[jpsb]

During the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian leader Hannibal's greatest victory occurred at Cannae on the banks of the Aufidus River, on August 2, 216 B.C. He faced eight Roman legions under Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paullus, with Varro blamed for the defeat. At Cannae, with a substantially smaller force*, Hannibal encircled the Roman troops and used his cavalry to crush the Roman infantry. He hamstrung those who fled so he could later return to finish the job. Some estimates claim that of 70,000 Roman troops at Cannae, less than 2000 survived.

It can be (and has been) done as the above illustrates.

[Gaffer]

Understood. I was mainly talking about today’s civilized world.

There have been instances where large scale violence against large mobs has been used - Iran and Eqypt are a couple of more recent examples. I guess I should have been more succinct in my comment.

Thanks,