Roman Generals Slaughtered Their Own

n ancient times, few armies were feared as much as the Romans. But Roman generals sometimes went to great lengths to keep their soldiers in line. One of the cruelest punishments they utilized was decimation, which involved slaughtering a tenth of a disobedient unit.
Decimation was used sparingly but effectively throughout the Roman army. It often involved dividing the disobedient legion into groups of ten, then having the soldiers from each group draw lots. The soldier with the shortest straw in his section would be killed — by the other nine members of his group.
But though this military punishment seems especially barbaric, it didn’t end with the fall of the Roman Empire. In fact, decimation continued in one form or the other up until the 20th century.
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