RULES OF WAR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 September 1939, Page 7

RULES OF WAR

AFFIRMATION BY BRITAIN & FRANCE EFFORTS TO SAFEGUARD CIVILIANS. ADHERENCE TO PROTOCOLS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, September 2. The following statement has been issued for publication: —■ The Governments of Britain and France solemnly publicly affirm their intention, should war be forced upon them, to conduct hostilities with the firm desire to spare the civilian population, prohibiting bombarding, whether from air or sea or by artillery on land, of any except strictly military objectives in the narrowest sense of the word. Bombardment by artillery on land will exclude objectives which have no strictly defined military importance, in particular urban areas situated outside the battle zoneJThey will furthermore make every effort to avoid destruction of localities or buildings which are of value to civilisation. As regards the use of naval forces, including submarines, the two Governments will abide strictly by the rules laid down in the Submarine Protocol, 1936. which has been accepted by nearly all civilised nations. Further, they will only employ their aircraft against merchant shipping at sea in conformity with the recognised rules -applicable to the exercise of maritime belligerent rights by warships. "Finally, the two allied Governments’ reaffirm their intention to abide by the terms of the Geneva Protocol. 1925 prohibiting the use in war of poisonous or other gases and bacteriological methods of warfare. Inquiry will be addressed to Germany as to whether she is prepared to give an assurance to the same, effect.” It will, of course, be understood that in the event of the enemy not observing any of the restrictions which Britain and France have thus imposed on the operations of their armed forces, these Governments reserve the right to take all such action as they may consider appropriate.