For centuries, execution by firing squad has been used by armies and governments around the world. It has been seen as a quick and disciplined method of carrying out the death penalty, especially for military crimes such as desertion, mutiny, treason, and espionage. One of the most unusual features of many firing squads was the practice of mixing blank cartridges with live ammunition.
This meant that not every rifle fired a deadly bullet. At least one member of the firing squad, and sometimes several, unknowingly received a blank round instead. This tradition has fascinated historians for generations. Why would authorities deliberately reduce the number of live bullets? Wouldn’t it make the execution less reliable? Now, the answer lies not in military tactics, but in human psychology.
Mixing blank cartridges was intended to ease the emotional burden placed on a soldier who was carrying out the execution. The firing squad was never simply about killing someone. It was about maintaining discipline within the military while preserving the morale of the soldiers ordered to perform one of the most unpleasant duties imaginable.
Throughout history, soldiers have generally preferred fighting enemies in battle rather than executing prisoners who pose no immediate threat. In combat, killing was seen as consequence of survival. During an execution, however, the condemned prisoner was usually blindfolded, tied to a post, or seated in a chair, and was completely helpless.
Many soldiers found this deeply uncomfortable. Military commanders recognized this problem centuries ago. They understood that forcing soldiers to deliberately kill an unarmed person could leave emotional scars that lasted forever. Some soldiers refused to fire. Others deliberately aimed away from the prisoner in the hope of avoiding responsibility.
This threatened both military discipline and the effectiveness of the execution itself. To solve this problem, armies developed the practice of loading one or more rifles with blank cartridges. Since every member of the firing squad fired simultaneously, nobody could be certain whether they fired a real bullet or merely produce smoke and noise.
This uncertainty became known as the mercy of doubt. After the execution, each soldier could privately believe that perhaps his rifle had contained a blank cartridge. Even though everyone understood that someone must have fired a fatal shot, no individual could know for certain that they had personally killed the prisoner.
Psychologists have long recognized that uncertainty can reduce the feelings of personal responsibility. Even a small possibility that someone else caused the death can lessen feelings of guilt. Military authorities understood this long before psychology became an academic science. The blank cartridge, therefore, served an important emotional purpose.
It allowed soldiers to carry out their orders while preserving at least some distance between themselves and the act of killing. Interestingly, experienced soldiers sometimes believe they could identify whether they had fired a blank round. A blank cartridge produces less recoil because there is no bullet leaving the barrel.
Some men claimed that they immediately recognized the lighter kick of the rifle. However, this was not always reliable. During the stress of an execution, combined with the loud report of multiple rifles firing together, many soldiers could not accurately judge the difference. Even those who suspected they had fired a blank could never be completely certain.
The uncertainty remained effective enough to serve its psychological purpose. Some firing squads also deliberately used older rifles, black powder ammunition, or carefully prepared cartridges to make the difference between blanks and live rounds even harder to detect. The number of blank cartridges varied between countries and different periods of history.
Sometimes only one rifle contained a blank. In other cases, several rifles were loaded with blanks, while the remaining weapons contained live ammunition. The exact arrangement often depended on local military traditions and regulations. Despite the presence of blanks, the execution was designed to be lethal. Most firing squads included enough live ammunition to ensure a prisoner died quickly.
Soldiers were usually instructed to aim at the heart rather than the head. The chest provided a larger target and offered the greater chance of causing a rapid death through massive damage to the lungs or heart. In many countries, one officer stood nearby with a pistol. If the prisoner survived the initial volley, the officer would administer a final shot, often called the coup de grâce or blow of mercy.
This was intended to prevent unnecessary suffering rather than prolong it. The use of a blank cartridge became particularly associated with military executions during the 19th and 20th centuries. During the American Civil War, both the Union and Confederate armies occasionally executed deserters and spies by firing squad.
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Military authorities understood that asking ordinary soldiers to shoot one of their own comrades could be emotionally difficult. The use of blank cartridges helped reduce resistance among the execution party. The practice continued into the 20th century. During World War I, thousands of soldiers from various countries were sentenced to death for offenses including desertion, cowardice, mutiny, and espionage.
Although many of these convictions remain controversial today, military leaders at the time believed severe punishment was necessary to maintain discipline in the trenches. British, French, German, and other armies all used firing squads during the war. Some incorporated blank cartridges into their procedures.
Soldiers assigned to these executions often reported that they dreaded the duty. Diaries and memoirs reveal that many regarded it as one of the worst experiences of their military service. The emotional impact did not disappear after the execution ended though. Some participants later suffered guilt, nightmares, or lingering psychological distress.
This suggests that while blank cartridges may have softened the burden, they could not remove it entirely. During World War II, firing squads continued to be widely used by military forces around the world. They were employed for military crimes, as well as resistance activities, espionage, and collaboration. Again, the use of blank cartridges appeared in several armies, although practices differed between nations.
But interestingly, not every firing squad used a blank. Some military authorities argued that every soldier should share equal responsibility for carrying out the sentence. If everyone fired live ammunition, no one individual could claim innocence. This reinforced the idea that the execution represented the collective decision of the military, rather than the actions of a single person.
Other governments took an even harsher view. They believed executions should serve as a warning to others, and that soldiers must accept full responsibility for enforcing military law. In these cases, every rifle was loaded with live ammunition. Modern historians continue to debate how much difference a blank cartridge actually made.
Some believe it genuinely reduced psychological trauma amongst executioners. Others argue that most experienced soldiers realize they were unlikely to have received the blank, especially if only one rifle contained it. Even so, many agree that the symbolic value mattered almost as much as the practical effect. The ritual itself communicated an important message.
Military leaders were acknowledging that taking a helpless person’s life was emotionally difficult, even when it was considered a lawful duty. The blank cartridge represented a small gesture of compassion, not towards the condemned prisoner, but towards the soldiers ordered to carry out the sentence. There was also another practical reason for using several shooters instead of a single executioner.
Shared responsibility reduced the chance that one individual would become the focus of blame or revenge. If relatives or friends later sought answers, no one could identify the person who had fired the fatal shot. Responsibility rested with the entire firing squad and the military commander ordered the execution.
This principle of shared responsibility has appeared in many different forms throughout history. Public executions often involve several officials, while executioners sometimes concealed their identities behind masks and hoods. These practices reflected the understanding that carrying out executions could place a heavy emotional and social burden on an individual.
Today, firing squads are far less common than they once were, although a small number of jurisdictions still permit or occasionally use them. Modern discussions about firing squads often focus on legal, ethical, and medical questions, rather than military tradition. Nevertheless, the old custom of mixing blank cartridges with live ammunition remains one of the most memorable features of this method of execution.
In the end, blank cartridges were never intended to spare the condemned prisoner. Their purpose was to spare, at least in part, the conscience of the executioners. Military leaders recognized that even disciplined soldiers could struggle with the responsibility of deliberately killing an unarmed person. By allowing each member of the firing squad to believe that perhaps his rifle contained a harmless blank round, they offered a small measure of psychological protection.
Whether the practice truly eased guilt is impossible to measure. Some soldiers undoubtedly found comfort in this uncertainty, while others carried the memory of the execution for the rest of their lives. What is clear is that the tradition reveals an important truth about human nature. Even within highly disciplined armies, people have long understood that taking a life, even under legal orders, is a burden that many never fully escape.
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