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156 Mil. L. Rev. 224 (1998)
The United States and the Development of the Laws of Land Warfare

handle is hein.journals/milrv156 and id is 234 raw text is: MILITARYLA WREVIEW THE UNITED STATES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LAWS OF LAND WARFARE CAPTAIN GRANT R. DoTYi I. Introduction Historian Geoffrey Best has called the period from 1856 to 1909 the law of war's epoch of highest repute.2 The defining aspect of this epoch was the establishment, by states, of a positive legal or legislative founda- tion superseding a regime based primarily on religion, chivalry, and cus- toms.3 It is during this modem era that the international conference became the forum for debate and agreement between states and the mul- tilateral treaty served as the positive mechanism for codification.4 While the two major streams5 or currents6 of the laws of war (The Hague Laws and Geneva Laws) can trace their beginnings to this epoch, it is the history of The Hague Laws which most closely corre- sponds with this remarkable period. This article examines The Hague stream with a particular focus on the United States' role in codifying the laws of land warfare. Specifically, this article seeks to establish a defini- tive link between General Orders No. 100 issued by the United States in 1. Instructor of International Relations, Department of Social Sciences, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. B.S., United States Military Academy, 1988; M.A. in International Relations, Yale University, 1996; Formerly assigned as Commander, D Company, 31st Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, 1992-1993; Executive Officer, Headquarters Company, 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 1991-1992; Platoon Leader, B Company, 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Airborne), Fort Bragg, North Carolina (including Desert Shield and Desert Storm), 1988-1991. This article is an edited version of a paper the author wrote to satisfy, in part, the M.A. degree requirements for Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. 2. GEOFFREY BEST, HUMANITY IN WARFARE 129 (1980). 3. 2 L. OPPENHEIM, INTERNATIONAL LAW § § 67-69 (H. Lauterpacht ed., 7th ed. 1952). For a thorough historical description of the period before 1856, see BEST, supra note 2, at ch. 1-2. 4. Adam Roberts, Land Warfare: From Hague to Nuremberg, in THm LAws OF WAR: CONSTRAINTS ON WARFARE IN THE WESTERN WORLD 116, 119 (Michael Howard et al. eds., 1994). 5. THE LAWS OF WAR: A COMPREHENSIVE COLLECrION OF PRIMARY DocuMENTs ON INTERNATIONAL LAWS GOVERNING ARMED CONFLICT xxi (W. Michael Reisman & Chris T. Antonion eds., 1994). 6. FrrIs KALSHOVEN, CoNsTRAnrrs ON THE WAGING OF WAR 7-8 (1987). [Vol. 156

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