Many Europeans are unwilling to fight for their countries, which has led to the desire for a mercenary army in Europe.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/13/europe-immigration-military-russia-ukraine-munich-population-security/

Migration Can Provide the Manpower for European Defense

Creating a pathway to citizenship in return for military service will help Europe stand on its own.

Europe faces parallel challenges that policymakers have yet to connect: a pressing military recruitment shortage and an ongoing migration challenge. While politicians wring their hands over both issues separately, an opportunity has been hiding in plain sight. European countries should create a pathway to citizenship for immigrants willing to serve in their armed forces.

Europe’s manpower crisis is real. According to recent defense reporting, in 2025 Germany’s Bundeswehr saw recruiting continue to fall behind targets, despite recruitment campaigns. The United Kingdom continues to fall short of its annual recruitment goal, with more service members leaving than joining. France, Italy, and the Netherlands all face similar shortfalls, with more than 20 percent of professional soldier positions remaining unfilled across many European militaries.

I think it depends who is fighting , who is loyal to a country . Nationalistic pride in one's country has been decimated by the leftist globilist.

loyalty in military service isn't something you can just assume, it often ties into a sense of belonging, shared values, and incentives.

Not just a European trait, but in general, across the Anglo-Saxon world.

https://www.gallup-international.com/survey-results-and-news/survey-result/fewer-people-are-willing-to-fight-for-their-country-compared-to-ten-years-ago

The British Empire, at its peak, had a military that was mostly not British. Wellington at Waterloo, created multinational units; about 55% of the men under his command were not British. There is of course the Gurkhas. In France and Spain, there is the Foreign Legion, which recruits men of all nationalities, no question asked.

The emergence of Armies mostly made up of citizens is quite recent, more of a 19th century trend. About 10 years ago the UAE switched to an almost entirely mercenary army (mostly Columbians), but most of those Gulf States had mostly British officers, not loan service individuals. In the US, there are about 700-800,000 foreign born veterans, with about 50,000 immigrants currently serving. Both the US and British armies are 5% immigrant.

The Roman Legions of course were mostly not from what we would call Italy today.

My brother did nearly 30 years, Bosnia, Iraqx3, Afghanistanx2. He met the flag waving American troops, who were mostly the minority. Most of the American troops he found were much like the British troops. The loyalty was less to country and head of State, more to your mates. The flag wavers tended to be the Billy No Mates teetotal bible bashers.

Rory Stewart in his excellent account The Marches, where he walks along Hadrian's Wall, ruminating about history and its relationship to the present, described how the Dacians who built the Wall, could be compared to his own regiment, the Black Watch. How the Black Watch incorporated non-Scots, in much the same way as how the Dacians absorbed Britons.

I don't find the statistics all that remarkable really. Remarkable perhaps to a people who have little to no history.