Humanizing siege warfare: Applying the principle of proportionality to sieges

Siege warfare and its devastating humanitarian consequences have been one of the defining features of contemporary armed conflicts. While the most apparent restriction of siege warfare appears to be provided by the prohibition against starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare, the prevailing restrictive interpretation of this prohibition has left civilians remaining in a besieged area unprotected from the hardships they endure. This article demonstrates that shifting the focus from the prohibition against starvation to the rules regulating humanitarian relief operations does not seem helpful due to the ambiguities regarding the requirement of consent and the right of control of the besieging party. In remedying this protection gap, this article examines whether and how the principle of proportionality applies in the context of a siege. After analyzing whether the encirclement and isolation aspect of a siege can be considered an attack in the sense of Article 49(1) of Additional Protocol I (AP I), to which the proportionality principle applies, the article investigates how this principle operates in the context of a siege. It will be demonstrated that Article 57(2)(b) of AP I requires that the proportionality of a siege must be continuously monitored.

»Schwert, Hunger, Seuche« als Kurzformel für den Untergang Jerusalems

Within the Hebrew Bible, terms for »pestilence« or »plague« mainly appear in connection to covenant, curses, and warfare. The essay locates the phenomenon within its ancient Near Eastern context and focuses on how the Hebrew texts describe and interpret this catastrophe. The peculiar triadic phrase »sword, hunger, pestilence«, frequent in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, recalls the horrors of siege warfare, and especially the defeat of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. For the survivors of this catastrophe who seek to explain how this traumatic event could happen, the phrase serves as a literary topos for Yhwh’s reaction to Israel’s wrong-doings and as a shorthand for their cultural trauma.

The Development and Impact of Hong Taiji’s Artillery Corps (1631–1643)

This study retraces the development of the Later Jin/Qing artillery corps between 1631 and 1642, examines the factors that led to its success, and evaluates its military and socio-political impact. The newly established artillery corps, under the direction of the talented Hong Taiji, learned effectively from its participation in sieges and developed the relevant military knowledge. By 1642, it had turned from an auxiliary force into a full-fledged unit that played a decisive role in siege warfare. The success of the Qing artillery corps greatly facilitated the Qing conquest of China (1644–1683). Moreover, the military performance of the artillery corps in the time period led to the multiple expansions and the ultimate institutionalization of the Han Eight Banner Army (baqi Hanjun).