Discipline preserves the fighting value of an armed force

Restraint in war is a practical requirement of command as well as a moral and political issue. Wanton destruction creates expensive postwar problems, while troops allowed to abandon normal discipline can cease to function as an organized army. Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, restored control after the storming of a Spanish town with gallows in its central square and troops he had held back in good order. During the period of pillage, a French counterattack could have destroyed the dispersed force. The tolerated licence after a storming also diminished as expectations of military conduct changed. The lesson extends to navies: losing control of personnel and formations means losing the usable military force on which operations depend.