On 19 May 2016 at 20:38, xxxxxx@comcast.net wrote:

> IIRC during WW II in the ETO there were raiding parties dressed in
> special uniforms with insignia when captured were shot as saboteurs
> and/or spies.
>
> Of course a war crime is determined by the side that won.
>
> IIRC in the early stages of WW I German U-boats followed the
> International Rules of War, by surfacing and giving the target's crew
> and passengers time to abandoned ship. The British ordered the
> skippers not to comply and attempt to ram the submarine. Eventually
> the U-boats stopped the practice and began sinking shipping without
> warning.
>
> The fact the merchants were ordered to ignore the Rules and attempt to
> sink the U-boat was ignored, but the sinking of ships without warning
> where criminal acts.
>
> My personal opinion both were criminal acts, but only the Germans paid
> a price for them.

It's interesting to note that during the Nuremburg trials, they did
*not* charge German U-boat commanders for doing that. I'm told
because some Navy folks pointed out that if they did, then they'd
have to prosecute *our* submarine commanders from the Pacific.

--
Leonard Erickson (aka shadow)
shadow at shadowgard dot com