Rifleman

• It was observed […] that the English had slain wounded and captured German prisoners.
• So reads a disturbing war diary entry of the Bavarian 18th Regiment from June 7 1917, quoting one Schütze (Rifleman) Jakob Eickert of the 2.
• Christoffel was on his knees with hands raised when a soldier pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger.
• Both Eickert and Kennel were describing New Zealand soldiers’ actions – then, as now, war crimes.

‘It was quite common’

• The British Manual of Military Law, which codified the 1907 Hague Convention on land warfare, forbade soldiers from killing or wounding an enemy who had surrendered at their own discretion.
• It was quite common,” wrote another.
• When Rifleman Edward Miller and his officer struck a dugout of “Fritzes”, for example, they took prisoner a solitary German.
• But they took no chances with another group of Germans, one holding up a white handkerchief – they were “finished off”.

‘Officially sanctioned’

• But that is only half the number the adjacent British 25th Division took prisoner.
• The discrepancy suggests particularly savage fighting by the New Zealanders.
• Individuals must bear responsibility for their actions, but so must their commanders.
• Read more:
  Anzacs behaving badly: Scott McIntyre and contested history

  Campbell had discouraged taking prisoners.

Lest we forget

• But knowing what happened in battle provides a more complete understanding of their experience.
• Investigations into the behaviour of Australian and New Zealand troops in Afghanistan in recent decades only underline the contemporary relevance of older misdeeds.
• It should also mean the military itself will work to ensure it doesn’t happen again in the future.