m.

We have no evidence to show whether and in what cases orders proceeded
from the officer in command to give no quarter, but there are some
instances in which persons obviously desiring to surrender were,
nevertheless, killed.

_(b) Firing on Hospitals or on the Red Cross Ambulances or Stretcher
Bearers._

This subject may conveniently be divided into three subdivisions,
namely, firing on--

(1) Hospital buildings and other Red Cross establishments.

(2) Ambulances.

(3) Stretcher bearers.

Under the first and second categories there is obvious difficulty in
proving intention, especially under the conditions of modern long-range
artillery fire. A commanding officer's duty is to give strict orders to
respect hospitals, ambulances, &c., and also to place Red Cross units as
far away as possible from any legitimate line of fire. But with all care
some accidents must happen, and many reported cases will be ambiguous.
At the same time, when military observers have formed a distinct opinion
that buildings and persons under the recognizable protection of the Red
Cross were willfully fired upon, such opinions cannot be disregarded.

Between thirty and forty of the depositions submitted related to this
offense. This number does not in itself seem so great as to be
inconsistent with the possibility of accident.

In one case a Red Cross depot was shelled on most days throughout the
week. This is hardly reconcilable with the enemy's gunners having taken
any care to avoid it.

There are other cases of conspicuous hospitals being shelled, in the
witnesses' opinion, purposely.

In one of these the witness, a Sergeant Major, makes a suggestion which
appears plausible, namely, that the German gunners use any conspicuous
building as a mark to verify their ranges rather than for the purpose of
destruction. It would be quite according to the modern system of what
German writers call _Kriegsraeson_ to hold that the convenience of
range-finding is a sufficient military necessity to justify disregarding
any immunity conferred on a building by the Red Cross or otherwise. In
any case, artillery fire on a hospital at such a moderate range as about
1,000 yards can hardly be thought accidental.

(2) As to firing on ambulances, the evidence is more explicit.

In one case the witness is quite clear that the ambulances were aimed
at.

In another case of firing at an ambulance train the range was quite
short.

In a