by Michael Neiberg (Author)
This is the story of the evolution of the citizen army throughout Western nations during the nineteenth century and up through World War I. The French Revolution had brought to Europe the concept of military service as a citizen responsibility. Until then, armies and navies had been the province of the upper classes and of mercenaries, with authoritarian governments firmly in place that held little connection to the common person. As more democratic and republican governments developed during the 1800s, military service became not only a citizen's obligation, but for many, an honor. By the time of World War I, men and women-in more limited roles-were becoming willing to risk their lives for the goals of their countries.
Author Biography
Michael S. Neiberg is Professor of History and Co-Chair of the Center for the Study of the War and Society at the University of Southern Mississippi and was formerly Professor of History at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is the author of Never Such Innocence Again: A History of the First World War (2005), Warfare and Society in Europe, 1898 to the Present (2004), and many other titles.