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 Is there anywhere that has not been at war with Britain?
- π What is "Mary's Part"?
- π At the Battle of Zama, was the Roman army more "native" than the Carthaginian?
- π Were barcodes used in the Soviet Union?
- π Where can I find an explanation of the variations in style of Egyptian hieroglyphs?
- π Did imperialist propaganda inflate map size?
- π Who swore fealty to his overlord and immediately knocked him down?
- π Has an encirclement ever succeeded with numerically inferior cavalry?
- π Was there a fighter jet designed without cannons?
- π Ancient Greek term rendered incorrectly as numbers and Latin letters, "01KCDΓ". What is it?
- π Why did Sidewinder missiles score so well before Vietnam?
- π Why did Lincoln wait to issue the Emancipation Proclamation?
- π When did the Romans begin using the sword, as opposed to the axe, for decapitation?
- π Where did Nguyα» n VΔn Thiα»u (Thieu) learn his English?
- π How is historical "average calorie consumption" data from eighty years ago estimated?
- π Why was the king of Judah referred to as "the king of the House-of-David"?
- π To what extent was nonviolence effective in challenging racism (Civil Rights Movement)?
- π How were old wooden warships with structural damage to the hull repaired at dock?
- π How effective were German SS units compared to non-SS Heer units?
- π Why did the Japanese attack the Aleutians at the same time as Midway?
- π What was the first successful non violent independence movement?
- π How safe were ancient boats on the sea?
- π In which banking institute was Soren Kierkegaard a customer?
- π Earlier U.S. law enforcement raids on lawyers' communications
- π How was real estate from Germans expelled after WWII redistributed?
- π What caused the stagnation in real wage growth in the later half of the 20th century?
- π Why does the name "England" hold no reference to the Saxons?
- π Why was a small vessel tied to the deck of the USS Oriskany during scuttling?
- π Was the 1977 sale of a submarine to Indonesia controversial in Germany at the time?
- π Croatia's reparations to Serbia after WWII
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?