diff --git a/war/plugin.jelly b/war/plugin.jelly
index 8c73f681..8a685bc7 100644
--- a/war/plugin.jelly
+++ b/war/plugin.jelly
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@
+ overwrite="${maven.war.webxml.overwrite}" />
diff --git a/war/plugin.properties b/war/plugin.properties
index f76cdffb..de8add86 100644
--- a/war/plugin.properties
+++ b/war/plugin.properties
@@ -54,3 +54,7 @@ maven.war.tld.dir=WEB-INF/tld
# Location of the manifest file to be used
maven.war.manifest=${maven.war.src}/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
+
+# Specify if the web.xml contained in the source tree should
+# overwrite the one in the generated webapp directory.
+maven.war.webxml.overwrite=true
diff --git a/war/xdocs/changes.xml b/war/xdocs/changes.xml
index 6fc2863f..42ceb8de 100644
--- a/war/xdocs/changes.xml
+++ b/war/xdocs/changes.xml
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
+ Added property maven.war.webxml.overwrite to control if the source web.xml overwrite the one in the generated webapp directory.
Fixed confusing documentation regarding maven.war.classes.includes and excludes properties
License file is now added properly to the generated war
Remove reference to unused caller tag library to suppress warning
diff --git a/war/xdocs/properties.xml b/war/xdocs/properties.xml
index 0cea9d3c..b81523e5 100644
--- a/war/xdocs/properties.xml
+++ b/war/xdocs/properties.xml
@@ -121,6 +121,14 @@
${maven.war.src}/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF.
+
+ | maven.war.webxml.overwrite |
+ Yes |
+
+ Specify if the web.xml contained in the source tree should overwrite
+ the one in the generated webapp directory. Default to true.
+ |
+
| maven.war.index |
Yes |