In ancient Rome, military leaders used a shockingly cruel punishment on their own soldiers who displayed cowardice

In ancient Rome, military leaders used a shockingly cruel punishment on their own soldiers who displayed cowardice or insubordination on the battlefield... 
 After the guilty unit was sentenced to "removal of a tenth," the men would be forced to draw lots, and the 10 percent of soldiers with the shortest straws would be executed — by their fellow troops. While this punishment was rare, the very idea of it struck terror into the hearts of countless Roman soldiers.


And though the Roman Empire eventually collapsed in 476 C.E., the practice of decimation continued for hundreds of years. It was used following several battles of the Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648, and it was also practiced during the War of the Triple Alliance between 1864 and 1870... 

Shockingly, decimation was even used as recently as 1917, when World War I Italian General Luigi Cadorna allegedly forced soldiers from the 141st Catanzaro Infantry Brigade to choose lots after they mutinied, and then executed the 750 or so men who drew short straws. Learn more about the history behind this brutal military punishmen.

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