The
British Army during the Second World War was, in 1939, a volunteer army, that introduced limited
conscription in early 1939, and full conscription shortly after the declaration of war with Germany. During the early years of the war, the
British Army suffered defeat in almost every
theatre of war in which it was deployed, due mainly to neglect in the years before the war. With mass conscription, the expansion of the British Army was reflected in the formation of larger
armies and
army groups. From 1943, the larger and better equipped British Army never suffered a strategic defeat (although there were failures, most notably the
Battle of Arnhem in September 1944).