British citizens will be needed to fight if the United Kingdom goes to war because the country's forces are too small, the head of the army said.
Gen. Sir Patrick Sanders, while speaking Wednesday at the International Armoured Vehicles conference in London, said Britain should "mobilize the nation" to prepare for a potential land war against President Vladimir Putin's Russia, The Telegraph first reported.
Sanders, who in six months will relinquish his duties as Chief of the General Staff (CGS), highlighted the example of Sweden, which has just reintroduced a form of national service as it closes in on joining NATO.
The army chief told the conference attendees that the UK needed to broadly follow Stockholm's example and take "preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing," The Guardian reported.
Such action was "not merely desirable, but essential," said Sanders, who added that the British people were part of a "prewar generation."
"We will not be immune and as the prewar generation we must similarly prepare – and that is a whole-of-nation undertaking," he said. "Ukraine brutally illustrates that regular armies start wars; citizen armies win them."
Sanders said Britain could not rely on its navy and air power, arguing "we must be able to credibly fight and win wars on land."
"We need an army designed to expand rapidly to enable the first echelon, resource the second echelon and train and equip the citizen army that must follow," he said, The Standard reported.
"Within the next three years, it must be credible to talk of a British Army of 120,000, folding in our reserve and strategic reserve. But this is not enough."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office attempted to downplay Sanders' remarks. A spokesperson insisted there would be no return to conscription, which was abolished in 1960.
"Hypothetical scenarios" involving possible future wars was "not helpful," the spokesperson said.
Sanders' comments came after British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps last week said the world is "moving from a post-war to pre-war world" and the U.K. must ensure its "entire defense ecosystem is ready" to defend its homeland, The Standard reported.
Months after Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine in February 2022, Sanders said "this is our 1937 moment" — a reference to preparations made for the start of World War.
Officials at NATO and member countries in recent weeks have suggested that Russia could be eyeing attacks on neighboring countries.