How do soldiers determine if enemy soldiers who are in the prone position are dead?
In: Other
An extra shot to the body never hurts.
Jokes aside; this was very common in early wars. After the battle; the winning side would stab or shoot enemy corpses to make sure no enemies could escape or sneak attack
Actually used all the way through desert storm. “Double tapping” or “dead checking” has remained used by all sides of ww2 armies and in all battles before
While not 100% but generally if someone is prone they are alive and still in the fight. If you are seriously injured you tend to roll on your back. Probably easier to breathe. I’m not exactly sure. I’m VERY thankful I was never awarded a purple heart while in Iraq. My CO once told me if they did flyovers using this gave a fairly accurate assessment against what they were getting over comms.
Former infantryman here. They would teach us that if there’s any doubt an enemy is dead, do something that is impossible not to react to. Usually a knee to the groin or poke in the eye. Once you walk past them, if they’re still alive and no longer a threat, they cannot be killed. They must be taken prisoner.
As you assault through the enemy position, you fire an extra round or two into any fallen enemy. Once you’ve moved past them, you cannot fire into them anymore: this is called a “double tap” and is a war crime. At this point, if any of the enemy are alive and not resisting, then they’re disarmed, and medical assistance should be rendered once your friendly casualties are taken care of. As for bodies that appear dead, one of you will stand outside of grenade range and aim their rifle at the body; the other will lay down on top of the body, grab it by the shoulders, give it a firm knee to the balls (to make sure they’re dead), and then roll the body onto its side, using the body as a shield; the person standing outside of grenade range will look to ensure the body isn’t booby trapped, and if not then they check the body for intelligence and once done cross the body’s feet to indicate they’ve been searched and confirmed dead.
This is my recollection of what they taught us in the US Army 20 years ago. It’s possible I’ve misremembered some details or the procedures have been modified in the intervening years.
Once the battle is over, soldiers would affix a bayonet to their rifle/musket and they would literally just walk the battlefield and drive their bayonet through the bodies of all enemy soldiers.
Prior to muskets and rifles, they’d use swords, knives, and arrows.
It’s called double tap. That is where the soldier if unsure shoots the probe soldier to ensure the probe one stays prone.
Take off their boots and tickle their feet. When they laugh say “gotcha” at that point they are considered a prisoner of war. Any further feet tickling is considered a war crime and looked down by NATO as cruel punishment in a theater of war.
However, if upon tickling the enemy doesn’t laugh then you are required to kiss them goodnight if they have not been already.
Well I imagine tickling them would be a good test. Or the “thousand years of pain” technique
I know it two ways, one legal, one… Less so.
Legal: Eye poke.
Most often not legal: Walk up to them and put another round through their forehead.
Former 21B here, usually a swift kick to the side or if there face up then to the nuts, something they will react to.
Latest Answers