The cold discipline: how the firing squad ritualizes state violence

“ The poor young man will be taken out and shot at sunrise in the fields just west of the town. That is where all these ‘acts of justice’ have been taking place since the terrible Germans came to Muhlbruck.
“They back the condemned man up against the remaining wall of the old church there; the firing squad stands off at a distance of thirty paces; ‘Ready! Aim! Fire!’ says the corporal in charge, and pouff! another life is snuffed out.”
Buck was horror-stricken at the terrible fate that threatened his old friend within less than [111] three or four hours. ”

“ Military execution also means every kind of punishment inflicted in the army by the sentence of a court-martial; which is of various kinds, including putting a soldier to death by shooting him, which is the ordinary punishment of deserters to the enemy, mutineers, etc. This form of death is considered less disgraceful than hanging by the neck.
Exempt. Not subject, not liable to. Men of certain age are exempt from serving in the militia. An aide-de-camp and brigade-major are exempt from all regimental duties while serving in those capacities. ”

“ No man in the firing squad was permitted to know whether his gun had a bullet in it or not.
The officer in command spoke scarcely above his breath, but so hushed was the time that his words were audible to the three thousand men there assembled, as he said to each alternate man: “Fire at his head,” and to the intervening man: “Fire at his chest.” Then turning his back, which was perhaps not an officer-like thing to do, the lieutenant gave in a husky voice the word of command. ”

“ Drills executed at attention and the ceremonies are disciplinary exercises designed to teach precise and soldierly movement, and to inculcate that prompt and subconscious obedience which is essential to proper military control. To this end, smartness and precision should be exacted in the execution of every detail. ”

“ All infantry must be fit to cope with all conditions that may arise. Modern war requires but one kind of infantry--good infantry."
Section 2. Combat. The field of battle is the final test of the instruction, discipline, and efficiency of the fighting force of any army.
The battalion is the attack unit or the defense unit, whether operating alone or as part of a regiment. The companies constitute the firing line and the support.
An individual soldier is concerned only with the enemy in his immediate front, in obeying orders, and instinctively doing what he has been trained to do. ”

“ PUNISHMENT, in the army, in general, signifies the execution of a sentence pronounced by a court martial upon any delinquent. There are various methods in different countries which have been adopted for the punishment of officers and soldiers, without ultimately depriving the public of their services. Those in the British are simple, and in general very summary, especially with regard to officers. In some foreign services it is usual to send an officer from his regiment to do duty in a garrison town, during which period he loses all the advantages of promotion. ”

“ Again under the night skies by the open grave, when the lanterns burned yellow and the white shaft of an automobile lamp bit out a hard band of glare, the figures of the burial party might have been effigies, but once more the tight-drawn figure of that spare officer declared itself human because only something human could, without word or motion, convey such a declaration of suffering.
It was he who gave the orders, and as Boone watched the firing squad step forward—gaunt, shadow shapes in silhouette—to fire the last salute, he saw the details with a dazed and blunted gaze. ”

“ God seemed Himself to come down, and the living boys standing over their five dead comrades could not help but be enfolded in His love, and feel the sense of His presence. They knew that they, too, might soon be sleeping even as these at their feet. It seemed but a step to the other life. When the prayer was finished a firing squad fired five volleys over the graves, and then the bugler played the taps and the little service was over. ”

“ A common and natural result of an undue respect for law is, that you may see a file of soldiers, colonel, captain, corporal, privates, powder-monkeys, and all, marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, ay, against their common sense and consciences, which makes it very steep marching indeed, and produces a palpitation of the heart. ”

“ It was not for long; in another moment his face was raised from earth, his hands resumed their places on the rifle, his forefinger sought the trigger; mind, heart, and eyes were clear, conscience and reason sound. He could not hope to capture that enemy; to alarm him would but send him dashing to his camp with his fatal news. The duty of the soldier was plain: the man must be shot dead from ambush—without warning, without a moment's spiritual preparation, with never so much as an unspoken prayer, he must be sent to his account. ”

“ Alan queried. “Buck can’t be shooting at them and cutting the rope off Bob’s hands at the same time?”
“No, I don’t think so,” answered Ned. “I believe that it is customary for only a certain number of guns in a firing squad to be actually [114] loaded with bullets. Blank cartridges are used in the others, and no soldier knows just who carries the fatal weapons. This is to keep any self-respecting man among them from feeling that he is committing cold-blooded murder by shooting down a prisoner with his hands tied. ”

“ As one reads history, not in the expurgated editions written for schoolboys and passmen, but in the original authorities of each time, one is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted; and a community is infinitely more brutalised by the habitual employment of punishment than it is by the occasional occurrence of crime. ”

“ When the preparative is beat, for the firings, the officers in the front rank step out nimbly two paces from the vacancies between the divisions, platoons, companies, or sub divisions, face to the left without word of command, and look right of companies, &c. When the preparative has ceased, they severally commence the firing. When the general is beat they fall back into the front rank. ”

“ I found much amusement in watching the drilling of the raw recruits of the Tenth Infantry, for we of the Second considered ourselves trained soldiers now and laughed at their awkwardness as others had probably laughed at us.
A certain Irish sergeant had a most peculiar way of his own of elucidating the tactics to the recruits, and often lost his temper when things were done wrong. One day, after he had patiently explained and demonstrated to his squad that, when given the command, "Forward march," each man must step off with his left foot, about half of the squad advanced the right foot. ”

