article_snippet: At the outbreak of the First World War, the British Army was, unlike forces fielded by many other nations, composed exclusively of volunteers and was much smaller than the British Army French and German counterparts.
article_snippet: As fighting began in Europe, Britain could boast only a relatively small force of 400,000 soldiers - over half of which were posted around the world to garrison the Empire.
article_snippet: the British Army sent to the Western Front was known as the British Expeditionary Force, which was formed for service in France and became known as the Old Contemptibles.
article_snippet: By the end of 1914 — after the battles of Mons, the Le Cateau, the Aisne and Ypres — the old regular the British Army had been wiped out, although the old regular British Army managed to help stop the German advance, and more men were needed.
article_snippet: That marked the beginning of the famous recruitment drive fronted by General Kitchener which in 1914–1915 assembled the volunteers destined to go into action at the Battle of the Somme.
article_snippet: Conscription was only introduced in 1916 and, by the end of 1918, the British Army had reached the British Army maximum strength of 4,000,000 men and could field over 70 divisions, many of which were drawn from colonies like India. '