PART III
USAGES OF WAR AS REGARDS NEUTRAL STATES 187 Idea of neutrality--Duties of neutral States--Contraband of war--Rights of neutral States.
CONTENTS
OF EDITOR’S MARGINAL COMMENTARY
PAGE
What is a State of War 67
Active Persons and Passive 67
That War is no respector of Persons 68
The Usages of War 69
Of the futility of Written Agreements as Scraps of Paper 70
The “flabby emotion” of Humanitarianism 71
That Cruelty is often “the truest humanity” 72
The perfect Officer 72
Who are Combatants and who are not 75
The Irregular 76
Each State must decide for itself 77
The necessity of Authorization 77
Exceptions which prove the rule 77
The Free Lance 78
Modern views 79
The German Military View 80
The _Levée en masse_ 81
The Hague Regulations will not do 83
A short way with the Defender of his Country 83
Violence and Cunning 84
How to make an end of the Enemy 85
The Rules of the Game 85
Colored Troops are Blacklegs 87
Prisoners of War 88
_Væ Victis!_ 89
The Modern View 89
Prisoners of War are to be Honorably treated 90
Who may be made Prisoners 91
The treatment of Prisoners of War 92
Their confinement 92
The Prisoner and his Taskmaster 93
Flight 94
Diet 95
Letters 95
Personal belongings 95
The Information Bureau 96
When Prisoners may be put to Death 97
“Reprisals” 97
One must not be too scrupulous 98
The end of Captivity 99
Parole 100
Exchange of Prisoners 102
Removal of Prisoners 102
Sieges and Bombardments: Fair Game 103
Of making the most of one’s opportunity 104
Spare the Churches 105
A Bombardment is no Respector of Persons 105
A timely severity 106
“Undefended Places” 108
Stratagems 110
What are “dirty tricks”? 111
The apophthegm of Frederick the Great 111
Of False Uniforms 112
The Corruption of others may be useful 113
And Murder is one of the Fine Arts 114
That the ugly is often expedient, and that it is a mistake to be too “nice-minded” 114
The Sanctity of the Geneva Convention 115
The “Hyenas of the Battlefield” 116
Flags of Truce 117
The Etiquette of Flags of Truce 119
The Envoy 120
His approach 120
The Challenge--“Wer da?” 120
His reception 120
He dismounts 121
Let his Yea be Yea, and his Nay, Nay 121
The duty of his Interlocutor 121
The Impatient Envoy 122
The French again 122
The Scout 124
The Spy and his short shrift 124
What is a Spy? 125
Of the essentials of Espionage 126
Accessories are Principals 126
The Deserter is faithless, and the Renegade false 127
But both may be useful 127
“Followers” 128
The War Correspondent: his importance. His presence is desirable 129
The ideal War Correspondent 130
The Etiquette of the War Correspondent 131
How to tell a Non-Combatant 133
War Treaties 135
That Faith must be kept even with an enemy 135
Exchange of Prisoners 135
Capitulations--they cannot be too meticulous 136
Of the White Flag 139
Of Safe-Conducts 140
Of Armistice 141
The Civil Population is not to be regarded as an enemy 147
They must not be molested 148
Their duty 149
Of the humanity of the Germans and the barbarity of the French 149
What the Invader may do 151
A man may be compelled to Betray his Country 153
And worse 153
Of forced labor 154
Of a certain harsh measure and its justification 154
Hostages 155
A “harsh and cruel” measure 156
But it was “successful” 156
War Rebellion 157
War Treason and Unwilling Guides 159
Another deplorable necessity 159
Of Private Property and its immunities 161
Of German behavior 163
The gentle Hun and the looking-glass 165
Booty 167
The State realty may be used but must not be wasted 168
State Personalty is at the mercy of the victor 169
Private realty 170
Private personalty 170
“Choses in action” 171
Plundering is wicked 171
Requisitions 174
How the docile German learnt the “better way” 175
To exhaust the country is deplorable, but we mean to do it 175
Buccaneering levies 177
How to administer an invaded country 180
The Laws remain--with qualification 181
The Inhabitants must obey 182
Martial Law 182
Fiscal Policy 184
Occupation must be real, not fictitious 185
What neutrality means 187
A neutral cannot be all things to all men; therefore he must be nothing to any of them 187
But there are limits to this detachment 188
Duties of the neutral--belligerents must be warned off 188
The neutral must guard its inviolable frontiers. It must intern the trespassers 189
Unneutral service 191
The “sinews of war”--loans to belligerents 191
Contraband of War 191
Good business 192
Foodstuffs 192
Contraband on a small scale 193
And on a large scale 194
The practise differs 194
Who may pass--the Sick and the Wounded 195
Who may not pass--Prisoners of War 196
Rights of the neutral 196
The neutral has the right to be left alone 197
Neutral territory is sacred 197
The neutral may resist a violation of its territory “with all the means in his power” 197
Neutrality is presumed 198
The Property of Neutrals 198
Diplomatic intercourse 199
THE WAR BOOK OF THE
GERMAN GENERAL STAFF
INTRODUCTION