Lethality in Combat shines a blazing light on the three most controversial aspects of military combat: the necessity of killing; the taking, or not, of prisoners; and the targeting of civilians. This book argues that when a nation - state sends its soldiers to fight, the state must accept the full implications of this, uncomfortable as they may be. Drawing on seven conflicts - the Boer War, World Wars I and II, and the wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands and Iraq - the author considers these ethical issues. Lethality in Combat lifts the veil on the much - misunderstood but very real and secret world of unsanitised war.