Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field

Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field

Art. 117. It is justly considered an act of bad faith, of infamy or
fiendishness, to deceive the enemy by flags of protection. Such act of bad
faith may be good cause for refusing to respect such flags.

Art. 118. The besieging belligerent has sometimes requested the besieged to
designate the buildings containing collections of works of art, scientific
museums, astronomical observatories, or precious libraries, so that their
destruction may be avoided as much as possible.

SECTION VII

Parole

Art. 119. Prisoners of war may be released from captivity by exchange, and,
under certain circumstances, also by parole.

Art. 120. The term Parole designates the pledge of individual good faith
and honor to do, or to omit doing, certain acts after he who gives his
parole shall have been dismissed, wholly or partially, from the power of
the captor.

Art. 121. The pledge of the parole is always an individual, but not a
private act.

Art. 122. The parole applies chiefly to prisoners of war whom the captor
allows to return to their country, or to live in greater freedom within the
captor’s country or territory, on conditions stated in the parole.

Art. 123. Release of prisoners of war by exchange is the general rule;
release by parole is the exception.

Art. 124. Breaking the parole is punished with death when the person
breaking the parole is captured again.

Accurate lists, therefore, of the paroled persons must be kept by the
belligerents.

Art. 125. When paroles are given and received there must be an exchange of
two written documents, in which the name and rank of the paroled
individuals are accurately and truthfully stated.

Art. 126. Commissioned officers only are allowed to give their parole, and
they can give it only with the permission of their superior, as long as a
superior in rank is within reach.

Art. 127. No noncommissioned officer or private can give his parole except
through an officer. Individual paroles not given through an officer are not
only void, but subject the individuals giving them to the punishment of
death as deserters. The only admissible exception is where individuals,
properly separated from their commands, have suffered long confinement
without the possibility of being paroled through an officer.

Art. 128. No paroling on the battlefield; no paroling of entire bodies of
troops after a battle; and no dismissal of large numbers of prisoners, with
a general declaration that they are paroled, is permitted, or of any value.
Art. 129. In capitulations for the surrender of strong places or fortified
camps the commanding officer, in cases of urgent necessity, may agree that
the troops under his command shall not fight again during the war, unless
exchanged.

Art. 130. The usual pledge given in the parole is not to serve during the
existing war, unless exchanged.

This pledge refers only to the active service in the field, against the
paroling belligerent or his allies actively engaged in the same war. These
cases of breaking the parole are patent acts, and can be visited with the
punishment of death; but the pledge does not refer to internal service,
such as recruiting or drilling the recruits, fortifying places not
besieged, quelling civil commotions, fighting against belligerents
unconnected with the paroling belligerents, or to civil or diplomatic
service for which the paroled officer may be employed.

Art. 131. If the government does not approve of the parole, the paroled
officer must return into captivity, and should the enemy refuse to receive
him, he is free of his parole.

Art. 132. A belligerent government may declare, by a general order, whether
it will allow paroling, and on what conditions it will allow it. Such order
is communicated to the enemy.

Art. 133. No prisoner of war can be forced by the hostile government to
parole himself, and no government is obliged to parole prisoners of war, or
to parole all captured officers, if it paroles any. As the pledging of the
parole is an individual act, so is paroling, on the other hand, an act of
choice on the part of the belligerent.

Art. 134. The commander of an occupying army may require of the civil
officers of the enemy, and of its citizens, any pledge he may consider
necessary for the safety or security of his army, and upon their failure to
give it he may arrest, confine, or detain them.

SECTION VIII

Armistice – Capitulation

Art. 135. An armistice is the cessation of active hostilities for a period
agreed between belligerents. It must be agreed upon in writing, and duly
ratified by the highest authorities of the contending parties.

Art. 136. If an armistice be declared, without conditions, it extends no
further than to require a total cessation of hostilities along the front of
both belligerents.

If conditions be agreed upon, they should be clearly expressed, and must be
rigidly adhered to by both parties. If either party violates any express
condition, the armistice may be declared null and void by the other.

Art. 137. An armistice may be general, and valid for all points and lines
of the belligerents, or special, that is, referring to certain troops or
certain localities only.

An armistice may be concluded for a definite time; or for an indefinite
time, during which either belligerent may resume hostilities on giving the
notice agreed upon to the other.

Art. 138. The motives which induce the one or the other belligerent to
conclude an armistice, whether it be expected to be preliminary to a treaty
of peace, or to prepare during the armistice for a more vigorous
prosecution of the war, does in no way affect the character of the
armistice itself.


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