Mercy Humanity in War

In The Merciful Warrior, author Cathal J. Nolan compiles and analyzes acts of mercy and decency in war, drawing upon centuries of military history and dozens of wars to challenge nationalist myths, the usual heroic fabrications, and all claims to exclusive or unilateral moral virtue.

This book sets stories of morally decent actions in a wider context of the essential barbarism of war. It charts the wider path of obscenity and atrocity in war to highlight moments of moral grace, of goodwill toward the enemy and civilians inside a frame of jarring ugliness and malice. It does not
seek traditional war heroes or elevate anyone to secular sainthood. It presents ordinary people caught up in the extraordinary swirl of war, who did not see themselves as saints or heroes at the time yet showed rare courage, notwithstanding. It presents portraits of everyday folk who reacted in a
moment of crisis with mercy and sensitivity, with empathy for shared humanity with an enemy or the innocent. The goal is to recognize those brave few who refused immoral acts and orders, even at grave personal risk. Who in the midst of degradation and dehumanization saw common humanity, then chose
not to pull the trigger. And others who put themselves outside suffocating conformity, to help rather than kill a wounded enemy or stop an atrocity. And those who made a simple gesture of kindness to a suffering enemy that had no larger consequence. Uninterested in saints, this book looks to map a
more modest, achievable and relatable lesson taken from the annals of war: an accounting best captured in a simple yet compelling word "decency."

Cathal J. Nolan is the author of several acclaimed works of military history. For The Allure of Battle (2017), he received both the Gilder Lehrman Prize in Military History and the first Distinguished Book Award from War on the Rocks. Nolan's other books include a two volume Concise History of World
War II; Wars of the Age of Louis XIV; a two-volume study of The Age of the Wars of Religion; and several edited books in ethics in international affairs and international history. His histories have been reviewed in military history journals and other professional journals, and in international
print and online media, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The National, and The Daily Beast.

Prologue
Part I Culture
Decency
Heroes
Movies
Killers

Part II Combat
Trenches
Forests
Dissent
Truces

Part III Protected
Medics
Prisoners
Civilians

Part IV Technology
Wood and Sail
Steel and Stealth
War in the Air
Conclusion
Works Cited