BRITS will be conscripted to fight Russia as the UK's "starved" military desperately needs more soldiers to win, a former Admiral has warned.
Lord West said "every aspect of the nation" will be mobilised in the event of World War Three - but Britain is unprepared for a war after "squeezing" defence spending for years.
"We don't want to go to conscription, but if there should be a world war, then obviously the country mobilises," he told The Sun.
"Every aspect of the nation gets mobilised to the war - otherwise you lose. We saw that in the Second World War.
"Part of that is needing extra people - and they would have to introduce conscription if there was a war.
"It's something everyone should do."
But Lord West also cautioned: "We are a long way from that at the moment."
The introduction of conscription, were it to happen, would be the first time in over 60 years that Brits would be required to fight.
Mandatory military service was introduced during the First World War after the government passed the Military Service Act in 1916.
It comes after General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff, said Brits could face a call-up if the UK goes to war with Russia because the "military is too small".
And he stressed the need for ministers to "mobilise the nation" in a speech amid the looming threat of World War Three.
With the British Army being reduced to its smallest size for centuries, Gen Sir Patrick believes there should be a "shift" in the mindset of the public who should be willing to defend the UK against foreign adversaries.
Lord West said slashing spending to the Armed Forces has been "very damaging".
"The message Gen Sir Patrick is trying to get across is that the army is too small and if there was a fight, we need more soldiers," he said.
"There's been too little spent on the defence of our nation and I think the army is too small. I thought the Navy was too small with too few ships.
"I think there are probably too few soldiers. Our defence has been squeezed for so many years.
"Going back to 2010, the review reduced spending to a third. I don't think most people in this country realise that had been done. That's been very damaging.
"Our Armed Forces have been starved of money - we have started giving them a lot more now, but not enough. And that means the Armed Forces are not at the level they should be.
"Getting the message across that the military are not being giving sufficient funds is legitimate.
"I think the general public should be worried. The country should be nervous about the fact the military has been squeezed so much."
He added: "People like Putin and the Iranians look at Britain and Europe and think, 'they talk about fighting, but they spend nothing on their military'.
"Putin has bumped his spending up to 40 per cent. It's unbelievable. And that is worrying."
Lord West said Britain would "need a lot more soldiers to fight the Russians".
"But the worry is the Russians would rapidly start losing against Nato and then their trick would be to use a nuclear weapon," he warned.
"And when you use one nuclear weapon, it's starts escalating and before you know it, you are in a nuclear holocaust."
Last week, a leaked military report revealed what could be Putin's step-by-step plan to bring the West to the brink of World War 3 - and it starts in weeks.
The secret docs detail the despot's possible "path to conflict" which reaches its climax in the summer of 2025 on "Day X" when half a million Nato and Russian soldiers will face each other.
It's understood Gen Sir Patrick would not support conscription, but believes the British people should change their mindset to "think more like troops" and be prepared for a call-up if Nato goes to war with Putin.
It comes just days after a Nato chief warned Brits could face conscription as the threat of all-out war with Russia loomed.
Chief of Nato's military committee Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer called on the West to "prepare for an era of war", adding that Nato "needs a warfighting transformation".
During a crunch summit between Nato defence chiefs in Brussels, Bauer said: "We need to be readier across the whole spectrum.
"You have to have a system in place to find more people if it comes to war, whether it does or not. Then you talk mobilisation, reservists or conscription.
"We have to realise it’s not a given that we are in peace. And that’s why we [Nato forces] are preparing for a conflict with Russia."
Gen Sir Patrick made his plea to ordinary Britons at the International Armoured Vehicles Conference in Twickenham on Wednesday.
He said: "Our friends in Eastern and Northern Europe, who feel the proximity of the Russian threat more acutely, are already acting prudently, laying the foundations for national mobilisation.
"We will not be immune and as the pre-war generation we must similarly prepare - and that is a whole-of-nation undertaking.
"Ukraine brutally illustrates that regular armies start wars; citizen armies win them.
"Our predecessors failed to perceive the implications of the so-called July Crisis in 1914 and stumbled into the most ghastly of wars. We cannot afford to make the same mistake today."
Gen Sir Patrick, who will stand down as Chief of the General Staff in six months, previously used a speech to warn that the UK was facing its “1937 moment” over the war in Ukraine.
He claimed Britain must be ready to “fight and win” to ward off the threat from Russia.
The sombre message comes as the Middle East has become a powder keg unsettled by Israel's ongoing war against Hamas, Iran-backed Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea, and recent clashes and strikes between Iran and Pakistan.
Nato recently announced its biggest call-up in decades as 90,000 troops prepare to begin World War Three drills.
Among that number will be 20,000 British troops as the alliance plans to test allies on their ability to engage in conflict with an adversary as capable as Russia.
Steadfast Defender will begin this week and run to late May, involving units from all 31 NATO member countries plus candidate-member Sweden.
