Desertion

At a glance:

The act of permanently leaving military service without permission. Desertion has plagued armies throughout history, sometimes greatly impairing a force’s effectiveness. In Napoleonic France, deserters numbered in the hundreds of thousands; nearly half the draftees from certain provinces could be expected to desert. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), 80,000 men absented themselves from the Army of the Potomac alone. During World War II (1939-1945), the British army lost nearly 30,000 to desertion. Various factors cause soldiers to desert in such large numbers. Uncontrollable...

[The entire page is 189 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass