Editing Reprisal (section)

===World War II===
{{anchor|Doctrine of belligerent reprisal}}
Bennett writes that the events of [[World War II]] can be seen through either the prism of [[negative reciprocity]] or the prism of reprisal. If the latter, "the rules also required that reprisals be used ‘only as an unavoidable last resort to induce the enemy to desist from illegitimate practices’".{{sfn|Bennett|2019|p=10}}

The official 1940 [[American Rules of Land Warfare]] stated that "commanding officers must assume responsibility for retaliative measures when an unscrupulous enemy leaves no other recourse against the repetition of barbarous outrages."{{sfn|Bennett|2019|p=10}}

Both Rogers and Bennett write that "[s]tate practice in the Second World War was characterised by, among other factors, the '''doctrine of belligerent reprisal'''."{{sfn|Bennett|2019|p=5}}{{sfn|Rogers|2012|p=17}}