The handbook of modern irregular warfare - pamphlet No 1

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Title

The handbook of modern irregular warfare - pamphlet No 1

Description

Warning prisoners of war the dangers of escaping - 'it is no longer a sport'.

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Two-sided printed document

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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.

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Identifier

MWhiteheadT1502391-180307-01

Transcription

The confidential military pamphlet that must not fall into German hands.

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.
The information given in the document is not to be communicated, either directly or indirectly to the Press or to any person not holding an official position in His Majesty’s Service.

THE HANDBOOK OF MODERN IRREGULAR WARFARE

*The sphere of operations should always include the enemy’s own country, any occupied territory, and in certain circumstances, such neutral countries as he is using as a source of supply.

**… the days when we could practice the rules of sportsmanship are over. For the time being, every solider must be a potential gangster and must be prepared to adopt their methods whenever necessary.

PAMPHLET No. 1

The General Principles of Irregular Warfare

THIS IS A SECURTY DOCUMENT AND MUST NOT FALL INTO ENEMY HANDS.

*cf Handbook P.5.
**cf Handbook P. 43.


[PAGE BREAK]

To all Prisoners of War!
The escape from Prison camps is no longer a sport!
Germany has always kept to the Hague Convention and only punished recaptured prisoners of war with minor disciplinary punishment. Germany will still maintain these principles of international law. But England has besides fighting at the front in an honest manner instituted an illegal warfare in non combat zones in the form of gangsters commandos, terror bandits and sabotage troops even up to the frontiers of Germany.
They say in a captured secret and confidential English military pamphlet,
THE HANDBOOK OF MODERN IRREGULAR WARFARE.
“…the days when we could practise the rules of sportsmanship are over. For the time being, every solider must be a potential gangster and must be prepared to adopt their methods whenever necessary.”
“The sphere of operations should always include the enemy’s own country, and occupied territory, and in certain circumstances, such neutral countries as he is using as a source of supply.”

England has with these instructions opened up a non military form of gangster war!

Germany is determined to safeguard her homeland, and especially her war industry and provisional centres for the fighting fronts. Therefore it has become necessary to create strictly forbidden zones, called death zones, in which all unauthorised trespassers will be immediately shot on sight.

Escaping prisoners of war, entering such death zones, will certainly lose their lives. They are therefore in constant danger of being mistaken for enemy agents or sabotage groups.
[underlined] Urgent warning is given against making future escapes! [/underlined]
In plain English: Stay in the camp where you will be safe! Breaking out of it is now a damned dangerous act.
[underlined] The chances of preserving your life are almost nil! [/underlined]
All police and military guards have been given the most strict orders to shoot on sight all suspected persons.
Escaping from prison camps has ceased to be a sport!

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Citation

“The handbook of modern irregular warfare - pamphlet No 1,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed March 28, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/17111.

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