The sanctity of the Geneva Convention.
With the elevation of the Geneva Agreements to the level of laws binding peoples and armies, the question of the treatment of wounded and sick combatants, as well as that of the persons devoted to the healing and care of them, is separated from the usages of war. Moreover, and discussion of the form of this international law must be regarded from the military point of view as aimless and unprofitable. The soldier may still be convinced that some of the Articles are capable of improvement, that others need supplementing, and that yet others should be suppressed, but he has not the right to deviate from the stipulations; it is his duty to contribute as far as he can to the observance of the whole code.
The “Hyenas of the Battlefield.”
No notice is taken in the Geneva Convention of the question of the protection of fallen or wounded combatants from the front, from the rabble usually known as “The Hyenas of the battlefield,” who are accustomed to rob, ill-treat, or slay soldiers lying defenseless on the field of battle. This is a matter left to the initiative of the troops. Persons of this kind, whether they be soldiers or not, are undoubtedly to be dealt with in the sternest possible manner.
CHAPTER IV
INTERCOURSE BETWEEN BELLIGERENT ARMIES
Flags of Truce.
Hostile armies are in frequent intercourse with one another. This takes place so long as it is practised openly, that is to say, with the permission of the commanders on both sides, by means of bearers of flags of truce. In this class are included those who have to conduct the official intercourse between the belligerent armies or divisions thereof, and who appear as authorized envoys of one army to the other, in order to conduct negotiations and to transmit communications. As to the treatment of bearers of flags of truce there exist regular usages of war, an intimate acquaintance with which is of the highest practical importance. This knowledge is not merely indispensable for the higher officers, but also for all inferior officers, and to a certain extent for the private in the ranks.
Since a certain degree of intercourse between the two belligerents is unavoidable, and indeed desirable, the assurance of this intercourse is in the interests of both parties; it has held good as a custom from the earliest times, and even among uncivilized people, whereby these envoys and their assistants (trumpeter, drummer, interpreter, and orderly) are to be regarded as inviolable; a custom which proceeds on the presumption that these persons, although drawn from the ranks of the combatants, are no longer, during the performance of these duties, to be regarded as active belligerents. They must, therefore, neither be shot nor captured; on the contrary, everything must be done to assure the performance of their task and to permit their return on its conclusion.