Rules for executing civilians in occupied territories ?

[soulBopper <wil1dman>]

In German occupied France, the Wehrmacht had rules of retribution for attacks on them by "unknown" persons.
For each Germain soldier killed, multiple civilians from the closest village or town would be executed.

I've been told that this was not an uncommon policy in the day and most armies in the world had similar rules in their tenets of war and occupation,
though the civilian multiple varied widely.

Does anyone know if this is true and where i can find more information on this subject ?
It would appear that my information is not completely flawed.
"The Fourth Geneva Convention (or GCIV) relates to the protection of civilians during times of war "in the hands" of an enemy and under any occupation by a foreign power." which only came into effect in 1950.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Geneva_Convention

Therefore it seems like that most military forces prior tot hat time had some kind of standing rules for reprisals.
Infact I believe in the Nuremburg trials, where reprisals were carried out in accordance with the Wehrmachts own rules, where sufficient notice etc. was given, these were not considered war crimes.

But I'm still having trouble finding any writings on the actual rules.

And interesrtingly enough, I found this about the Navy Seals

http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/05/rumslet0507.htm

It does seem increasingly likely that if these rules exist, they're kept secret from the public.

[PRH1]

Geneva Convention or not, it depends on the occupying force. We all know how much the USA respects the Geneva Convention!!

[No, the other North!]

Western Europe, in living memory still. Go there to smell death.

Tread careful, post-war write-ups are written by the victors, but I have seen a facsimile of the German Army field orders for this event: 10 persons are to be punished for any assault upon the honour of a single German soldier. The crowds were to be shot at waist height to avoid head-shots missing children and short people.

The baking of a child in the bakery oven was plainly an act of zeal.


"ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE (Central France, June 10, 1944)
On their 450 mile drive from the south of France to the Normandy invasion area, the 2nd SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich'(15,000 men aboard 1,400 vehicles, including 209 tanks) under the command of SS General Lammerding, arrived at Limoges, a town famous for its porcelain. In the small town of St. Junien (30 kilometres from Limoges) the 'Der Führer Regiment' was regrouping. Following many encounters with the local maquis in which two German soldiers were killed, a unit of the regiment arrived at ORADOUR (believed to be a hotbed of maquis activity) in a convoy of trucks and half-tracks. At about 2 PM on this Saturday afternoon the 120 man SS unit surrounded the village ordering all inhabitants to parade in the market place for an identity check. Women and children were separated from the menfolk and herded into the local church. The men were herded in groups into six carefully chosen local garages and barns and shot. Their bodies were then covered with straw and set on fire. The 452 women and children in the church were then suffocated by smoke grenades lobbed in through the windows and shrapnel grenades that were thrown down the nave while machine-guns raked the interior. The church was then set on fire."

[XoreaX]

That town is a ghost town to this day. Nobody reoccupied the houses, the church ruins still lay there.

Sorry I couldn't be of any help though SoulBopper.

[protectivesecurity]

I think the general consensus is that most civilians are safe unless the occupying forces are governed by the SIA!
In these circumstances, any fool will able to pick up a weapon and do as he pleases without any repercussions from a alleged authority designed to eliminate such behaviour. No dig intended, just contemplating cutting up my SIA card as it is not worth the plastic it is printed on. I hasten to add the £4500 spent acquiring it and subsequent amounts legitimately setting up business.

Arrrrgh....makes me so angry

[hippy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRH1 Geneva Convention or not, it depends on the occupying force. We all know how much the USA respects the Geneva Convention!!

As famously said by a certain (ex) member of the US Navy "I'll follow the Geneva Convention when I fight the Swiss"

And interestingly one of the main reasons for the Geneva Convention coming into play was the behaviour of the Swiss...

[No, the other North!]

Yes, don't know any Swiss personally but I have their Field Manual for 'Guerilla Tactics in the event of Occupation', written during the Cold War then published openly. Excellent marketing ploy.

Makes the Anarchist's Cookbook and those US Army manuals look tame.

The things you can do with an axe, eh?