Laws of War

[jatay3]

The Imperial Rules of War are not "rules" they are guidelines. The real rule is "don't make to many waves"
Oh and someone mentioned the colonists using different tactics than the British and thus breaking a rule. In fact the colonists fought much like the British-they just had a good source of light infantry(skirmishers and snipers)nearby whereas the British had to hire Germans to do that job. Both sides had part of their men in line and part skirmishing.

 

[Kensai]

Well, the Hessians that the British hired were hardly the world's best skirmishers - they pretty much fought in line too. The bulk of skirmishing was undertaken by Native American allies/mercenaries, as well as the embryonic Rifle Battalion.

It must also be remembered that the experiences of the colonial war led to the founding of the Rifle Division, including the 95th and the 61st Regiments, as well as the later establishment of the Portuguese Cacadores. These in sum constituted the best light infantry of the Napoleonic Wars, far outstripping the capabilities of French tirailleurs, Prussian Jagers and the like.

It seems that the rules hold until someone breaks them to good effect - then everyone jumps onto the bandwagon and there's a revolution in the conduct of war, until a new equilibrium is arrived at... sounds like classical economic theory to me, or one could even apply chaos phase-breaking concepts to the phenomenon.

 

[jchurchill]

It must also be remembered that the experiences of the colonial war led to the founding of the Rifle Division, including the 95th and the 61st Regiments, as well as the later establishment of the Portuguese Cacadores. These in sum constituted the best light infantry of the Napoleonic Wars, far outstripping the capabilities of French tirailleurs, Prussian Jagers and the like.
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It was actually the Rifle Brigade [the 95th] and thr King's Royal Rifle Corps [the 60th] which were part of the Spanish campaign as the Light Division. One of the battalions of the 60th [KRRC] was a rifle battalion. After Waterloo the 60th became a rifle regiment as well.

I honor both these regiments with two regiments IMTU

 

[rancke]

Originally posted by jatay3:
The Imperial Rules of War are not "rules" they are guidelines. The real rule is "don't make to many waves"

True enough. But there is also a mention of "The Imperial Code of Military Justice". This I take to be a set of rules that sets forth how the Emperor wants his military forces to comport themselves. These rules are not a result of agreements with neighboring states, but they do in clude prohibitions against atrocities and whatnot

(In case you don't think any state would unilaterally impose limits on how they deal with their enemies, take a look at the Royal Navy's Articles of War ( http://www.io.com/gibbonsb/articles.html ) which includes several 'moral' articles. Check out Article 9, for example.)


Hans

 

[jchurchill]

"The Imperial Code of Military Justice". This I take to be a set of rules that sets forth how the Emperor wants his military forces to comport themselves. These rules are not a result of agreements with neighboring states, but they do in clude prohibitions against atrocities and whatnot

(In case you don't think any state would unilaterally impose limits on how they deal with their enemies, take a look at the Royal Navy's Articles of War ( http://www.io.com/gibbonsb/articles.html ) which includes several 'moral' articles. Check out Article 9, for example.)
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The Imperial Code of Military Justice may be like the Uniform Code of Military Justice used in teh US military. It mostly regulates criminal activities within the the armed forces. If you look at the link to the Yale website I put up it discusses the laws of war as found in international conventions and treaties and are agreements among different sovereign states. [e.g. not bayoneting wounded enemy combattants for fun and profit.]

The RN regulations are primarily for regulating their own service and are not binding on other navies.

Some believe and heve said that "laws of war" are really not possible because the losing side will discard them to win or that certain powers will adhere to them to keep the status quo.

In game terms the Imperial rules are loose and primarily intended to prevent the use of nuclear weapons and perhaps even massive and needless civililan casualties [or maybe not]

IMTU, overly sadistic savagery tends to beget the same in return and players who show no quarter can expect no quarter in return if they are captured.

 

[jchurchill]

PS:

IMTU I have adopted and modified the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions and used them ... a quick review will show that they are pretty broad and allow a lot of leeway. Of course not everyone will obey them.


http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/hague04.htm#art1