Guest Jacques Stéphan Posted 15 November , 2003 Share Posted 15 November , 2003 Hello, As you know, the french army was facing difficulties to find new soldiers to replace the losses when the war ended ; at the time, France and the United Kingdom had both around 38 millions of inhabitants (UK filled up the gap with France in the 18th and 19th centuries). Was the Bristish army also facing the same problem? Thank you for your answers. Jacques Stéphan, France Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will O'Brien Posted 15 November , 2003 Share Posted 15 November , 2003 Jacques Absolutely. I understand that approximately half the British Army in the field were 19 years old or less in the summer of 1918. I also understand (but not 100% sure) that the age of conscription towards the end of 1918 had been reduced to 17 1/2 years old & the upper age bracket increased 50 years of age. The German Army faced this problem also calling up the Class of 1919 (those not due for service until 1919) in mid 1918. The battles in the last couple of months were literally being fought by schoolboys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 15 November , 2003 Share Posted 15 November , 2003 There is a page on the British manpower crisis on the main site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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