Franco-British relations and the question of conscription in Britain, 1938-1939

This article examines the relationship interaction between the French campaign for the introduction of British conscription during 1938-39 and the ebbs and flows of British public opinion on the same issue. In particular, it will demonstrate how French pressure for conscription varied in intensity d...

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Main Author: Hucker, Daniel
Format: Article
Published: Cambridge University Press 2008
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28215/
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author Hucker, Daniel
author_facet Hucker, Daniel
author_sort Hucker, Daniel
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
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description This article examines the relationship interaction between the French campaign for the introduction of British conscription during 1938-39 and the ebbs and flows of British public opinion on the same issue. In particular, it will demonstrate how French pressure for conscription varied in intensity depending on their perceptions of British opinion on the subject. It was this interaction between diplomatic and domestic pressures that ultimately compelled the British government to introduce conscription in April 1939. Furthermore, the issue of conscription also sheds light on the wider issue of Franco-British relations, revealing how French foreign policy was neither dictated by an ‘English Governess’ nor pursued independently of Great Britain.
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spelling nottingham-282152020-05-04T20:27:11Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28215/ Franco-British relations and the question of conscription in Britain, 1938-1939 Hucker, Daniel This article examines the relationship interaction between the French campaign for the introduction of British conscription during 1938-39 and the ebbs and flows of British public opinion on the same issue. In particular, it will demonstrate how French pressure for conscription varied in intensity depending on their perceptions of British opinion on the subject. It was this interaction between diplomatic and domestic pressures that ultimately compelled the British government to introduce conscription in April 1939. Furthermore, the issue of conscription also sheds light on the wider issue of Franco-British relations, revealing how French foreign policy was neither dictated by an ‘English Governess’ nor pursued independently of Great Britain. Cambridge University Press 2008-11 Article PeerReviewed Hucker, Daniel (2008) Franco-British relations and the question of conscription in Britain, 1938-1939. Contemporary European History, 17 (4). pp. 437-456. ISSN 0960-7773 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0960777308004657 doi:10.1017/S0960777308004657 doi:10.1017/S0960777308004657
spellingShingle Hucker, Daniel
Franco-British relations and the question of conscription in Britain, 1938-1939
title Franco-British relations and the question of conscription in Britain, 1938-1939
title_full Franco-British relations and the question of conscription in Britain, 1938-1939
title_fullStr Franco-British relations and the question of conscription in Britain, 1938-1939
title_full_unstemmed Franco-British relations and the question of conscription in Britain, 1938-1939
title_short Franco-British relations and the question of conscription in Britain, 1938-1939
title_sort franco-british relations and the question of conscription in britain, 1938-1939
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28215/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28215/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28215/