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In WWI, which countries used prisoners as soldiers?
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What happened to prisoners incarcerated for domestic crimes (not war) before and during the outbreak of the Great War?
Using a UK report, in 1914 the prison population dropped around 5000, but 11,000 prisoners remain throughout the war. In perspective, this population would have been nearly a division!
Conscription was adopted before and during the war across the European powers. Would this typically lead to a pardon of minor crimes in exchange for military service? Furthermore, with the threat of death for desertion or disobedience - would it not have been prudent to take all prisoners, regardless of their crimes and place them on the front?
Given the shortage of manpower all powers faced, this could well have been a boost, and surely less resource spent on the home front.
This has been a question it's hard to find material for due to the large quantity of material that comes up on prisoners of war.
20th-century world-war-one
edited 28 mins ago
Mark C. Wallace♦
22.8k871110
asked 4 hours ago
Ste Pammenter
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Ste Pammenter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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up vote
3
down vote
favorite
What happened to prisoners incarcerated for domestic crimes (not war) before and during the outbreak of the Great War?
Using a UK report, in 1914 the prison population dropped around 5000, but 11,000 prisoners remain throughout the war. In perspective, this population would have been nearly a division!
Conscription was adopted before and during the war across the European powers. Would this typically lead to a pardon of minor crimes in exchange for military service? Furthermore, with the threat of death for desertion or disobedience - would it not have been prudent to take all prisoners, regardless of their crimes and place them on the front?
Given the shortage of manpower all powers faced, this could well have been a boost, and surely less resource spent on the home front.
This has been a question it's hard to find material for due to the large quantity of material that comes up on prisoners of war.
20th-century world-war-one
edited 28 mins ago
Mark C. Wallace♦
22.8k871110
asked 4 hours ago
Ste Pammenter
1163
New contributor
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
So you want to know which countries did use prisoners as soldiers (and what the terms for this were) and for those that didn't, why they didn't?
– Steve Bird
4 hours ago
That's correct!
– Ste Pammenter
4 hours ago
Please revise the question to ask what you want to know. The question you confirm in the comments is very different from the question in the title.
– Mark C. Wallace♦
42 mins ago
Thanks for the feedback.
– Ste Pammenter
30 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
up vote
3
down vote
favorite
What happened to prisoners incarcerated for domestic crimes (not war) before and during the outbreak of the Great War?
Using a UK report, in 1914 the prison population dropped around 5000, but 11,000 prisoners remain throughout the war. In perspective, this population would have been nearly a division!
Conscription was adopted before and during the war across the European powers. Would this typically lead to a pardon of minor crimes in exchange for military service? Furthermore, with the threat of death for desertion or disobedience - would it not have been prudent to take all prisoners, regardless of their crimes and place them on the front?
Given the shortage of manpower all powers faced, this could well have been a boost, and surely less resource spent on the home front.
This has been a question it's hard to find material for due to the large quantity of material that comes up on prisoners of war.
20th-century world-war-one
edited 28 mins ago
Mark C. Wallace♦
22.8k871110
asked 4 hours ago
Ste Pammenter
1163
New contributor
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
What happened to prisoners incarcerated for domestic crimes (not war) before and during the outbreak of the Great War?
Using a UK report, in 1914 the prison population dropped around 5000, but 11,000 prisoners remain throughout the war. In perspective, this population would have been nearly a division!
Conscription was adopted before and during the war across the European powers. Would this typically lead to a pardon of minor crimes in exchange for military service? Furthermore, with the threat of death for desertion or disobedience - would it not have been prudent to take all prisoners, regardless of their crimes and place them on the front?
Given the shortage of manpower all powers faced, this could well have been a boost, and surely less resource spent on the home front.
This has been a question it's hard to find material for due to the large quantity of material that comes up on prisoners of war.
