Military Necessity

As understood by modern civilized nations, consists in the nece ity of those measures which are indispensable for securing the ends of war, and which are lawful according to the modern law and usages of war. Military nece ity admits of all direct destruction of life or limb of armed enemies, and of other persons whose destruction is incidentally unavoidable in the armed contests of war; it allows of the capturing of every armed enemy, and every enemy of importance to the hostile government, or of peculiar danger to the captor; it allows of all destruction of property, and obstruction of the ways and channels of traffic, travel, or communication, and of all withholding of sustenance or means of life from the enemy; of the appropriation of whatever an enemy’s country affords nece ary for the subsistence and safety of the army, and of such deception as does not involve the breaking of good faith, either positively pledged, regarding agreements entered into during the war, or supposed by the modern law of war to exist. Men who take up arms against one another in public war do not cease on this account to be moral beings, responsible to one another, and to God. Military nece ity does not admit of cruelty, that is, the infliction of suffering for the sake of suffering, or for revenge, or of maiming or wounding, except in fight, or of torture to extort confe ions. It does not admit of the use of poison in any way, or of the wanton devastation of a district. It admits of deception, but disclaims acts of perfidy; and in general, military nece ity does not include any act of hostility which makes the return to peace unnece arily difficult.