In the first month of the war, half a million men were recruited, while by February 1916, 2,631,000 men had volunteered for active service, while conscription, begun by the Derby scheme, placing all men aged 18-41 on a call-up list, led to only a further 2,339,000 being conscripted. ... Indeed, the attacks on the Somme, and many other dismal affairs like it, Passchendaele for example, may well have not been possible, bar such unscrupulous recruitment practices, many of the enlisting Sergeants allowing underage enlistment, "smiling they wrote his lie: aged 19 years", (Disabled) sending five di...

• Word Count: 6124
• Approx Pages: 24
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Through much of history, the strength of a nation has been determined by the strength of its leader. Despite the appearance of holding power, leader's often are undermined by their own subjects as the case of Emperor Hirohito of Japan. It is true that during his reign Japan has seen a territorial expansion in Asia not unlike that of Genghis Khan's Mongolia or Julius Caesar's Rome but the question remains whether Hirohito played an active role in that expansion. Though often regarded as the people's emperor, Hirohito has proven to be less of a leader in times of war and ...

• Word Count: 5382
• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: Undergraduate