Perhaps the essence of Rene Girard's theory, repeated again and again in his writings, crystallizes in the following statement:

"God breaks the grip of scapegoating by stepping into the place of a scapegoat victim who cannot be hidden or mythologized." S. MARK HEIM

There is no evidence to support this hypothesis. The history of sacrificial slaughter throughout history proves that Girard was wrong. His theory constitutes religious wish-fulfillment.

In fact, where warfare is concerned, precisely the opposite is the case: soldiers identify as sacrificial victims. Scroll down for evidence presenting Christ as the model for the sacrificial soldier. 

Christ provides the template or role model: someone who gives his life for the sake of the community and his his fellow-man. The soldier likewise gives his life so that his community might live. The soldier (not an" outsider," as Girard's scapegoat" theory suggests), himself is the eternal scapegoat, sacrificing his life so that other members of the community will be relieved of the obligation to sacrifice their lives. 

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From: The gospel of nationalism: German patriotic preaching from Napoleon to Versailles – Arlie J Hoover  

• A fallen soldier perfectly illustrates the word of Jesus that no mind has greater love than one who will die for his friends (John 15:13).
   
• The nature of war makes it easy for the soldier to understand the essence of Christianity: heroism, love, sacrifice, devotion to duty. As Patton said, soldiers understand the Cross because they have borne a cross themselves. They know instinctively what Jesus meant when he said, “Greater love hath no man than the man who would lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
   
• "The soldier, like Christ, was ready to place his earthly life on the Altar of love."
   
• "Christ's passion found its parallel in the deeds of these soldiers (in the First World War) who had "sacrificed themselves for the nation."
   
• A fallen soldier perfectly illustrates the word of Jesus that no mind has greater love than one who will die for his friends (John 15:13).
   
• Far from being innately sinful, the life of the soldier was actually one of the most exemplary lives one could choose, a life of moral courage, devotion, and self-denial.
   
• The soldier must (the Germans pastors said), like Christ, be ready to place his earthly life on the altar of love, ready to die for family, brethren, or country. He must say: “It is not necessary that I live, but it is necessary that I do my duty.”
   
• The German pastors, like their Teutonic ancestors, looked upon the warrior’s death as the most beautiful of all deaths. In it lay the ultimate meaning of the mystery of human existence. The hero’s death resembled the free-will offering of Christ himself, who left his life voluntarily for his brethren.
   
• Walter Lehmann expressed it well: “German nationality and Christianity agree at their very core in heroism—nothing is greater than to leave your life for your friends & your brethren. Both are fulfilled in the hero’s death."