CHAPTER IVREQUISITIONS AND WAR LEVIESRequisitions.By requisitions is to be understood the compulsory appropriation of certain objects necessary for the army which is waging war. What things belong to this category is quite undetermined. They were primarily the means to feed man and beast, next to clothe and equip the members of the army,i.e., to substitute clothing and equipment for that which has worn out or become insufficient in view of the altered circumstances and also to supplement it; furthermore, there will be such objects as serve for the transport of necessaries, and finally all objects may be demanded which serve to supply a temporary necessity, such as material and tools for the building of fortifications, bridges, railways and the like. That requisitions of this kind are unconditionally necessary and indispensable for the existence of the army, no one has yet denied; and whether one bases it legally upon necessity or merely upon the might of the stronger is a matter of indifference as far as the practise is concerned.How the docile German learnt the “better way.”The right generally recognized by the law of nations of to-day to requisition is a child of the French Revolution and its wars. It is known that as late as in the year 1806, Prussian battalions camped close to big stacks of corn and bivouacked on potato fields without daring to appease their hunger with the property of the stranger; the behavior of the French soon taught them a better way. Every one knows the ruthless fashion in which the army of the French Republic and of Napoleon satisfied their wants, but of late opinion laying stress upon the protection of private property has asserted itself. Since a prohibition of requisitions would, considering what war is, have no prospect of acceptance under the law of nations, the demand has been put forward that the objects supplied should at least be paid for. This idea has indeed up till now not become a principle of war, the right of requisitioning without payment exists as much as ever and will certainly be claimed in the future by the armies in the field, and also, considering the size of modern armies, must be claimed; but it has at least become the custom to requisition with as much forbearance as possible, and to furnish a receipt for what is taken, the discharge of which is then determined on the conclusion of peace.To exhaust the country is deplorable but we mean to do it.In order to avoid overdoing it, as may easily happen in the case of requisitions, it is often arrangedthat requisitions may never be demanded by subordinates but only by the higher officers, and that the local civil authorities shall be employed for the purpose. It cannot, however, be denied that this is not always possible in war; that on the contrary the leader of a small detachment and in some circumstances even a man by himself may be under the necessity to requisition what is indispensable to him. Article 40 of the Declaration of Brussels requires that the requisitions (being written out) shall bear a direct relation to the capacity and resources of a country, and, indeed, the justification for this condition would be willingly recognized by every one in theory, but it will scarcely ever be observed in practise. In cases of necessity the needs of the army will alone decide, and a man does well generally to make himself familiar with the reflection that, in the changing and stormy course of a war, observance of the orderly conduct of peaceful times is, with the best will, impossible.In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870: much was requisitioned on the German side. According to the opinion of all impartial writers it was done with moderation and the utmost tenderness for the inhabitants, even if in isolated cases excesses occurred. Receipts were always furnished. Later, in the case of the army on the Meuse, as early as the middle of October requisitions were, wherever it was possible,entirely left out of account and everything was paid for in cash. Later proceedings were frequently and indeed studiously conducted with a precise estimate of the value in thalers or francs.102“Moreover, military history knows of no campaign in which the victualing of an army at such a distance from home was so largely conducted with its own stores.”103“Buccaneering Levies.”By war levies or contributions is to be understood the raising of larger or smaller sums of money from the parishes of the occupied territory. They are thus to be distinguished from requisitions since they do not serve for the satisfaction of a momentary want of the army and consequently can only in the rarest cases be based upon the necessity of war. These levies originated as so-called “Brandschatzungen,”i.e., as a ransom from plundering and devastation, and thus constituted, compared with the earlier looting system, a step in the humanizing of war. Since the law of nations to-day no longer recognizes any right to plundering and devastation, and inasmuch as the principle that war is conducted only against States, and not against private persons, is uncontested, it follows logically that levies which can be characterized as simply booty-making or plundering, that is to say, as arbitrary enrichment of the conquerors, are not permitted by modern opinion. The conqueror is,in particular, not justified in recouping himself for the cost of the war by inroads upon the property of private persons, even though the war was forced upon him.War levies are therefore only allowed:1. As a substitute for taxes.2. As a substitute for the supplies to be furnished as requisitions by the population.3. As punishments.As to 1: This rests upon the right of the power in occupation to raise and utilize taxes.As to 2: In cases where the provision of prescribed objects in a particular district is impossible, and in consequence the deficiency has to be met by purchase in a neighboring district.As to 3: War levies as a means of punishing individuals or whole parishes were very frequently employed in the Franco-Prussian War. If French writers accuse the German staff of excessive severity in this respect, on the other hand it is to be remarked that the embittered character which the war took on in its latest stage, and the lively participation of the population therein, necessitated the sternest measures. But a money tax, judging by experience, operates, in most cases, on the civil population. The total sum of all the money contributions raised in the War of 1870 may be called a minimum compared with the sums which Napoleon was accustomed todraw from the territories occupied by him. According to official estimates, havoc amounting to about six milliards of francs was visited upon the four million inhabitants of Prussia in the years 1807–13.In regard to the raising of war levies it should be noted that they should only be decreed by superior officers and only raised with the cooperation of the local authorities. Obviously an acknowledgment of every sum raised is to be furnished.1. In the military laws of different countries the right of levying contributions is exclusively reserved to the Commander-in-Chief.2. The usual method of raising taxes would, in consequence of their slowness, not be in harmony with the demands of the War; usually, therefore, the Civil Authorities provide themselves with the necessary money by a loan, the repayment of which is provided for later by law.
CHAPTER IVREQUISITIONS AND WAR LEVIES
Requisitions.
