GERMANY could recruit teenagers into its armed forces as Europe bolsters its defenses to prepare for war with Russia.
Leaked military documents have revealed Berlin’s plans to conscript all young men and women as soon as they turn 18.
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German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius could make the radical initiative public as early as next month.
During a trip to the US last week, Pistorius said Germany’s 2011 ban on compulsory military service was a “mistake”.
Now, as NATO states prepare for conflict in Europe with extensive war exercises, the defense chief is eager to bring back conscription laws.
Including women in compulsory military service would mean changing Germany’s Constitution, marking an unprecedented change.
But members of the military believe the policy would be “more likely to meet with societal approval.”
Three different possible routes have been drawn up by military planners, reports the Sunday Telegraph.
One of the other options would be to include only 18-year-old men in mandatory service.
The third would involve applications for everyone, with only a select few to serve.
If Berlin abandons bold plans for conscription, alternative recruitment campaigns could be used instead.
The reports leaked after Putin’s renewed raid on Vovchansk, near Kharkiv, last week as the tyrant’s war continued.
Zelensky said just days ago that a “fierce battle” was taking place in the embattled city as brave Ukrainian soldiers tried to fight off Putin’s forces.
Other NATO countries, including the United Kingdom, have debated conscription as they face the growing threat from Russia.
Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins has previously urged the UK to adopt a “total defence” military strategy with citizen soldiers who can be called up at any time.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, head of the UK army, highlighted the need for ministers to “mobilize the nation” in an urgent warning just a few months ago.
After repeated calls for defense spending and resources to be invested in the UK’s dwindling army, Sanders said the public needed to “think more like troops”.
And Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to give a major speech warning that the next five years will be some of the most dangerous Britain has ever seen.
UK Conscription
GERMANY is not the only country in Europe linked to conscription – mandatory participation in military service.
Amid growing fears of a Third World War, experts have warned about the preparedness of the British Armed Forces.
There are currently no recruitment laws in the UK.
The last time it was used was during World War I and World War II.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, the Army’s chief of staff, issued a warning in January that sparked talk of a possible new wave of recruitment.
The military’s top brass shared the fear that current British forces are not large enough to wage an all-out war with Russia.
He said there should be a “shift” in the mindset of the public who need to “think more like troops” and be prepared for a call-up.
Sanders told the British: “Our friends in Eastern and Northern Europe, who feel most keenly the proximity of the Russian threat, are already acting prudently, laying the groundwork for national mobilization.
“We will not be immune, and as a pre-war generation, we must prepare similarly – and this is a nation-wide undertaking.”
Admiral Rob Bauer – chairman of NATO’s military committee – also warned that civilians must be prepared for a conflict that could change their lives.
He said: “You need to have a system in place to find more people in case of war, whether it happens or not.
“So you talk about mobilization, reservists or recruitment.
“We have to realize that it is not a given that we are at peace.
“And that’s why we [Nato forces] are preparing for a conflict with Russia.”
Following Sanders’ comments, Downing Street issued a statement assuring that British conscription was not on the horizon.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said: “The British military has a proud position as a volunteer force. As I said, there is no plan for conscription.”
The myriad global threats from Putin in Russia, Xi Jinping in China and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran have put the government on high alert.
Massive NATO war exercises have been taking place in the Baltic States, just hours from Putin’s border, as fears of all-out war grow.
Around 90,000 soldiers from all 31 member states gathered in January for a war exercise scheduled to last until the end of May.
The exercises were designed to provide a show of force in the face of Russian tyrant Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine.
Germany sent 12,000 of its soldiers to the exercises, some of them held in Estonia, and the United Kingdom sent 20,000.
The leaked military plans come after Berlin earned the scorn of its fellow NATO members over an embarrassing information leak in March.
British military secrets were leaked on Russian state TV and former UK defense chief Ben Wallace said the country had shown itself to be “neither safe nor trustworthy”.
More than two years after the start of the war in Ukraine, Germany has also faced criticism for its weak sanctions on Russia, as well as minimal funding and weapons for Kiev.
Ukraine’s repeated calls for German Leopard tanks, in particular, were met with disappointing and defective deliveries.
Conscription in Germany existed for men between 1956 and 2011 – ultimately recruiting them to spend six months in the military or civil defense services.
Women, allowed to participate as volunteers, were never recruited in Germany.
The country’s constitution would allow the policy to be brought back if necessary.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