20th-century world-war-one
20th-century world-war-one
edited 28 mins ago
Mark C. Wallace♦
22.8k871110
asked 4 hours ago
Ste Pammenter
1163
New contributor
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 28 mins ago
Mark C. Wallace♦
22.8k871110
asked 4 hours ago
Ste Pammenter
1163
New contributor
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 28 mins ago
Mark C. Wallace♦
22.8k871110
edited 28 mins ago
Mark C. Wallace♦
22.8k871110
edited 28 mins ago
Mark C. Wallace♦
22.8k871110
22.8k871110
asked 4 hours ago
Ste Pammenter
1163
New contributor
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 hours ago
Ste Pammenter
1163
asked 4 hours ago
Ste Pammenter
1163
1163
New contributor
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
So you want to know which countries did use prisoners as soldiers (and what the terms for this were) and for those that didn't, why they didn't?
– Steve Bird
4 hours ago
That's correct!
– Ste Pammenter
4 hours ago
Please revise the question to ask what you want to know. The question you confirm in the comments is very different from the question in the title.
– Mark C. Wallace♦
42 mins ago
Thanks for the feedback.
– Ste Pammenter
30 mins ago
add a comment |Â
So you want to know which countries did use prisoners as soldiers (and what the terms for this were) and for those that didn't, why they didn't?
– Steve Bird
4 hours ago
That's correct!
– Ste Pammenter
4 hours ago
Please revise the question to ask what you want to know. The question you confirm in the comments is very different from the question in the title.
– Mark C. Wallace♦
42 mins ago
Thanks for the feedback.
– Ste Pammenter
30 mins ago
So you want to know which countries did use prisoners as soldiers (and what the terms for this were) and for those that didn't, why they didn't?
– Steve Bird
4 hours ago
So you want to know which countries did use prisoners as soldiers (and what the terms for this were) and for those that didn't, why they didn't?
– Steve Bird
4 hours ago
That's correct!
– Ste Pammenter
4 hours ago
That's correct!
– Ste Pammenter
4 hours ago
Please revise the question to ask what you want to know. The question you confirm in the comments is very different from the question in the title.
– Mark C. Wallace♦
42 mins ago
Please revise the question to ask what you want to know. The question you confirm in the comments is very different from the question in the title.
– Mark C. Wallace♦
42 mins ago
Thanks for the feedback.
– Ste Pammenter
30 mins ago
Thanks for the feedback.
– Ste Pammenter
30 mins ago
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
down vote
Although there are a number of examples of prisoners being conscripted or allowed to volunteer for military service in other wars (see some examples here: Penal military unit), instances of this happening in World War I seem to be practically non-existent. The Military Services Act of 1916 does not appear to make any direct mention of prisoners. However, there a couple of 'near' cases worth mentioning.
- Eastern State Penitentiary. After much pressure from inmates, and services rendered in support serving soldiers such as rolling bandages and raising funds,
the inmates’ pleas to
serve seem to have finally fallen on receptive ears. Warden Robert
McKenty stated that men were indeed paroled so that they could serve
in the military. When they returned from the war, the Evening Bulletin
wrote, “they brought wound stripes, service bars, honorable
discharges, a boxful of decorations, sergeants’ and corporals’
chevrons (insignias).†Their service was framed as “winning back their
citizenship†and “making good†after their trouble with the law.
The French Foreign Legion. This probably doesn't qualify, but it's worth a mention as the legion did enlist criminals so it's more than likely that some served during the war.
The fall in the England and Wales prison population during World War I was most likely for the same reason as the fall noted in London. Labour shortages saw workhouses and hostels practically empty as the demand for labour rose. The
...number of men received in the London prisons fell by nearly 63 %
between 1913 (33,776) and 1918 (12,631). The Commissioners of Prisons,
while making a predictable genuflexion to liquor control, concluded
that “the prisons of the country may be largely emptied of the petty
offender when the conditions of labour are such as to secure full and
continuous employment for all…â€Â
Consider also that both prisons and the military were full of young males, and that millions of these men were now in the military and were thus not around to offend on the home front.
As to why governments didn't use prisoners, I can only deduce that there would be the burden of having to prevent possible escapes from the army once prisoners were enlisted. Given that desertion was a significant problem by the time conscription was introduced in Britain, it is hard to see how this added burden would have been welcomed by the military.
answered 49 mins ago
Lars Bosteen
32.1k8156215
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
4
down vote
Although there are a number of examples of prisoners being conscripted or allowed to volunteer for military service in other wars (see some examples here: Penal military unit), instances of this happening in World War I seem to be practically non-existent. The Military Services Act of 1916 does not appear to make any direct mention of prisoners. However, there a couple of 'near' cases worth mentioning.
