General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
RE: German volunteers and an American Hero
Posted by:
Andrew H
()
Date: July 10, 2001 07:14PM
<HTML>Hi,
I should point out that British service men who fought in World War 2 were not volunteers, they were conscripted (drafted). Conscription was introduced in 1939, immediately the war broke out (compare not until 1917 in World War 1), and continued until the early fifties.
Professional soldiers, in uniform from before the war, got all the best posting and promotions. You could continue to volunteer for the professional army (navy, air force) during the war, if you wanted, but then you were in service for much longer, rather than \'for the duration of hositilities\', as the phrase went.
Submariners were volunteers, initialy from amongst the professional navy, later as the war progressed from the \'wavy navy\' - the RNVR (Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve).
Did not America have its \'first peace time draft\'sometime in the thirties?
Andrew</HTML>
I should point out that British service men who fought in World War 2 were not volunteers, they were conscripted (drafted). Conscription was introduced in 1939, immediately the war broke out (compare not until 1917 in World War 1), and continued until the early fifties.
Professional soldiers, in uniform from before the war, got all the best posting and promotions. You could continue to volunteer for the professional army (navy, air force) during the war, if you wanted, but then you were in service for much longer, rather than \'for the duration of hositilities\', as the phrase went.
Submariners were volunteers, initialy from amongst the professional navy, later as the war progressed from the \'wavy navy\' - the RNVR (Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve).
Did not America have its \'first peace time draft\'sometime in the thirties?
Andrew</HTML>
