No quarter
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An order to give no quarter, during military conflict or piracy, directs that captured enemy combatants should be executed rather than taken prisoner. Since the Hague Convention of 1899, it is conside
Dutch ship flying a bloody flag during the Battle of the Sound in 1658
Bloody flag
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Pattern-free red flags, often called bloody flags, or the bloody red, were the traditional nautical symbol in European waters, prior to the invention of flag signal codes, to signify an intention to g
No quarter
…garrison was often killed. In some circumstances, the opposing forces would signal their intention to give no quarter by using a red flag (the so-called bloody flag). However, the use of a red flag to signal no quarter does not appear to have been universal among combatants. Black flags have been used to signify…
Seafaring Norsemen depicted invading England with red shields, painted c. 1130 AD
Jolly Roger at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard