The War Book of the German General Staff

The War Book of the German General Staff - Being "The Usages of War on Land" Issued by the Great General Staff of the German Army

The armies of belligerent States on the outbreak of hostilities, or indeed the moment war is declared, enter into a certain relation with one another which is known by the name of A State of War. This relationship, which at the beginning only concerns the members of the two armies, is extended, the moment the frontier is crossed, to all inhabitants of the enemys State, so far as its territory is occupied; indeed it extends itself ultimately to both the movable and immovable property of the State and its citizens. A distinction is drawn between an active and a passive state of war. By the first is to be understood the relation to one another of the actual fighting organs of the two belligerents, that is to say, of the persons forming the army, besides that of the representative heads of the State and of the leaders. By the second term, i.e., the passive state of war, on the other hand, is to be understood the relationship of the hostile army to those inhabitants of the State, who share in the actual conduct of war only in consequence of their natural association with68 the army of their own State, and who on that account are only to be regarded as enemies in a passive sense. As occupying an intermediate position, one has often to take into account a number of persons who while belonging to the army do not actually participate in the conduct of hostilities but continue in the field to pursue what is to some extent a peaceful occupation, such as Army Chaplains, Doctors, Medical Officers of Health, Hospital Nurses, Voluntary Nurses, and other Officials, Sutlers, Contractors, Newspaper Correspondents and the like. Now although according to the modern conception of war, it is primarily concerned with the persons belonging to the opposing armies, yet no citizen or inhabitant of a State occupied by a hostile army can altogether escape the burdens, restrictions, sacrifices, and inconveniences which are the natural consequence of a State of War. A war conducted with energy cannot be directed merely against the combatants of the Enemy State and the positions they occupy, but it will and must in like manner seek to destroy the total intellectual38 and material resources of the latter.39 Humanitarian claims such as the protection69 of men and their goods can only be taken into consideration in so far as the nature and object of the war permit. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 51646
Author: Prussia (Germany). Armee. Grosser Generalstab. Kriegsgeschichtliche Abteilung II
Release Date: Apr 3, 2016
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Translator: Morgan, J. H. (John Hartman), 1876-1955