This chapter deals with the concept of the civilian as it manifests in the study of war writing from the early twentieth century onwards. The category of the civilian has particular significance for the development of war literature studies, as both the figure which provides a foil to the hegemonic combatant, and as the repressed or forgotten ‘other’ in constructions of revisionist, non-patriarchal histories and canons. That this is not initially obvious has much to do with the persistent privileging of the combatant subject as a source of, and relay of, testimony about the reality of war. War literature studies, in focusing on the twentieth-century combatant (with the Great War infantryman the default paradigm case), has reproduced explicit and tacit constructions of the civilian. Explicitly, in the rhetoric of protest, civilians as referents of war literature are outsiders, ignorant of war; implicitly, civilians are the audience of war writing.

This chapter examines to what extent ‘animal soldiers’ could obtain two related legal status in light of their contribution to the war effort. They could be combatants when involved in hostilities and prisoners of war after falling into enemy hands. In consequence, they would be protected by Geneva Convention III and Additional Protocol I. While these status have not been envisaged to apply to animals, elements of the protection provided by the said instruments could inspire the analogous design of a protective regime for ‘animal soldiers’. This regime would be based on the following principles: no military involvement in hostilities, subsidiarity, humane treatment and animal dignity.

IHL offers a broad platform for the protection of civilians in all armed conflicts. This chapter describes the extent of civilian immunity from attack and how that immunity can be lost. IHL does not proscribe all civilian deaths and injuries, but seeks rather to minimise civilian harm. Controversies concern who is a civilian in non-international armed conflict and the problems of interpretation and application of the fundamental principles of distinction and proportionality in attack.

Chapter 9, “Home Army on the Offensive: Violence in 1943-1944,” dissects mature intelligentsia military resistance. As the tide of war turned and the Germans endured their first battlefield defeats against the Soviet Union, the consolidated Home Army grew aggressive. Its most effective move was a 1943 assassination campaign targeting Wehrmacht officers, Nazi police, and German administration personnel called Operation Heads. Heads intimidated the Germans and shifted occupation policy. The Home Army’s perceived success and the advance of the Eastern Front toward Warsaw in 1944 convinced underground military leaders that they were facing their last opportunity to launch a city-wide insurrection. Their rebellion, now known as the Warsaw Uprising, failed. Remaining German personnel in the city were reinforced and crushed the insurrection, slaughtered civilians, and destroyed the city. This chapter argues that military conspiracy, like Catholic resistance, had its successes but was ultimately dependent on the international situation and could not secure the practical support of the Grand Alliance in the face of both German and Soviet opposition.

Chapter 14 describes lawful human targets, the first being enemy combatants. Their required characteristics, activities, and locations are covered, followed by exceptions to their lawful targeting: prisoners, those showing intent to surrender, and those incapacitated by wounds. Wrongful use of force investigations are detailed, to impress the fact that violations of an exempt targeting status have consequences within our own armed forces. What legal standard is applied to the shooter when investigating possible unlawful use of force? Lawful civilian targets are considered, as well: when one is targeted he may return fire on civilians in self-defense; and when civilians are directly participating in hostilities (DPH), as is often the case in recent conflicts. Significant space is devoted to explaining what constitutes DPH, as well as to continuous combat function, the higher form of DPH. Targeting of heads of state (e.g., Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, the US president) is covered. Then, is there a duty to capture, rather than wound? To wound, rather than kill? Finally, the politically fraught killings of Iranian General Suliemoni and Anwar al-Aulaqi are examined for LOAC compliance.

Chapter 6 relates the individual status of the “players” on an armed conflict battlefield. It is the second question students should answer (after the conflict’s status) because the players’ status determines their rights and legal duties in the conflict. Civilians and combatants predominate, of course, but there are numerous subcategories for both: prisoners of war, retainees, militia, persons accompanying the armed forces, levée en masse fighters, spies, and mercenaries. Each category is explained and placed in relation to the other players. What if a civilian captured with weapons claims noncombatant status? LOAC provides for an informal tribunal. How is the familiar “farmer-by-day-fighter-by-night” dealt with? Who is an “unprivileged belligerent” and are they the same as an “unlawful combatant”? What status for a civilian who directly participates in hostilities and what are their battlefield rights, if any? Who is a “protected person” and what makes them such? These statuses and more are considered, along with their positions vis-à-vis the combatants who engage in combat with them.

Chapter 2 describes how this text will develop, moving from LOAC basics to somewhat more difficult legal situations and their resolution, to complex LOAC concepts and their often less-than-clear resolutions. A thumbnail sketch of the “father” of LOAC, Francis Lieber, is given, along with his LOAC foundational Code of 1863, including a basic element of that Code, the “combatant’s privilege,” which allows lawful combatants to kill and wound, destroy, and damage, without penalty of law – but only lawful combatants. The first Geneva Convention (1864) is described, along with brief accounts of one or two other basic LOAC treaties. Finally, the actual “law” of the law of armed conflict is described: the 1899 and 1907 Hague Peace Conferences, both of which continue into today to be international laws for which violators are being convicted. Finally, brief extracts from actual trials that illustrate elements of the chapter are provided to demonstrate to the student that the reading represents real-world events with modern application.