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Roach, I think that I'm getting stuck in the verbal equivalent of a land war in Asia, which as we all know from "The Princess Bride" is a foolhardy battle. I think that you and I are actually very close conceptually with a few minor differences. That said, there were only minor differences separating the Left Social Revolutionairies and the Bolsheviks, and we all saw how that worked out.
Akula, while I agree that greater attention was paid to the targeting of civilians and their infrastructure after WWII, I think that I need to remind you that virtually ever army that marched in Europe prior to c. 1850 did so on the backs of the local population, whether that population was ally or enemy. A marching army constantly foraged for supplies to at least supplement their rations since it was virtually impossible to carry enough to keep the army in the field past a few weeks. Given that almost all armies moved by foot power at the rate of a few miles a day, an army would routinely take what it needed by force with reparations only coming if the civilians happened to be on the right side. High speed transportation (i.e. rail) changed all that, but for the most part having any army march near you meant losing livestock and seed grain.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
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