One example was the hot tempered William II (1087-1100) who filled his court with undeserving lackeys and spent too much time hunting. He was killed by a stray arrow in the New Forest and some suspected foul play.
His case was possibly and early example of what was known as "fragging" in the Vietnam War which was the deliberate killing of a military colleague.
There have been many documented instances throughout history of soldiers killing colleagues, however, the practice of fragging seems to have been relatively uncommon in the US military until the Vietnam War.
An early estimate was that something over 1,000 fragging incidents may have taken place in Vietnam, causing 86 deaths and 714 injuries, the majority of whom were officers and non-commissioned officers.
The first known incidents of fragging in South Vietnam took place in 1966, but fragging incidents appear to have increased in 1968. After the Tet Offensive early that year, the Vietnam War became increasingly unpopular in the United States and among American soldiers in Vietnam, many of whom were draftees. Secondly, about that time racial tensions between white and black military personnel increased after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April, 1968.
With troops reluctant to risk their lives in what was perceived as a lost war being conducted by bumbling politicians, most notably President Lyndon Johnson, fragging was seen by some enlisted men as the most effective way of discouraging their superiors from showing enthusiasm for combat.
By 1971, a Marine Corps Colonel declared, "The morale, discipline and battle worthiness of the US Armed Forces are, with a few salient exceptions, lower and worse than at any time in this century and possibly in the history of the United States."
In another example involving English kings, there was Edward II (1307-1327) who was described as a weak-willed playboy who was ineffective and unpopular. With a preference for male lovers, he was estranged from his wife and was overthrown in a conspiracy led by the queen herself. He was imprisoned and killed by having a red-hot poker thrust up his rectum.
In chess, the most primitive way of winning and the one that appeals to some bloodthirsty types is the King hunt, an assault on the enemy King, preferably from the get-go before castling has taken place.
Experienced player take time to castle early, but even after the King has a permanent residence, if its defenses are
defective it's possible for the opponent to immediately train his guns on the King.
Whichever way it happens, it's fun to watch as the following game demonstrates.
White was played by the Polish Master Antoni Wojciechowaki (June 6, 1905 - January 19, 1938, 32 years old), a well-known player in Poznan in the 1920s and 1930s. Almost nothing is known of the player of the black pieces, Hermann Weiss, except that he was Austrian.
The game was played in the 1936 Munich Olympiad which was the 3rd unofficial Olympia. It was held by German Chess Federation as a counterpart of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Given the times, oddly, many Jewish players took part in the event. The finals consisted of 21 teams and was won by Hungary ahead of Poland, Germany, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
Antoni Wojciechowski–Hermann Weiss1–0C15Munich Olympiad31.08.1936Stockfish 15.1
French Defense 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c3 b4 4.ge2 Here white is tempting
Black to take a P and then defend it at the expense of time which he cannot
afford. Statistically white does not do nearly as well with this move as he
does with the normal 4.e5. Black's mistake in this game is trying to hold onto
the P rather than return it in favore of development. dxe4 5.a3 xc3+ 6.xc3 f5 There was no harm in having taken the P, but this is the bad move which
seriously weakens the position of the black K. Correct was 6...Nc6 6...c6 7.b5 ge7 with full equality. 7.f3 This is usually seen, but perhaps
inducing a further weakening of black's K-side would also have been worth
trying. 7.h5+ g6 8.h3 c6 9.f4 f6 9...xd4 10.b5 xb2 11.xc7+ d8 12.d1+ and white is winning. 10.0-0-0 d5 11.xd5 exd5 12.g3
White is better. 7...exf3 8.xf3 h4+ Another loss of time. After 8...Nf6
white has only a minimal positional advantage. 8...xd4 Too greedy! 9.g3 f6 10.b5 e4+ 11.e2 a6 12.xg7 f8 13.h6 f7 White is winning. Shelk,
A (2372)-Samarin,S (2137) Irkutsk RUS 2010 9.g3 xd4 White is two Ps down,
and black has no pieces in play except his Q on whose safety, moreover, he
will have to spend even more time. As a result, white has a legitimate hope of
scoring a quick win. There's a good chance that some of black's pieces will
never even see any action whereas that is unlikely to be the case with white's
pieces. All of that is practically speaking. Engines (Stockfish and Komodo)
present a different picture. According to them white's advantage is nominal. 10.e3 10.b5 was also good. e5+ 11.e2 a6 12.c3 f6 13.f4
with a good game. 10...g4 11.g2 White also has a promising positional
wdvantage after the exchange of Qs. f6 12.e2 g6 13.0-0-0
This is an interesting situation. Both Stockfish amd Komodo
evaluate this position as almost dead equal, but practically speaking who
would want to defend black's position? One slip is apt to be fatal. In any
case, white has the initiative. c6 Castling was the other option and no
doubt the best one. 13...0-0 14.b5 This sally leads nowhere, but the
truth is black is very near to gaining complete equality because white has
been unable to launch a successful attack and black has slowly managed to get
his pieces developed. a6 15.he1 e5 16.xa7 e4 17.xc8 axc8 Black is
getting himself untangled. 14.b5 Now this move cause black some
consternation, but as long as he can defend the c-Pawn his position remains
safe from immediate disaster. f7 15.c5 Castling is prevented and black's
position looks gloomy. There is, however, and adequate defense. a6 Black finally cracks and plays this, the losing move. 15...e5
This is it. Black's control of the center enable him to offer stout resistance.
16.d6 a2 17.xc7+ f7 18.c3 So as to defend the b-Pawn with Kc2 after .
..Qa1+ 18.xa8 a1+ 19.d2 xb2 and suddenly black is in the game. 18...d7 19.d3 19.xa8 White lands in trouble after this! a5 20.c7 a4
and it's black who is on the attack! 19...a5 20.b1 c4 and white
probably has no better course than to repeat moves with 21.Bd3 16.f3
The surprise crusher. d8 16...axb5 17.xc6+ bxc6 18.xc6+ wins 17.d2 d5 18.xd5 axb5 18...exd5 is even worse. 19.he1+ e6 20.d4 c6 20...d7 21.f4 g6 22.e5 g8 23.xe6 f7 24.f6 White has a mating attack. 21.xe6 xe6 22.xe6+ xe6 23.e1 19.he1 Two Rs on the center files are
almost always too much for a K which is caught in the center. d7 20.g4 c6
keeping lines closed would have been a bit better. 21.gxf5 xf5 This allows
a quick finish. 21...0-0-0 This offered no hope either. 22.fxe6 xe6 23.xe6+ xe6 24.xe6 xd2 25.xd2 he's a R down. 22.xe6 xe6 22...0-0-0 23.xd7+ xd7 24.xf5 b8 25.e7 hd8 and white is winning. 23.d7# Aggressive play by Wojciechowski who kept the pressure on his
opponent from the beginning. 1–0
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