Suicide mission

A suicide mission is a task which is so dangerous for the people involved that they are not expected to survive. The term is sometimes extended to include suicide attacks such as kamikaze and suicide bombings, where the people involved actively commit suicide during execution of the mission. The risks involved with suicide missions are not always apparent to those participating in them or to those who plan them. However, for an action to be considered a suicide mission someone involved must be aware of the risks. A mission that goes horribly wrong is not a suicide mission. An individual or group taking part in a mission may perceive the risks involved to be far greater than what they believe to be acceptable, while those planning or commanding the mission may think otherwise. These situations can often lead to refusals to participate in missions on the basis that they are "suicide missions". Similarly, planners or commanders may be well aware of the risks involved with missions while those participating in them may not.

In a military context, soldiers can be ordered to perform very dangerous tasks or can undertake them on their own initiative. In October 2004, during the Iraq War, 17 soldiers in the US Army refused orders to drive unarmored fuel trucks near Baghdad, calling the task a "suicide mission". Those soldiers faced investigations for breakdown of discipline. In the First World War, French soldiers mutinied en masse in 1917 after appalling losses convinced them that their participation at the front would inevitably lead to their deaths. At the same time, many groups voluntarily undertake suicide missions in times of war. Both the Waffen SS and the Imperial Japanese Army were known for executing what could be labeled as suicide missions throughout the Second World War. Suicide missions can also be an act of desperation, such as a last stand. The latter end of the Battle of Stalingrad could be seen as a suicide mission from the German perspective, as they were ordered to fight to the death with no option of surrendering and no chance of escape.

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