Chapter 52: Prisoners

Having made so many preparations but not being able to fight a battle may seem boring to others, but for Qin Chuan and the soldiers, it is a kind of luck.

Because they know that once the bullets and shells are fired, they are beyond human control, and any bullet or shrapnel may take their lives.

The British troops surrendered by Tugel surprised Qin Chuan and others. After counting, more than 2,000 British troops surrendered... which almost caught up with the total strength of the German army.

There were as many as 500 trucks seized, and each of them was filled with gasoline, ammunition or food... These supplies were all sent to Chile, but because Tengeter was occupied by the German army, they were blocked in Tu. Geer.

In addition, there were fifteen "Matilda" tanks, and then they discovered a warehouse also filled with supplies in the city of Tugla.

In terms of supplies, the British can really be described as "luxury". These materials and supplies are at least several times more than those of the Germans. The Germans even found vegetables, red wine and ice cubes in the supplies... This was especially true in the desert areas of this era. It is simply unimaginable during the war period.

From these, we can also see the "delicacy" of British officers, and at the same time, we can also see the British exploitation of colonies around the world.

However, things always have two sides: troops who are accustomed to enjoying themselves will have problems with their quality and determination to fight... This is actually easy to understand. If you have a good life waiting for you, of course you will be afraid of getting dirty, tired, and especially death. . As an old saying goes, "Be born in sorrow and die in happiness."

The British troops in Tugra were always "at ease". They thought that Tengeter had been surrounded by the British troops, so they were completely unprepared. It is said that when a German army entered the city, they also found many British troops. The officers were very drunk at the reception... When they opened their eyes, they found that the people standing in front of them were German soldiers.

The German army's approach to handling the captured equipment and supplies was to take whatever they could take, and what they couldn't take were piled together with Tugla's warehouse and set on fire.

What is more troublesome is the problem of British prisoners... At this time, the German army has gone deep behind enemy lines, and the prisoners cannot be escorted back. As the army advances, a series of problems will arise. For example, the prisoners will consume a lot of food and water for the troops, and there will also be Seriously slowing down the marching speed, etc.

There were even dangers in doing so, as the prisoners could riot at any time, especially when the German and British troops were fighting.

So the Germans preferred to shoot the prisoners, just like they had done before.

So Qinchuan saw an officer leading a company of riflemen, escorting groups of British prisoners with infinite terror in their eyes toward the outside of the city... The German soldiers even held "favors" from the British army. Field" rifle, which would save German ammunition.

"God, these are more than 2,000 prisoners!" Qin Chuan said, "Are they going to execute all of these 2,000 people?"

"We have no choice, right?" Werner spread his hands.

"No, we have a choice!"

Qin Chuan noticed that Colonel Slain was not far away talking with several German officers holding maps, so he took a step forward.

When Werner noticed Qin Chuan's intention, he rushed forward to stop him, but it was already too late.

"Colonel!" Qin Chuan stood up to Colonel Slaine without saluting.

The German army has already reached a consensus in this regard. They only salute their superiors indoors or in other safe places. Saluting outdoors or while fighting... will only indicate the target for enemy snipers.

"Oh, Sergeant!" Colonel Slain nodded when he saw it was Qin Chuan and asked, "We meet again, what's the matter?"

"Yes, Colonel!" Qin Chuan looked at the British prisoners who were being escorted out of the city, and asked, "Colonel, I want to know what we will do with these prisoners!"

"You know, Sergeant!" A hint of displeasure flashed across Colonel Slain's face when he heard this, but he still replied: "We have to do this, these people will become our enemies if they pick up rifles. We can't capture them again and again. If we do, we will actually capture a large number of rifles that are useless to us! "

To a certain extent, Colonel Sline was right.

Because it is obvious that Germany and Britain are two different countries, which determines that the "preferential treatment of prisoners" in the civil war is difficult to work... It is impossible for the British to pick up guns and join the Germans Neither do the Germans who fight.

Therefore, after capturing the prisoners, they were either sent to concentration camps, or they were turned into corpses that could never become enemies of the German army.

At this time, the German army could not put prisoners into concentration camps, so they could only choose the latter.

"Why don't we let them go? Colonel!" Qin Chuan said.

"Sergeant!" Lucas, who was standing nearby, replied with an angry tone: "The colonel has already said that these British people will become our enemies when they pick up guns, and they will even tell other British people about our situation. …”

Colonel Slaine raised his hand to stop Lucas from continuing. He took Qin Chuan aside and said to Qin Chuan as he walked: "Sergeant, I admire your compassion, but you must know that this is war. We have to think about our own interests..."

"But Colonel!" Qin Chuan replied: "I am considering our own interests!"

Colonel Slaine made a disapproving expression: "I don't think it would be in our benefit to let these British go!"

"No, Colonel!" Qin Chuan said, "I think this is very likely related to whether we can take the port of Tobruk!"

Colonel Slaine looked at Qin Chuan in confusion when he heard this. He didn't understand what the two were related to.

"Let me put it this way!" Qin Chuan continued, "As we attack down, we may occupy many towns like Tengtenger and Tugla, and we will also capture many British soldiers. If we execute all the surrendered British soldiers, then we are telling the British not to surrender, because surrender means death, and Tobruk is a British fortress... What do you think we will encounter there?"

Colonel Slaine was stunned when he heard this. He didn't consider the issue of prisoners from this aspect.

"The British troops in Tobruk will definitely fight to the last moment!" Qin Chuan continued, "Because they know that failure or surrender is a dead end, they have no choice but to fight to the end. On the contrary, if we let those surrendered British soldiers go, they will tell everyone, including the British garrison stationed in Tobruk Port... that they can survive by surrendering, and resistance will only lead to death, so they will not have much will to defend, and the British will to resist is not strong..."