Editing Human shield (section)

==== World War II ====
On 14 August 1937, in what would become the first major battle of [[World War&nbsp;II]] in Asia between [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]] and the occupying forces of the [[Empire of Japan]] at the [[Battle of Shanghai]], the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] berthed their flagship ''[[Japanese cruiser Izumo|Izumo]]'' in front of the [[Shanghai International Settlement]]; it is believed in what would become known as "Black Saturday", [[Republic of China Air Force|Chinese Air Force]] [[Northrop Gamma|Gamma 2E bomber]] pilots targeted the Japanese warship, but had to release the bombs at a much lower altitude than they usually trained for due to low cloud ceiling, and did not properly reset their bomb sights, which resulted in two of the 1,100&nbsp;lb bombs falling short and landing on the adjacent International Settlement (one failing to explode) and killing at least 950 Chinese civilians, foreigners and refugees.<ref>{{cite web|title=Shanghai 1937 – Where World War II Began|url=http://www.shanghai1937.tv/|access-date=2021-06-08|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Bergin|first=Bob|date=2017-08-22|title=High Aviation Ideals|url=https://www.historynet.com/high-aviation-ideals.htm|access-date=2021-06-08|website=HistoryNet|language=en-US |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

After World War II, it was claimed by [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] general [[Gottlob Berger]] that there was a plan, proposed by the [[Luftwaffe]] and approved by [[Adolf Hitler]], to set up special [[POW camp]]s for captured [[airmen]] of the [[Royal Air Force]] and the [[United States Army Air Forces]] in large German cities, to act as human shields against their [[bombing raid]]s. Berger realized that this would contravene the [[Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War (1929)|1929 Geneva Convention]] and argued that there was not enough barbed wire—as a result, this plan was not implemented.<ref>Berger statement to Allied intelligence officers, Nuremberg, October 19, 1945.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141003887,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080303143036/http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141003887,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 3, 2008 |title=The Last Escape |work=Penguin Books UK |access-date=April 1, 2015}}</ref>

[[Wehrmacht]] and later SS forces extensively used Polish civilians as human shields during [[Warsaw Uprising]] when attacking the insurgents' positions.<ref>{{in lang|pl}} Adam Borkiewicz: Powstanie warszawskie. Zarys działań natury wojskowej. Warszawa: Instytut wydawniczy PAX, 1969, p.&nbsp;99</ref><ref>Antoni Przygoński: Powstanie warszawskie w sierpniu 1944 r. T. I. Warszawa: PWN, 1980, p. 242. {{ISBN|83-01-00293-X}}.</ref> In the [[Wola massacre]] in Poland on 7 August 1944, the Nazis forced civilian women onto the armored vehicles as human shields to enhance their effectiveness.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

In Belgium in May 1940, at least 86 civilians were killed by the German [[Wehrmacht]] in an event known as the [[Vinkt Massacre]], when the Germans took 140 civilians and used them as shields to cross a bridge while under fire by Belgian forces. As the battle progressed, German soldiers began executing hostages.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

During the [[Battle of Okinawa]] and the [[Battle of Manila (1945)|Battle of Manila]], Japanese soldiers often used civilians as human shields against American troops.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

When the Japanese were concerned about the incoming Allied air raids on their home islands as they were losing their controlled Pacific islands one by one to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in the [[Pacific War]], they scattered major [[military installations]] and [[factory|factories]] throughout [[urban area]]s. Historians argued that this meant Japan was using its civilians as human shields to protect their [[legitimate military target]]s against Allied [[bombardment]]. As a result, the [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) was unable to strike purely military targets due to the limitations of their [[bombsight]], the mixing of military installations and factories with urban areas, and the widespread [[Putting-out system|cottage industry]] in Japan's cities. This led the USAAF in early 1945 to switch from [[precision bombing]] to [[carpet bombing]], which destroyed [[Air raids on Japan|67 Japanese cities]] with [[Incendiary device|incendiary bombs]], and ultimately led to the use of [[Nuclear weapon|atomic bombs]] on the Japanese cities of [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Hiroshima and Nagasaki]].<ref>{{cite book |page=26 |title=Rockets from Gaza: Harm to Civilians from Palestinian Armed Groups' Rocket Attacks |author=Bill Van Esveld |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=August 17, 2009 |isbn=978-1-56432-523-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |page=[https://archive.org/details/libraryofcongres0000wagn/page/335 335] |title=The Library of Congress World War II Companion |author=Library of Congress |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |date=October 2, 2007 |isbn=978-0-7432-5219-5 |author-link=Library of Congress |url=https://archive.org/details/libraryofcongres0000wagn/page/335}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |page=817 |title=History of World War II: Victory and Aftermath |publisher=[[Marshall Cavendish Corporation]] |year=2005 |isbn=0-7614-7482-X |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofworldwa0002unse |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |page=72 |title=The Law of Air Warfare – Contemporary Issues |publisher=Eleven International Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=90-77596-14-3}}</ref>