- Eastern State Penitentiary. After much pressure from inmates, and services rendered in support serving soldiers such as rolling bandages and raising funds,
the inmates’ pleas to
serve seem to have finally fallen on receptive ears. Warden Robert
McKenty stated that men were indeed paroled so that they could serve
in the military. When they returned from the war, the Evening Bulletin
wrote, “they brought wound stripes, service bars, honorable
discharges, a boxful of decorations, sergeants’ and corporals’
chevrons (insignias).†Their service was framed as “winning back their
citizenship†and “making good†after their trouble with the law.
The French Foreign Legion. This probably doesn't qualify, but it's worth a mention as the legion did enlist criminals so it's more than likely that some served during the war.
The fall in the England and Wales prison population during World War I was most likely for the same reason as the fall noted in London. Labour shortages saw workhouses and hostels practically empty as the demand for labour rose. The
...number of men received in the London prisons fell by nearly 63 %
between 1913 (33,776) and 1918 (12,631). The Commissioners of Prisons,
while making a predictable genuflexion to liquor control, concluded
that “the prisons of the country may be largely emptied of the petty
offender when the conditions of labour are such as to secure full and
continuous employment for all…â€Â
Consider also that both prisons and the military were full of young males, and that millions of these men were now in the military and were thus not around to offend on the home front.
As to why governments didn't use prisoners, I can only deduce that there would be the burden of having to prevent possible escapes from the army once prisoners were enlisted. Given that desertion was a significant problem by the time conscription was introduced in Britain, it is hard to see how this added burden would have been welcomed by the military.
answered 49 mins ago
Lars Bosteen
32.1k8156215
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
Although there are a number of examples of prisoners being conscripted or allowed to volunteer for military service in other wars (see some examples here: Penal military unit), instances of this happening in World War I seem to be practically non-existent. The Military Services Act of 1916 does not appear to make any direct mention of prisoners. However, there a couple of 'near' cases worth mentioning.
- Eastern State Penitentiary. After much pressure from inmates, and services rendered in support serving soldiers such as rolling bandages and raising funds,
the inmates’ pleas to
serve seem to have finally fallen on receptive ears. Warden Robert
McKenty stated that men were indeed paroled so that they could serve
in the military. When they returned from the war, the Evening Bulletin
wrote, “they brought wound stripes, service bars, honorable
discharges, a boxful of decorations, sergeants’ and corporals’
chevrons (insignias).†Their service was framed as “winning back their
citizenship†and “making good†after their trouble with the law.
The French Foreign Legion. This probably doesn't qualify, but it's worth a mention as the legion did enlist criminals so it's more than likely that some served during the war.
The fall in the England and Wales prison population during World War I was most likely for the same reason as the fall noted in London. Labour shortages saw workhouses and hostels practically empty as the demand for labour rose. The
...number of men received in the London prisons fell by nearly 63 %
between 1913 (33,776) and 1918 (12,631). The Commissioners of Prisons,
while making a predictable genuflexion to liquor control, concluded
that “the prisons of the country may be largely emptied of the petty
offender when the conditions of labour are such as to secure full and
continuous employment for all…â€Â
Consider also that both prisons and the military were full of young males, and that millions of these men were now in the military and were thus not around to offend on the home front.
As to why governments didn't use prisoners, I can only deduce that there would be the burden of having to prevent possible escapes from the army once prisoners were enlisted. Given that desertion was a significant problem by the time conscription was introduced in Britain, it is hard to see how this added burden would have been welcomed by the military.
answered 49 mins ago
Lars Bosteen
32.1k8156215
add a comment |Â
up vote
4
down vote
up vote
4
down vote
Although there are a number of examples of prisoners being conscripted or allowed to volunteer for military service in other wars (see some examples here: Penal military unit), instances of this happening in World War I seem to be practically non-existent. The Military Services Act of 1916 does not appear to make any direct mention of prisoners. However, there a couple of 'near' cases worth mentioning.
