Conscript (Red Alert 3)

Concripts are the soviet basic infantry trained during the War of the Three Powers.

While Anatoly Cherdenko altered the time line by removing Albert Einstein, conscripts still remained the foundation of the Soviet army. However, there was little difference between these and the previous Conscripts, now they are armed with Molotov Cocktails along with the classic rifles.

Background
In the Soviet Union, military service is understood to be a rite of passage, for boys and girls alike, into a patriotic adulthood. And, much like the onset of age, this rite is not optional. Opportunities do abound, and based on a child's scholastic achievement and parentage, he or she may end up serving either behind a desk or behind a machine gun for the glory of Russia and all her sister republics. Among the entirety of Soviet youth entering the armed forces, a large percentage consists of boys of unremarkable strength, intellect, or pedigree. These boys, once properly trained and equipped, are boys no longer: They are conscripts.

The millions of drafted boys destined to become conscripts tended to have no distinguishing attributes or patronage. Training had a heavy theoretical component with an emphasis on raising morale and reinforcing indoctrination learned earlier in life, (such as how to properly fire a gun, salute high-ranking officials, cry out authorized Soviet war cries, etc.). In addition to this, conscripts were often promised great reward for their service, motivating them further. By comparison, technical skills, such as marksmanship, merited relatively little time and swimming was completely ignored, reportedly due to fears of desertion.

Training program


The conscript training program was regarded as highly efficient by the Soviets. Exit polls suggest conscripts come away from this video series genuinely inspired and enthusiastic for combat, (and the few that are unsatisfied typically are sent to the gulags straightaway). However, the cost of turning out enthusiastic but poorly trained was apparent by conscripts possessing the shortest average combat lives out of all the Soviet forces. Conscripts rarely lived above 26.6 years before being killed or (more rarely) promoted.

Armament
Conscripts were armed with the ADK-45 assault rifle. The rifle was inexpensive and fired 7.62mm rounds effective against infantry. Equipping new conscripts made extensive use of battlefield salvage.

New gadget
Conscripts gain the Molotov Cocktail which allows them to clear garrisons. According to the official website, the Molotov Cocktail was "named for the great Soviet bartender who first invented the concoction in exasperation when his patrons refused to leave his establishment." Based on this knowledge, it can be assumed these Molotov Cocktails are poisonous as well as flammable, but apparently some Conscripts have tried drinking it anyway as "Reports of conscripts drinking this substance for pleasure, and subsequently falling ill or dying, are described as 'patently false' by the Soviet media."

Deployment History
The Allies often ran into en-masse Conscript attacks in the early missions, such as Ride of the Red Menace, but most were dealt with by superior defenses and tactics.

In the Soviet campaign, the lowly Conscripts actually had a dramatic effect on the Soviet Perspective. Many of the Unions most heroic moments were fought by them, including the Defense of Leningrad, the Battle of Vladivostok, and the Battle of Geneva, as well as the conflicts regarding the Soviet Civil War (e.g. No Traitors Tomorrow and The Stone Faced Witnesses). However, the greatest moment for the Conscripts was during Operation: To Tame A Living God. In the operation, a Conscript and a War Bear, (the sole survivors of the first wave), managed to sneak past the bored guards, and attack Yoshiro. Despite the fact it was really a mechanic duplicate of the Emperor the pair "assassinated", and the fact they were captured immediately following the stunt, they were liberated, and taken back to Russia, (where they were presumably treated as national heroes and given many honors for their unquestionable bravery).

In the Imperial campaign, conscripts were due the lacking of sophisticated weapons brushed like a dust before the divine wrath of the Empire.

Trivia

 * If you examine a conscript (shifted in defense forces) sitting behind the machine gun in a sentry gun, and the structure is not selected, conscript will snuggle down and will be drinking unknown drink, possibly Vodka, or maybe his Molotov cocktail.
 * Due to the fact that the conscript is sometimes seen drinking from a bottle when idling, it is possible that they carry two distinct bottles (one with a a beverage and one with a molotov). There is also a possibility that the molotov is actually a drinkable (yet highly explosive) moonshine.

Behind the Scenes
In comparison to their Red Alert 2 counterparts, the conscripts in Red Alert 3 appear far less equipped both aesthetically and experience wise; as their predecessors sported a cast iron helmet with a breathing apparatus, a pair of iron plated shoulder pads, a revolver, and a bandoleer loaded with munitions. However, the Red Alert 3 conscripts are stripped of all of these accessories; leaving them with their signature trench coat and ADK-45 or AK-47, possibly for economic reasons due to their mostly short lives.