Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people into a national service, usually a military service. Many countries had conscription in place during the Great War and it is estimated that around 3 million men were drafted into the army this way.
When World War I first began, many Australians signed up to join the army. There were often more men than needed and many men were turned away. However, as the war went on and word of casualties and deaths on the war front spread, the amount of people enlisting decreased significantly. In order to meet the pressures put on by Britain of contributing more to the war, Australia tossed up the option of introducing full conscription.
After visiting the war front and Britain, the prime minister at the time, Billy Hughes, returned to Australia with the strong belief that conscription was necessary for Australia and would play a vital part in winning the war. Billy Hughes attempted to introduce full conscription into Australia and as a result, two separate referenda were held. The referenda sparked a lot of controversy and debate among the citizens of Australia. Fortunately, the outcome of referenda was rejection of the introduction of full conscription.
Of the many countries that participated in the Great War, only Australia and South Africa did not introduce conscription.
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| World War I Pro-Conscription propaganda poster |
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