- Eastern State Penitentiary. After much pressure from inmates, and services rendered in support serving soldiers such as rolling bandages and raising funds,
the inmates’ pleas to
serve seem to have finally fallen on receptive ears. Warden Robert
McKenty stated that men were indeed paroled so that they could serve
in the military. When they returned from the war, the Evening Bulletin
wrote, “they brought wound stripes, service bars, honorable
discharges, a boxful of decorations, sergeants’ and corporals’
chevrons (insignias).†Their service was framed as “winning back their
citizenship†and “making good†after their trouble with the law.
The French Foreign Legion. This probably doesn't qualify, but it's worth a mention as the legion did enlist criminals so it's more than likely that some served during the war.
The fall in the England and Wales prison population during World War I was most likely for the same reason as the fall noted in London. Labour shortages saw workhouses and hostels practically empty as the demand for labour rose. The
...number of men received in the London prisons fell by nearly 63 %
between 1913 (33,776) and 1918 (12,631). The Commissioners of Prisons,
while making a predictable genuflexion to liquor control, concluded
that “the prisons of the country may be largely emptied of the petty
offender when the conditions of labour are such as to secure full and
continuous employment for all…â€Â
Consider also that both prisons and the military were full of young males, and that millions of these men were now in the military and were thus not around to offend on the home front.
As to why governments didn't use prisoners, I can only deduce that there would be the burden of having to prevent possible escapes from the army once prisoners were enlisted. Given that desertion was a significant problem by the time conscription was introduced in Britain, it is hard to see how this added burden would have been welcomed by the military.
answered 49 mins ago
Lars Bosteen
32.1k8156215
Although there are a number of examples of prisoners being conscripted or allowed to volunteer for military service in other wars (see some examples here: Penal military unit), instances of this happening in World War I seem to be practically non-existent. The Military Services Act of 1916 does not appear to make any direct mention of prisoners. However, there a couple of 'near' cases worth mentioning.
- Eastern State Penitentiary. After much pressure from inmates, and services rendered in support serving soldiers such as rolling bandages and raising funds,
the inmates’ pleas to
serve seem to have finally fallen on receptive ears. Warden Robert
McKenty stated that men were indeed paroled so that they could serve
in the military. When they returned from the war, the Evening Bulletin
wrote, “they brought wound stripes, service bars, honorable
discharges, a boxful of decorations, sergeants’ and corporals’
chevrons (insignias).†Their service was framed as “winning back their
citizenship†and “making good†after their trouble with the law.
The French Foreign Legion. This probably doesn't qualify, but it's worth a mention as the legion did enlist criminals so it's more than likely that some served during the war.
The fall in the England and Wales prison population during World War I was most likely for the same reason as the fall noted in London. Labour shortages saw workhouses and hostels practically empty as the demand for labour rose. The
...number of men received in the London prisons fell by nearly 63 %
between 1913 (33,776) and 1918 (12,631). The Commissioners of Prisons,
while making a predictable genuflexion to liquor control, concluded
that “the prisons of the country may be largely emptied of the petty
offender when the conditions of labour are such as to secure full and
continuous employment for all…â€Â
Consider also that both prisons and the military were full of young males, and that millions of these men were now in the military and were thus not around to offend on the home front.
As to why governments didn't use prisoners, I can only deduce that there would be the burden of having to prevent possible escapes from the army once prisoners were enlisted. Given that desertion was a significant problem by the time conscription was introduced in Britain, it is hard to see how this added burden would have been welcomed by the military.
answered 49 mins ago
Lars Bosteen
32.1k8156215
answered 49 mins ago
Lars Bosteen
32.1k8156215
answered 49 mins ago
Lars Bosteen
32.1k8156215
answered 49 mins ago
Lars Bosteen
32.1k8156215
32.1k8156215
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ste Pammenter is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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So you want to know which countries did use prisoners as soldiers (and what the terms for this were) and for those that didn't, why they didn't?
– Steve Bird
4 hours ago
That's correct!
– Ste Pammenter
4 hours ago
Please revise the question to ask what you want to know. The question you confirm in the comments is very different from the question in the title.
– Mark C. Wallace♦
42 mins ago
Thanks for the feedback.
– Ste Pammenter
30 mins ago