The French again.
A despatch of Bismarck’s of January 9th, 1871, demonstrates by express mention of their names, that twenty-one German envoys were shot by French soldiers while engaged on their mission. Ignorance and defective teaching of the troops may have been the principal reason for this none too excusable behavior. In many cases transgressions on the part of the rawer elements of the army may have occurred, as has been many times offered as an excuse in higher quarters. Nevertheless, this state of affairs makes clear the necessity of detailed instruction and a sharp supervision of the troops by the officers.
CHAPTER V
SCOUTS AND SPIES
The Scout.
The Spy and his short shrift.
Scouting resolves itself into a question of getting possession of important information about the position, strength, plans, etc., of the enemy, and thereby promoting the success of one’s own side. The existence of scouting has been closely bound up with warfare from the earliest times; it is to be regarded as an indispensable means of warfare and consequently is undoubtedly permissible. If the scouting takes place publicly by recognizable combatants then it is a perfectly regular form of activity, against which the enemy can only use the regular means of defense, that is to say, killing in battle, and capture. If the scouting takes the form of secret or surreptitious methods, then it is espionage, and is liable to particularly severe and ruthless measures by way of precaution and exemplary punishment—usually death by shooting or hanging. This severe punishment is not inflicted on account of dishonorable disposition on the part of the spy—there need exist nothing of the kind, and the motive for the espionage may arise from the highest patriotism and sentiment of military duty quite as often as from avarice and dishonorable cupidity[74]—but principally on account of the particular danger which lies in such secret methods. It is as it were a question of self-defense.
Having regard to this severe punishment introduced by the usages of war, it is necessary to define the conception of espionage and of spies as precisely as possible.
What is a Spy?