By requisitions is to be understood the compulsory appropriation of certain objects necessary for the army which is waging war. What things belong to this category is quite undetermined. They were primarily the means to feed man and beast, next to clothe and equip the members of the army,i.e., to substitute clothing and equipment for that which has worn out or become insufficient in view of the altered circumstances and also to supplement it; furthermore, there will be such objects as serve for the transport of necessaries, and finally all objects may be demanded which serve to supply a temporary necessity, such as material and tools for the building of fortifications, bridges, railways and the like. That requisitions of this kind are unconditionally necessary and indispensable for the existence of the army, no one has yet denied; and whether one bases it legally upon necessity or merely upon the might of the stronger is a matter of indifference as far as the practise is concerned.
How the docile German learnt the “better way.”
The right generally recognized by the law of nations of to-day to requisition is a child of the French Revolution and its wars. It is known that as late as in the year 1806, Prussian battalions camped close to big stacks of corn and bivouacked on potato fields without daring to appease their hunger with the property of the stranger; the behavior of the French soon taught them a better way. Every one knows the ruthless fashion in which the army of the French Republic and of Napoleon satisfied their wants, but of late opinion laying stress upon the protection of private property has asserted itself. Since a prohibition of requisitions would, considering what war is, have no prospect of acceptance under the law of nations, the demand has been put forward that the objects supplied should at least be paid for. This idea has indeed up till now not become a principle of war, the right of requisitioning without payment exists as much as ever and will certainly be claimed in the future by the armies in the field, and also, considering the size of modern armies, must be claimed; but it has at least become the custom to requisition with as much forbearance as possible, and to furnish a receipt for what is taken, the discharge of which is then determined on the conclusion of peace.
To exhaust the country is deplorable but we mean to do it.
In order to avoid overdoing it, as may easily happen in the case of requisitions, it is often arrangedthat requisitions may never be demanded by subordinates but only by the higher officers, and that the local civil authorities shall be employed for the purpose. It cannot, however, be denied that this is not always possible in war; that on the contrary the leader of a small detachment and in some circumstances even a man by himself may be under the necessity to requisition what is indispensable to him. Article 40 of the Declaration of Brussels requires that the requisitions (being written out) shall bear a direct relation to the capacity and resources of a country, and, indeed, the justification for this condition would be willingly recognized by every one in theory, but it will scarcely ever be observed in practise. In cases of necessity the needs of the army will alone decide, and a man does well generally to make himself familiar with the reflection that, in the changing and stormy course of a war, observance of the orderly conduct of peaceful times is, with the best will, impossible.
In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870: much was requisitioned on the German side. According to the opinion of all impartial writers it was done with moderation and the utmost tenderness for the inhabitants, even if in isolated cases excesses occurred. Receipts were always furnished. Later, in the case of the army on the Meuse, as early as the middle of October requisitions were, wherever it was possible,entirely left out of account and everything was paid for in cash. Later proceedings were frequently and indeed studiously conducted with a precise estimate of the value in thalers or francs.102“Moreover, military history knows of no campaign in which the victualing of an army at such a distance from home was so largely conducted with its own stores.”103
“Buccaneering Levies.”
By war levies or contributions is to be understood the raising of larger or smaller sums of money from the parishes of the occupied territory. They are thus to be distinguished from requisitions since they do not serve for the satisfaction of a momentary want of the army and consequently can only in the rarest cases be based upon the necessity of war. These levies originated as so-called “Brandschatzungen,”i.e., as a ransom from plundering and devastation, and thus constituted, compared with the earlier looting system, a step in the humanizing of war. Since the law of nations to-day no longer recognizes any right to plundering and devastation, and inasmuch as the principle that war is conducted only against States, and not against private persons, is uncontested, it follows logically that levies which can be characterized as simply booty-making or plundering, that is to say, as arbitrary enrichment of the conquerors, are not permitted by modern opinion. The conqueror is,in particular, not justified in recouping himself for the cost of the war by inroads upon the property of private persons, even though the war was forced upon him.
War levies are therefore only allowed:
1. As a substitute for taxes.2. As a substitute for the supplies to be furnished as requisitions by the population.3. As punishments.
1. As a substitute for taxes.
2. As a substitute for the supplies to be furnished as requisitions by the population.
3. As punishments.
As to 1: This rests upon the right of the power in occupation to raise and utilize taxes.
As to 2: In cases where the provision of prescribed objects in a particular district is impossible, and in consequence the deficiency has to be met by purchase in a neighboring district.
As to 3: War levies as a means of punishing individuals or whole parishes were very frequently employed in the Franco-Prussian War. If French writers accuse the German staff of excessive severity in this respect, on the other hand it is to be remarked that the embittered character which the war took on in its latest stage, and the lively participation of the population therein, necessitated the sternest measures. But a money tax, judging by experience, operates, in most cases, on the civil population. The total sum of all the money contributions raised in the War of 1870 may be called a minimum compared with the sums which Napoleon was accustomed todraw from the territories occupied by him. According to official estimates, havoc amounting to about six milliards of francs was visited upon the four million inhabitants of Prussia in the years 1807–13.
In regard to the raising of war levies it should be noted that they should only be decreed by superior officers and only raised with the cooperation of the local authorities. Obviously an acknowledgment of every sum raised is to be furnished.
1. In the military laws of different countries the right of levying contributions is exclusively reserved to the Commander-in-Chief.2. The usual method of raising taxes would, in consequence of their slowness, not be in harmony with the demands of the War; usually, therefore, the Civil Authorities provide themselves with the necessary money by a loan, the repayment of which is provided for later by law.
1. In the military laws of different countries the right of levying contributions is exclusively reserved to the Commander-in-Chief.
2. The usual method of raising taxes would, in consequence of their slowness, not be in harmony with the demands of the War; usually, therefore, the Civil Authorities provide themselves with the necessary money by a loan, the repayment of which is provided for later by law.