A victor gives no quarter when the victor shows no clemency or mercy and refuses to spare the life in return for the surrender at discretion (unconditional surrender) of a vanquished opponent. It is against modern international humanitarian law to declare that no quarter will be given.
In the past, during a siege, it was accepted that if an enemy garrison was offered the chance to surrender on terms and did not accept those terms, then if the attacker subsequently captured members of the garrison, under the customary laws of war at that time, those defenders had surrender at the discretion of the attacker and the attacker could choose to either give them quarter or kill them.
In the past, in some circumstances, the opposing forces would signal their intention to give no quarter by using a flag; however, the use of a red flag to signal no quarter does not appear to have been universal among combatants.
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