Is it a war crime to kill an injured enemy?

According to Section 6(1)(b)(vi), “killing or wounding a combatant who, having laid down his arms or having no longer means of defence, has surrendered at discretion” is a war crime in international armed conflicts.

Are medics allowed to fight?

Yes, they do. While medics historically didn’t carry weapons, today’s combat medics are not only trained to fight, but are allowed to defend themselves if they come under attack, usually at short range and usually in response to a surprise attack while attending to or evacuating a wounded patient.

Are you allowed to shoot medics in war?

Yes. Miliary medics and clerics are unarmed, unlawful targets. Shooting them intentionally is a war crime. However, if they pick up and use a weapon, they make themselves unlawful combatants and they lose their protected status.

Is it illegal to shoot a paratrooper with a flak gun?

Such parachutists are considered hors de combat under the Protocol I addition to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, meaning that attacking them is a war crime. Firing on airborne forces who are descending by parachute is not prohibited.

Why don’t soldiers shoot in battles?

“Fear of killing, rather than fear of being killed [was] the most common cause of battle failure,” he wrote. Marshall’s research methods have since been questioned, but the broad conclusion is still accepted: soldiers often simply won’t shoot.

How do you keep soldiers from killing each other?

Lt Col Kilner, of the US Army, says the way to keep soldiers psychologically on an even keel is to reason with them – not to take away their choice and intellectual involvement with what happens in battle. “If a soldier reasons that his or her cause is just, then killing sits more easily in the mind,” he says.

How many combat infantry were able to fire their weapons?

“SLA Marshall found that only 15-20\% of combat infantry were able to fire their weapons on the enemy and there were 80\% that were de facto conscientious objectors when it came to the point of firing their weapon.”