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Law on the Introduction of Universal Military Service in Prussia, signed by King Frederick William III, Hardenberg, and Minister of War von Boyen, among Others (September 3, 1814)

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17. Whoever in the standing army, following fulfillment of his three-year term, chooses to serve further will oblige himself to six years, receiving in return a public decoration; in case of a second prolongation of service he receives a pay-supplement and a claim on being cared for, should be become unfit for further duty.

18. Those who, after fulfilling their legally prescribed terms of service in the reserves of first or second call, wish on their own initiative to serve further will likewise receive a public decoration and a claim on advancement befitting their abilities in their regiments.

19. To lead in order and justice these various units of men obliged to bear arms, there shall be formed in every county an official board, consisting of an army officer, the county administrator [Landrat] and rural and urban landowners [Gutsbesitzer].



Source: Gesetz-Sammlung für die Königlichen Preußischen Staaten 1814. Berlin: Georg Decker [1814], pp. 79-82.

Reprinted in Walter Demel and Uwe Puschner, eds., Von der Französischen Revolution bis zum Wiener Kongreß 1789-1815 [From the French Revolution to the Congress of Vienna, 1789-1815]. Deutsche Geschichte in Quellen und Darstellung, edited by Rainer A. Müller, Volume 6. Stuttgart: P. Reclam, 1995, pp. 392-99.

Translation: William Hagen

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