What was involved in "grounding arms?"
score:7
The Hague (II) convention: "To kill or wound an enemy who, having laid down arms, or having no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion".
"Grounding arms", dropping weapons, is consistent with unconditional surrender rather than any other form of limited capitulation (a bilateral legal act, when discussion under truce would be required). It seems soldiers would only communicate an intent to surrender by throwing weapons down if they were unconditionally surrendering.
The decision to surrender can be made at any level and the responsibility to ensure voluntary disarmament, necessary for unconditional surrender as we see in the Hague conventions, belongs to the person offering the surrender. If you look in US Army regulations: "Capitulations ... Once settled, they must be scrupulously observed by both parties.". This (US interpretation of the customs of surrender) clearly communicates that it is the duty of the soldiers to abide by the surrender and, of course, for the surrender of multiple soldiers commands to "ground arms" would be required.
Wikipedia says: "A white flag or handkerchief is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head. When a tank commander is surrendering, the tank's turret should be turned opposite the direction of the opposing forces". A method of surrendering is not specified by the Laws of War (The white flag is, but has other uses) and is probably decided on the ground by people trying not to get shot. Grounding weapons lacks clarity (when compared to raising hands, for example), even more so when concealed by cover, and is probably avoided as the sole communication of surrender by common sense rather than protocol.
Interestingly enough, in theatres of war where we can't rely on common sense, natural communication etc. to display intent to surrender, these protocols are defined and dropping weapons is discouraged as vague and inconclusive.
Manual on International Law applied to military aircraft: "Rocking the aircraftβs wings, lowering the landing gear and other signals (such as flashing of navigational lights or jettisoning of weapons) are sometimes cited as indications of an intent to surrender, but they cannot be regarded as conclusive evidence, since there may be other reasons for the activity in question. Moreover, when air and missile combat is conducted beyond visual range, as frequently happens in modern warfare, such gestures are futile. Consequently, only an appropriate radio communication β duly transmitted to the enemy, preferably on an ICAO distress frequency β may be deemed an effective message of surrender in over-the-horizon aerial encounters."
More post
- π Venezuelan crisis of 1902β03: Why is there a Russian flag on the cover of the prominent newspaper 'Le Petit Parisien'?
- π Yearly population growth rate throughout history
- π What to do about historical Wikipedia articles contradicting each other in different languages?
- π Why was the Ottoman flag changed from an eight-pointed star to five-pointed in the 19th century?
- π Names of the 'little ships' requisitioned by Navy for Dunkirk Evacuation?
- π What Evidence Do We Have For Samaritans Living In Babylon in the 6th or 5th Century BC?
- π What was the city of El Mirador called in Mayan?
- π What is the English name for the "ΠΡΠ»Π°ΠΌΡΠΊΠΈΠΉ Π΄ΠΆΠΈΡ Π°Π΄ - ΠΠΆΠ°ΠΌΠ°Π°Ρ ΠΌΠΎΠ΄ΠΆΠ°Ρ Π΅Π΄ΠΎΠ²" organization?
- π Were high wages the root cause of the industrial revolution?
- π Why were harvest times in Cyrenaica earlier than in Greece in antiquity?
- π Contemporary opinions on Caliph Omar's burning of the library of Alexandria?
- π What does BPE/PE in some archaeology journals stand for?
- π What was the ratio of German to Soviet losses on Eastern front during different stages of the war?
- π Which undeciphered writing system has the largest corpus of text?
- π What is known about the people of Khazaria?
- π How did Edward Misselden become a deputy-governor of a merchant company at 15?
- π Can you help identify this European military uniform?
- π Why was Austria given the best chunk in the First Partition of Poland, even while protesting it?
- π Was there really a labor shortage in the USA until 1970?
- π Ancient Civilization in non-Egyption Africa?
- π Which one is ancient Hinduisam or Dravidiasm
- π Can someone clarify Livy's argument in Book 21, Chapter 19 of Ab Urbe Condita Libri?
- π How did Europeans really conquer the Americas?
- π Was it uncommon to see an Englishman with a cane or walking stick during WW1? Specifically, in Europe
- π Did Aztecs know how many continents there are on earth?
- π Why were the British Union of Fascist outfits so bad compared to the Nazis?
- π When did bombs actually look like this?
- π Nejd (Saudi Arabia) and the Arab Revolt
- π Books on development of collective identities (tribal, ethnic, national etc) and people's identification as part of the collective through time?
- π Why was the Japanese Army's fatalities inflicted:suffered ratio so low in the Pacific theatre?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- π What was involved in "grounding arms?"
- π Was COMECON involved in economic imperialism and if so, to what extent?
- π Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- π Was murdering a slave illegal in American slavery, and if so, what punishments were given for it?
- π What was the historical context of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution?
- π During the breakup of the Soviet Union, on what basis was citizenship granted or withheld for each of the fifteen new republics?
- π What was the typical peasant's diet like in Europe during the High Middle Ages?
- π What led some people to (correctly) believe that there was no land under the ice cap at the North Pole?
- π What was the status of Arab Christians during the crusades?
- π What was the religion of the Arabic people before conversion to Islam?
- π What was the purpose of Nazi extermination camps?
- π What was wrong with Hitler's left hand?
- π What was the internal Soviet reaction to the moon landing?
- π What was the function of the walls of Jericho?
- π What was the pound (unit of weight) initially equal to?
- π At what point was the Byzantine Empire's decline irreversible?
- π What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?
- π What was the point of horse armour?
- π What was the first solar eclipse that was demonstrably predicted in advance?
- π What was the role of the Soviet Navy during WWII?
- π What was the plan for an abort of the Enola Gay's mission to drop the atomic bomb?
- π What was the economic basis for West Berlin?
- π What was Japan's grand strategy in WW2?
- π What kind of ink was used by medieval scribes in Iceland, given that there were no plant galls for iron-gall ink?
- π What was Hitler like in private?
- π What is the evidence to claim that political order in ancient Rome was sufficiently different under "kingdom", "republic" and "empire"?
- π What was the average height of Roman men and women?
- π What was the longest a World War II submarine stayed at sea without being resupplied at a port?
- π What was Muhammad's religion before becoming a Muslim prophet?
- π What was the cleanest war ever fought?