Cumplir a sangre y fuego

[poli]

Does this mean to do it come hell or high water?

[aleCcowaN]

If it doesn't relate to a historic event of sacking and/or vandalizing (like General Sherman's deeds), it looks pretty much a hybrid between "cumplir a rajatabla" and "someter a sangre y fuego"; the kind of melange people make in everyday speech or Internetish and later label as "common" expressions.

cumplir a rajatabla = do or follow to the letter, without compassion nor room for flexibility
someter a sangre y fuego = crush by fire and sword

So it could be:

El rey le ordenó someter a los rebeldes, lo que cumplió a sangre y fuego.

or most probably a portmanteau, disposable, informal phrase:

"y no aflojó y lo cumplió a sangre y fuego" = indeed he did, that relentless bastard

[poli]

OK. By draconian means.
Thanks

[Glen]

One way I have seen it translated is "to the hilt," which certainly meets the criteria of "sangre" when one imagines a sword piercing through the entire length of its blade.