What is the point of taking prisoners in war?

Belligerents hold prisoners of war in custody for a range of legitimate and illegitimate reasons, such as isolating them from the enemy combatants still in the field (releasing and repatriating them in an orderly manner after hostilities), demonstrating military victory, punishing them, prosecuting them for war crimes.

What was the strategy of the total war?

Total war is a strategy in which militaries use any means necessary to win, including those considered morally or ethically wrong in the context of warfare. The goal is not only to decimate but to demoralize the enemy beyond recovery so that they are unable to continue fighting.

Can prisoners of war be tortured?

Like the sick or wounded, prisoners of war (POWs) are protected under the Hague and Geneva laws from any violence, indignity, or biological experimentation. No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever.

What was meant by total war?

total war, military conflict in which the contenders are willing to make any sacrifice in lives and other resources to obtain a complete victory, as distinguished from limited war. Throughout history, limitations on the scope of warfare have been more economic and social than political.

What happened to prisoners of war in ww1?

In 1914, prisoners of war transported to Germany from the Front often had to sleep in fields, where they suffered from exposure, while they waited for their camps to be built. The prisoners were also used as labour to build the camps.

Why is WWI considered to be a total war?

World War I was a ‘total war’ as civilian societies, economies and labour were all seconded to the war effort. 2. Britain’s Defence of the Realm Act gave its leaders extensive powers to reduce threats and harness the economy.

Why was the Civil War not a total war?

Did the North wage a total war against the South? In the YES selection, Professor Mark E. Neely, Jr., denies that the Civil War was a total war because the Union leaders respected the distinction between combatants and non- combatants and did not fully mobilize the country’s economic resources.

Do prisoners of war get a trial?

POWs are subject to the laws and orders of the enemy army, they can be tried and punished for the same infractions and with the sanctions for which members of the enemy army can be tried and punished. In case they commit a non-military crime they are subject to the laws and courts of the Detaining Power.

Why was WWI a total war?

“Total war” includes four things: Mobilization, refusal to compromise, the blurring of roles between soldier and civilians, and total control of society. In many ways World War I was total war. There had never been a war that was so widely devastating.