Circassian men's corpses were decapitated by Russian-Cossack women on the battlefield after the battles were over for the heads to be sent to Zass for collection.[244][245][246][247] Zass erected Circassian heads on poles outside of his tent and witnesses saw the wind blowing the beards of the heads.[248] Russian soldiers and Cossacks were paid for sending Circassian heads to General Zass.[249][250][251][252] Besides cutting Circassian heads off and collecting them, Zass employed a deliberate strategy of annihilating Circassian en masse, burning entire Circassian villages with the people in it and encouraging violation of Circassian women and children.[253][254] Zass' forces referred to all Circassian elderly, children women and men as "Bandits, "plunderers" or "thieves" and the Russian empire's forces were commanded by ferociously partholofical officers who commanded political dissidents and criminals.[255][256][257][258][259][260][261][262][263][264][265][266][267][268][269][270] Cossacks raped Circassian women and impregnated them with children.[271] Circassian children were scared of Zass and he was called the devil (Iblis) by the Circassians.[272]