I recall the policy of some Gurkha units working in Italy with the British Eighth Army during the Second World War. When they'd find an outpost along the enemy lines where the German or Italian sentries weren't taking the war seriously enough to suit the Nepalese [who found soldiering a near-religious matter] they'd go in at night with their khukuri knives and liven things up, in a sense.
Depending on circumstances and the size of their patrol, they'd behead either every other or all but one of their enemise, and if one was sleeping particularly well, would surrpound his position with the severed heads of his partners. In at least one case, they set one enemy head very gently on the snoozing chest of another, as a greeting for when the sleepy troop woke up.
Great pranksters, those jolly Gurkhas! But leaving one recipient around to spread the word to others can be a sound and honourable tactic, as well as conforming to daily bag limits.
