Editing Commando Order (section)

===War crime===
The laws of war in 1942 stated, "it is especially forbidden... to declare that [[no quarter]] will be given". This was established under Article 23 (d) of the [[Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907|1907 Hague Convention]] ''IV – The Laws and Customs of War on Land''.<ref name="icrc">{{cite web |url=http://www.icrc.org/ihl/385ec082b509e76c41256739003e636d/1d1726425f6955aec125641e0038bfd6?OpenDocument |title=Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land. The Hague, 18 October 1907. |publisher=[[International Committee of the Red Cross]] |access-date=16 July 2013}}</ref> The [[Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War|Geneva Convention of 1929]], which Germany had ratified, defined who should be considered a [[prisoner of war]] on capture, which included enemy soldiers in proper uniforms, and how they should be treated. Under both the Hague and Geneva Conventions, it was legal to execute "spies and saboteurs" disguised in civilian clothes<ref name="HT">{{Citation | url = http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/List4.htm#NOTES | contribution = The hostages trial, trial of Wilhelm List and others: Notes | publisher = [[University of the West of England]] | title = United Nations War Crimes Commission. Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals | volume = VIII | year = 1949 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050208103815/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/List4.htm#NOTES | archive-date = 2005-02-08 }}.</ref><ref>''[[Ex parte Quirin]]''</ref> or uniforms of the enemy.<ref name="ICRC">{{cite web |title=Rule 107. Spies |publisher=[[International Review of the Red Cross]] |url=http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule107 |access-date=July 15, 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/skorzeny.htm Trial of Otto Skorzeny and Others] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002175149/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/skorzeny.htm |date=October 2, 2008 }}</ref> The Germans claimed in paragraph one of their order that they were acting only in retaliation in a ''quid pro quo'' for claimed Allied violation of the Geneva Convention regarding the execution of prisoners and other heinous acts;<ref name=CO/> however, insofar as the Commando Order applied to soldiers in proper uniforms,<ref>{{cite book |title=The trial of German major war criminals: proceedings of the International military tribunal sitting at Nuremberg, Germany, Volume 4 |author=International Military Tribunal |page=8 |year=1946 |publisher=H.M. Stationery }}</ref> it was in direct and deliberate violation of both the customary laws of war and Germany's treaty obligations.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The Hague regulations were found to be customary law by the judges sitting at the [[Nuremberg Trials]]<ref>{{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/judlawre.htm | contribution = Judgement: The Law Relating to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity | title = Avalon Project | publisher = [[Yale Law School]] | title-link = Avalon Project | access-date = 5 May 2007 | archive-date = 8 September 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160908231902/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/judlawre.htm | url-status = dead }}.</ref>}}

The execution of Allied commandos without trial was also a violation of Article 30 of the 1907 Hague Convention ''IV – The Laws and Customs of War on Land'': "A spy taken in the act shall not be punished without previous trial."<ref name="icrc" /> That provision includes only soldiers caught behind enemy lines in disguises, and not those wearing proper uniforms. Soldiers in proper uniforms cannot be punished for being lawful combatants and must be treated as prisoners of war upon capture except those disguised in civilian clothes or uniforms of the enemy for military operations behind enemy lines.<ref name="ICRC" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Romantics at War: Glory and Guilt in the Age of Terrorism |url=https://archive.org/details/romanticsatwar00geor |url-access=registration |author=George P. Fletcher |page=[https://archive.org/details/romanticsatwar00geor/page/106 106] |year=2002 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=0-691-00651-2 }}<!--|accessdate=16 July 2013--></ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Ethics of Spying: A Reader for the Intelligence Professional |editor=Jan Goldman |page=149 |year=2009 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield|Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=978-0-8108-6198-5 }}<!--|accessdate=16 July 2013--></ref>

The fact that Hitler's staff took special measures to keep the order secret, including the limitation of its printing to 12 initial copies, strongly suggests that it was known to be illegal.<ref>{{Citation | publisher = International Military Tribunal | title = Blue Series | volume = 4 | page = 445}}.</ref> He also knew the order would be unpopular with the professional military, particularly the part that stated it would stand even if captured commandos were in proper uniforms (in contrast to the usual provision of [[international law]] that only commandos disguised in civilian clothes or uniforms of the enemy could be treated as insurgents or spies, as stated in the ''[[Ex parte Quirin]]'', the [[Hostages Trial]], and the trial of [[Otto Skorzeny]] and others). The order included measures designed to force military staff to obey its provisions.<ref name="USGPO_translation"/><!--specifically, paragraph 3.6-->

Some German commanders, including [[Erwin Rommel]], had refused to relay the order to their troops since they considered it to be contrary to honourable conduct.<ref>{{cite book|last=Walzer |first = Michael |year=2006 |title=Just and unjust wars: a moral argument with historical illustrations |edition=4th, revised |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=0-465-03707-0 |page= 38 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kZnx7WVJbeUC&pg=PA38}}</ref>