Leave No Survivors: Difference between revisions

[[Sink the Life Boats]] is the subtrope dealing with killing enemies who were alive after being left [[Kick Them While They Are Down|defeated]] and [[Would Not Shoot a Civilian|helpless]].

 

 

== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[Lawrence of Arabia]]'': '''NO PRISONERS! ... NO PRISONERS!!''' By the titular protagonist, no less.

** In real life, he usually had his men take prisoners, but on one occasion, when ''really'' pissed off, told them, "The best of you brings me the most Turkish dead!"

* ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia|The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe]]''

{{quote| The White Witch: I have no interest in prisoners. Kill them all.}}

* Every game that requires the player to eliminate all enemies to advance to the next level/unlock a new area/complete a mission falls into this trope. (Aversions fall under [[Instant Win Condition]].)

* ''[[Command and Conquer]]: Red Alert''

* In ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'', [[Monster Clown|Kefka]] gives an order to this effect in one of Terra's flashbacks during a ''training exercise'' (for [[Tyke Bomb|her]], not the helpless [[Red Shirt|troops]] being cut down, but it still comes off as unnecessarily callous).

* The player character in the ''[[Free Space]]'' expansion pack ''Silent Threat'' gets to do this in the first two missions, in order to protect a fragile alliance with an alien race after a friendly fire incident (the second mission: one ship was scripted to escape the first mission, so you went to its destination and killed everything there).

* Famously happened during the Albigensian Crusade against Catharism in southern France. Asked by a soldier how to tell the difference between Cathar heretics and good Catholics, the [[Church Militant|Papal legate]] [[Knight Templar|Arnaud Amalric]] replied:

{{quote| ''"Kill them all. The Lord will recognize his own."''}}

* Arguably the result of any protracted siege in history. The soldiers, after watching their mates getting killed in various horrific fashions over a period of weeks or months, work out their frustrations on the defenders and civilians inside.

* The [[Pirates|Jolly Roger]]. In real life, the Jolly Roger was a ''good'' thing (assuming you were being attacked by pirates), as it meant that the pirates would accept prisoners. However, a blood red flag meant "[[No Quarter]]".

* In [[The Roman Empire|Roman Conflicts]], once the battering ram was deployed, it was the signal that no prisoners would be taken, even as slaves. The ''[[Rome]]'' episode ''The Ram Has Touched The Wall'' explains this.

** To extend the explanation: when a (Roman) army approached a hostile city and the city surrendered before arrival, the city's inhabitants and possessions were sacrosanct, and there would be no (official) looting or pillaging. If the city held out, but surrendered before the siege engines were in place, the citizens who fought (those of fighting age) were taken as slaves and the city looted, but no (official) rape or other destruction would take place. If the siege continued to the full, and the city overrun, the invaders could do as they pleased, and the commanders either looked the other way or actively encouraged their troops. This even applied to Roman cities, such as those on Sicily, after they rebelled. There are accounts of Legionaries who expressed the hope that the city would not surrender, so they could get some good looting and rape in.