"War," wrote Gen. William T. Sherman, "is cruelty, and you cannot
refine it." Throughout history, noncombatants have always been
among the victims of war's violence. In this book, nine
distinguished historians examine twenty-five hundred years of human
conflicts and their varied impacts on civilian society. Each case
study examines not only what military forces did to noncombatants
in the area of their operations, but why they did it and how they
justified their actions. The focus, however, remains firmly on the
practical realities of war, not on normative theories or the
prescriptions of the "laws of war."
The patterns that emerge from the nine case studies are not
simple ones. Some of the same factors and pressures appear again
and again, though the balance among them and the ultimate outcome
vary greatly. We see how often devastation has served as a tool of
coercive diplomacy, but also how logistic considerations have
greatly affected the calculus of pillage versus restraint. The
importance of precedent, of culture, of ideology or morality, and
of morale become clear.
This book addresses crucial issues in an era in which historians
have come to appreciate that a full understanding of war must
address its victims as well as its victors, and when policymakers
are perhaps more concerned than ever with minimizing the impact of
war on civilian society.
General
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