Germany’s coalition government have taken steps to increase the volume of its armed services by finalising a “voluntary now, compulsory later” military service agreement that will be effective from January 1, 2026.
From that moment, 18-year-old-men will be required to fill in a questionnaire on whether they would want to serve and undergo a physical test.
The plan has come about as Germany’s armed forces have come under scrutiny as to whether they would be able to fulfil their NATO commitments if Russia’s assault on Ukraine requires it.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has moved to increase defence spending, vowing to turn the German armed forces into “the strongest conventional army in Europe”.
The current shortfall
As things stand, the Bundeswehr (German army) numbers stand at 182,000 of active personnel and 60,000 reservists. The government wants to increase to 260,000 and 200,000 respectively, taking the total numbers to 460,000.
According to Merz, around 350,000 young men mature every year and become eligible for service and will receive a QR code to register.
Although these young men will be required to fill in the questionnaire, for the moment it remains voluntary whether they decide to join on completion of satisfactory physical and psychological examination.
Merz sayshe suspects that the voluntary process will probably not yield the numbers required, and that the Bundestag (German Parliament) may have to implement a partial conscription – compulsory enlistment for those no familiar with the term.
Division within the coalition
The coalition government between the Social Democrats led by Barbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil stressed that conscription would be very much up to the Bundestag in contrast to the Christian Democrats, who were already citing Conscription as a future possibility.
The defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said: “There is no cause for concern or fear. The better our armed forces can deter and defend, through armaments, training and personnel, the less likely we are to get involved in a conflict at all.”
He believes that many will volunteer, with a monthly salary of 2,600 euros and a subsidy to aid with passing a driving test on offer.
Sabre-rattling ramping up
And so, with Remembrance Sunday still very fresh in the memory, the first European country that was very much involved in the mass killing of two generations of young men in two world wars in the 20th century, prepares to potentially sacrifice more young men.
Although conscription in the UK doesn’t seem to have been spoken about in any serious way thus far, there have been rumblings from back benchers such as Paulette Hamilton, MP for Birmingham Erdington, who openly spoke on the Jeremy Vine show, stating (quite ludicrously in my humble opinion): “Our borders are being threatened” with reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
I was sceptical that another world war was on the cards. Now I feel like it could be inevitable. Politicians often seem almost desperate to get us involved in a war that is none of our business, selling it to us as some kind of imminent threat to our borders.
Some have already forgotten
Granting myself the privilege of speaking on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of young men out there, having had some personal past experience of going to war, I can only hope the war machine does not grind into action again. As a society, we keep saying “we will never forget.” Sadly, it seems, some have already forgotten.
