafted in America's greatest conflicts- the Civil War, Vietnam War, World War I, and the lead-up to World War II (Bandow, par. 3). Nearly 2.2 million men were drafted during 1961 to 1973 (South, par. 25). This practice continued during the Cold War as the U.S. sought to protect friendly war-ravaged states (Bandow, par. 3). From 1948 until 1973, young men were drafted to fill open spots in the armed forces which could not be filled through voluntary means (Smith, par. 4). The registration requirement was suspended in 1975 but it was resumed again in 1980, registration continues today as a hedge against underestimating the number of servicemen needed in a future crisis (Smith, par. 10). In 1973, the United States military went to full volunteer service that marked the end of the draft. Since the all-volunteer military has been active, there have been 144 executed operations compared to 19 operations prior to 1973 (South, par. 56). Currently, there have been talks of reinstating

The British launched The Battle of the Somme to achieve two objectives. The first and most important goal was to relieve pressure on the French Army at Verdun, and the second was to inflict as heavy a loss as possible on the German Armies. The Battle of the Somme had to be fought to save the French Army from the crucifixion of Verdun. The head of the French Army, General Fock, and some leading British commanders did not believe this battle would help, but political masters in London and Paris supported the campaign. For many years The Battle of the Somme received much criticism for the way the battle was fought based on the number of casualties.

Unlike other countries fighting in the war, Australia did not enforce conscription. Its armed forces relied completely on volunteers and at first there had been more volunteers than the army could accept. However by mid-1916, when news of casualties of the front began to reach home, support for the war declined sharply. In 1916, William Morris Hughes returned from inspecting the Western Front and was convinced that Australia should introduce conscription for the war effort. This led society to become divided into two major groups, the pro conscriptionists and anti conscriptionists.

During the Vietnam War 27 million American men registered for the “Draft”. A American man was required to register for the draft at the age of 18. Men between the ages of 18-26 years old fought in Vietnam unless they were in college or Medically disabled. 80% of the middle and lower classes fought in the war, and about ⅔ of the men were volunteers to fight.

Starting with the First World War and ending with the Korean War, there were 16,307,243 American’s inducted into wars by the Selective Service (Induction Statistics). These men were inducted into the wars by the draft method. A draft is an imperative recruitment for the military services. Drafts were very helpful with gathering men for the wars that America fought in. Many people did not want to be apart of the drafts, but there were many ways to get out of one as well. Drafts were a necessary action in order to get the men of the United States to fight for their country, and protect the freedoms of others.

The Battle of the Somme epitomizes the harsh realities of trench warfare for the Allies and represents the negligent battle planning and technological advancements that are associated with the stalemate of World War One. Trench warfare was common across the Western Front, with similar strategies being employed by both opposing sides. Sir Douglas Haig, one of the British coordinators for the Somme offensive is blamed with an offensive strategy destined for failure. The British offensive, an utter failure, resulted in a stalemate, which was common throughout World War One. The British development of the tank, while it eventually ended the horrendous stalemate, was ineffectively used during the Somme.

In “The Face of Battle,” John Keegan analyzed the experiences of the individuals involved in the battles of the Somme and Waterloo; he thoroughly examined the advancements of industrialization in warfare and battle strategy between 1815 and 1916. The industrialization of modern warfare during the battle of the Somme, while progressive, was very much still in its experimental stages. While the inventions during this time period were later evolved into much more useful products, it seems as though the organized warfare in Waterloo was much more effective; the soldier’s mediocre training for the Somme was obvious in the chaotic events that occurred. While each battle was disastrous in their own ways, industrialization certainly improved means of warfare and the experience that the soldiers had.

Soon after the outbreak of war, the Espionage Act of 1917 was put into law. This was a federal law with intentions to restrain interference with any military operations or involuntary enlistment into the military. After this, the Federal Government held a draft for World War I. All male citizens within a specific age range were selected randomly to serve in the military during this war, and it was not optional, but forced. Charles Schenck was an associate of the Socialist party of America in Philadelphia, therefore he had disagreements with the Capitalist government. He was the general of this party, and believed that the war was caused by the rich only to benefit themselves, while poor lower class men were doing all of the suffering and hard work. When Schenck became aware of the government's intentions for recruiting military, he was furious. The government had seemed to have taken the natural born rights of man for themselves to use as they pleased.

During the outbreak of the first World War, the British army consists of about only 247,432 regular troops. But only half of those men were available to fight in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force, as the rest of them were either stationed elsewhere throughout the British Empire, or protecting the home front. This is a clear sign that the British army needed more men to enlist in order to defeat the German army. On the 7th of August, 1914, Lord Kitchener began a recruiting campaign. His main goal is to provoke the anti-German feeling, mainly by producing propaganda posters.

Until 1905 this was the only form of welfare available. But in 1906 a Liberal government came to power and decided that a larger section of society and not just the extreme poor were in need of public services. An important social survey was carried out and the results were quite bleak. It showed that a third of the population of London was living in extreme poverty, facing a daily struggle just to survive. Conscription for the military during the Boer war(1899-1902) showed up another large problem. A very large number of young men were shown to be not fit enough for military service. This indicated poor public health and this was a serious concern to the

In the First World War people wanted the young men to go to war, but

Despite a committed response from the Isle, a disappointed government introduced the Military Service Act and conscription began on 2 February. Initially, they limited the draft to single men between the ages of 18 and 41; by May this would be extended to married men. The Epworth Bells instructed men to take their marriage certificate, and the birth certificates of any children, with them to the recruiting office. In this way their separation allowances could be adjusted properly, saving both parties time and money. A wife and her dependent children received an Allotment from the husband’s pay of 23/- and a Separation Allowance of 19/6d each week. In the case of unmarried men a dependent mother could receive a Separation Allowance of 9/6d per week and Allotment of Pay of 3/6d per week. Sergeant Temperton, still frustrated that his advancing years debarred him from active service but assiduous in the role of recruiting officer, declared himself keen to help anyone experiencing difficulties with the

Of the films that addressed this subject, the majority seemed to advocate that young men volunteered for the War out of how of duty and loyalty to their nice country. One