[Sidenote: Destruction of Arms, Ammunition, and Provisions.] § 152. Whatever enemy property a belligerent may appropriate he may likewise destroy. To prevent the enemy from making use of them a retreating force may destroy arms, ammunition, provisions, and the like, which they have taken from the enemy or requisitioned and cannot carry away. But it must be specially observed that they may not destroy provisions in the possession of private enemy inhabitants in order to prevent the enemy from making use of them in the future.[291] [Footnote 291: Nor is a commander allowed to requisition such provisions in order to have them destroyed, for article 52 of the Hague Regulations expressly enacts that requisitions are only admissible for the necessities of the army.] [Sidenote: Destruction of Historical Monuments, Works of Art, and the like.] § 153. All destruction of and damage to historical monuments, works of art and science, buildings for charitable, educational, and religious[292] purposes are specially prohibited by article 56 of the Hague Regulations which enacts that the perpetrators of such acts must be prosecuted (_poursuivie_), that is court-martialed. But it must be emphasised that these objects enjoy this protection only during military occupation of enemy territory. Should a battle be waged around an historical monument on open ground, should a church, a school, or a museum be defended and attacked during military operations, these otherwise protected objects may be damaged or destroyed under the same conditions as other enemy property. [Footnote 292: It is of importance to state the fact that, according to Grotius (III. c. 5, §§ 2 and 3), destruction of graves, tombstones, churches, and the like is not prohibited by the Law of Nations, although he strongly (III. c. 12, §§ 5-7) advises that they should be spared unless their preservation is dangerous to the interests of the invader.] [Sidenote: General Devastation.]