“ Poor shooting is often the result of lack of proper coördination of holding the breath, the maximum steadiness of aim, and the squeeze of the trigger. By frequent practice in this exercise, each man may come to know the exact instant his firing pin will be released. He must be taught to hold the breath, bring the sights to bear upon the mark, and squeeze the trigger all at the same time. ”

“ Service targets will frequently consist of ground or cover occupied by the enemy. Fire-unit commanders will verbally indicate such targets to men, who must be trained to recognize and fire at them. This training should be carried out concurrently with instruction in aiming at figures and marking down the enemy—the latter practices to some extent will also train men to aim at ground.
(ii) Practice in aiming at ground may be carried out on miniature ranges, as described in Sec. ”

“ One—the 'target,' we call him—goes first; our friends whose secrets we seek are allowed to become suspicious of him—we even give them a hint to help them in their suspicion. They seize the 'target,' and in time of war he becomes a real target for a firing squad, as you should have been. Capper, at Malta. Then when our friends believe they have nipped our move in the bud follows the second man—who turns the trick. ”

“ Squad leaders transmit commands and signals when necessary, observe the conduct of their squads and abate excitement, assist in enforcing fire discipline and participate in the firing. (252)
290. Importance of fire control. The best troops are those that submit longest to fire control. Loss of control is an evil which robs success of its greatest results. To avoid or delay such loss should be the constant aim of all.
Fire control implies the ability to stop firing, change the sight setting and target, and resume a well directed fire. ”

“ In combat practice the individual is trained in firing as part of a tactical unit,—that is to say, in coöperation with others,—and the commanders of the tactical units are taught how to direct and control the fire of their units, [18] obtaining the maximum efficiency of fire by coördination of the skill and efforts of all the individuals of the unit. ”

“ Every squad leader should place himself just a little in advance of the rest of his squad and by occasionally glancing to the right and left, observe how the men of their squads are doing—whether they are firing at the proper objective, if the sights are apparently properly adjusted, if they are firing too rapidly, etc. After each shot the squad leader should look toward his platoon leader, and then glance to his right and left to observe his men, and then load and fire again. ”

“ EXERCISE NO. 6—COMMUNICATION
Object: To train the squad leader in receiving and transmitting instructions by visual signals alone.
Situation: A squad with its leader in the firing line is deployed in the prone position firing at will.
Action: The instructor, without sound or other cautionary means, signals (visually) to the squad leader at various intervals to,
The squad leader, upon receiving a signal, causes his squad to execute it without verbal command, or exposing himself. ”

“ June 24th and December 24th, an abstract of the regimental hospital contingent expences, approved by the commanding officer of the regiment, accompanied with regular vouchers signed and certified by the paymaster.
When a soldier is punished, it is the duty of the regimental surgeon to attend at the execution of the sentence, and to see that the life of the culprit is not endangered by excessive rigor. He is, in fact, paramount to the commanding officer on this occasion, and ought to interfere whenever his judgment dictates. ”

“ When any non-commissioned officer or private soldier, happens to die, or is killed on service, the then commanding officer of the troop or company, shall, in the presence of two other commissioned officers, take an account of whatever effects he dies possessed of, above his regimental clothing, arms, and accoutrements, and transmit the same to the office of the secretary at war. ”

“ It is during the practice march that you will put into practical use the tactical principles and battle formations of which, up to that time, you will have heard at lectures, or which you will have executed in a mechanical manner at drill. You will return from each march with a knowledge of many practical points on camp sanitation, of the pleasures and hardships incident to manœuver warfare, and of the manner in which a soldier adapts himself to changing conditions, all of which cannot be learned from books or lectures. ”

“ Screening ourselves behind every log and tree, all broken into squads, the enemy broken up likewise, we gave back shot for shot and yell for yell. The very madness of bloodthirstiness possessed us. To kill, to exterminate the beings in front of us was our whole desire. Such energy and force was too much for our enemies, and ere long we saw squads of them rising from the ground and running away. ”

“ Our comrades had been slaughtered in a most inhuman and brutal manner, and slaves were trampling over their mangled and bleeding corpses. Revenge must have fired every heart, and strung every arm with nerves of steel, for the herculean task of blood. ”

“ The Privates will take advantage of cover, exercise care in setting the sights and delivering fire; be on the constant lookout for orders from their leaders; always aim deliberately; observe the enemy carefully, increasing the fire when the target is favorable and ceasing firing when the enemy disappears; not neglect a target because it is indistinct; not waste ammunition, but be economical with it; if firing without a leader to retain their presence of mind and direct an efficient fire upon the proper target. ”

“ the empty court is locked up. If all the injustice it has committed and all the misery it has caused could only be locked up with it, and the whole burnt away in a great funeral pyre—why so much the better for other parties than the parties in Jarndyce and Jarndyce! ”

“ Bodies with gaping wounds, some bayoneted through the eyes, some with skulls beaten through, others with hideous wounds, as if their bowels had been ripped open with Bowie knives, plainly told that but little quarter was shown to our troops, strewn from the fort to the river bank, in the ravines and hollows, behind logs and under the brush, where they had crept for protection from the assassins who pursued them. We found bodies bayoneted, beaten, and shot to death, showing how cold-blooded and persistent was the slaughter of our unfortunate troops. ”

“ If treason, in other words, be any crime, it is the essence of all crimes; a vast machinery of guilt, multiplying assassinations into wholesale slaughter, and organizing plunder as the basis for supporting a system of National Brigandage. ”