The Spectator at war: Crime and punishment | 21 April 2015

From ‘Criminal Warfare and Retaliation’, The Spectator, 24 April 1915:

Although a soldier is supposed to obey his officer unquestioningly, the English soldier has two masters, his officer and the law. An illegal command need not be obeyed by the English soldier. An English soldier who kills by order of his officer is liable to be tried for murder. That obedience to two possibly conflicting authorities is obviously subversive of discipline, for it makes the soldier a judge as to whether he should obey or not. German discipline, on the other hand, makes obedience absolute, considers the soldier merely as a passive instrument executing a higher will, and makes the officer solely responsible for the soldier’s action. That is the conception of discipline and responsibility held by our enemies. A German soldier or sailor who, at the orders of his officers, murders or steals has only done his duty. A soldier or sailor who refuses to murder or steal when ordered to do so is liable to be shot without trial for disobedience in face of the enemy.