As well as a nation’s permanent military, it is possible to temporarily call up the general population to serve should the needs of the nation demand it. How important these temporary levies, called conscripts, are relates to your army model law and how large your standing military is.
Conscription centres
Conscription centres are similar to barracks, in that they are used to define the goods requirements and employment mix (between soldiers and officers). However, unlike barracks, the employment and goods requirements are only filled when the conscription centres are activated.
Raising conscripts
Conscription centres can only be activated during diplomatic plays or during wartime, and are activated on a state-by-state basis. To activate conscription centres, open up the military window (shortcut F5) and on the army tab select ‘Activate conscripts’; or open up the military lens and in the ‘army’ tab select the ‘Activate Conscription Centres’ button.
It is important to note that the people employed in the conscription centre will come from other activities in the state. For a state with a large peasant population, this is only have a limited impact on the economy, and most or all buildings may maintain full employment, but activating a conscription centre in a state with no peasants will impact employment in other buildings. Raising a lot of conscript battalions from a state with no peasants may have a noticeable impact on the economy.
It also takes time to raise conscript battalions – for a state raising a large number, it may take longer than a diplomatic play to complete. Importantly, bear in mind that these troops will need equipping. Raising so many conscript battalions that there are equipment shortages will affect all battalions (regular and conscript) using that equipment.
Conscripts and generals
Generals have separate capacities for regular and conscript battalions, and conscript battalions when raised will automatically be assigned to generals for the HQ in which they have been raised until this capacity is met.
