Frederick the great mandated that this strangling be done in such a way that the crowd would know it. The usual method was for the victim to be tied to a scaffold or laid out on the ground, with wooden struts to raise the limbs and a wagon wheel or a hammer, iron bar or club used to break them. Special execution wheels were manufactured with projecting flanges for added smashing power. Historyan garret fagin has a horrific description of breaking on the wheel.