Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
Yes and no to the notion that all conscripted armies have effectiveness problems.
The Roman armies were all based around conscription, as was the Royal Navy.
The Japanese army was nothing to snort at. The Canadian Army in WWII the British and American Army in WWII were extremely good.
The failure with the concept of consription comes down to the role of leadership standard.
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Of course, back then I think they were also going up against other conscripted armies so it's kind of relative. I wouldn't want to put 50,000 conscripts up against 50,000 professional soldiers in general though.
But I guess it depends on how the conscription process works. I personally know people who were basically conscripted by simply having soldiers knock on their door and ask for all the men 35 and younger. Mind you, they weren't "forced" to comply, but many did out of a sense of duty or guilt. I think that is also when you start to get into trouble with roving bands of irregulars who can't handle everything that is going on... then it all hits the fan.