Chapter 955: Decisive Battle (21)

Hearing that these Americans still wanted to surrender conditionally, the German officers present flashed a trace of barely perceptible disdain on their faces.

Surrender is actually a negotiation, and the conditions for the negotiation are determined by the number of chips left in hand. The more power left in hand, the more confident you will be when negotiating with others, and you will be able to hold on to the bottom line and not be slaughtered by others; if you lose all your chips, you can only be the fish on the chopping board, that is, unconditional surrender.

Germany surrendered conditionally in World War I. Germany used "disbanding the army, handing over all heavy weapons, all warships, and all colonies" in exchange for the Allies not occupying Germany and not punishing the German ruling group.

Germany surrendered unconditionally in World War II. Since the victorious countries in World War II were just, the severity of the punishment for those unjust and unjust countries was much greater than that in World War I.

For example, in terms of compensation, the compensation stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles after World War I was 33 billion US dollars, or 132 billion marks. But Germany actually only paid 12 billion marks, or only 3 billion US dollars. After World War II, Germany had to pay 50 billion US dollars in compensation, far more than the amount of compensation for World War I.

In terms of territory, Germany lost very little of its homeland in World War I, and none of them were German-speaking areas, but all of them were Polish and Danish areas. After World War II, Germany lost more than 100,000 square kilometers of land, including East Prussia, Silesia, Pomerania, and part of West Prussia. Germany was also occupied and ruled by the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, and France.

In terms of national defense, from 1945 to 1955, Germany was not allowed to have any army or any form of arms. Germany's national defense was the responsibility of the victorious countries, and military expenses and occupation expenses were paid by Germany. It was not until 1955 that the United States allowed West Germany to rearm in order to deal with the increasingly serious Soviet threat. But the military was strictly restricted and closely monitored by the United States, Britain, and France.

Now, the American Expeditionary Force seems to have no bargaining chips to talk to them about conditional surrender.

Major General Judit nodded. "Although we may not accept it, Lieutenant Colonel Thompson can speak it out first."

"First, I hope your army can promise to guarantee the safety of life and property of our soldiers. Second, all surrendered soldiers must not be forced to participate in labor. Third, the wounded need to be properly treated, and food needs to be adequately supplied. Our food cannot be withheld. Fourth, after the war, all prisoners of war need to be released unconditionally." Lieutenant Colonel Thompson put forward all the conditions in one breath. After speaking, he looked at Major General Judit with some trepidation, waiting for his reaction.

Although he wanted the Germans to send them back to the United States, the two countries were now at war. If they really put forward such conditions, the Germans would not agree, and they would even become a laughing stock. They had to settle for the next best thing.

After listening to Lieutenant Colonel Thompson's conditions, the German Chief of Staff said coldly. "Hmph, this is not surrender at all, I think they are just a bunch of tourists! Do you think our prisoner-of-war camp is a resting place? Should we provide them with good food and drink?! These ungrateful guys even gave them the B-class prisoner-of-war camp. They should all be thrown into the C-class prisoner-of-war camp. Let's see if there are still such long-winded conditions!" The officers around nodded.

Lieutenant Colonel Thompson was a little frightened when he heard this. What is the B-class prisoner-of-war camp, the C-class prisoner-of-war camp? The German prisoner-of-war camps have levels? It seems that the conditions in the C-class prisoner-of-war camps are still very bad? In order to prevent the Germans from really throwing them all into the so-called C-class prisoner-of-war camps, Lieutenant Colonel Thompson quickly spoke up. "Mr. Major General Judit, you should also know that our conditions are not excessive. After all, we still have more than 300,000 troops in the underground fortifications in Moscow. If we want to fight to the death, your army will also suffer unnecessary casualties."

The chief of staff sneered. "Hmph! Fight to the death? Do you have the courage? I think the Soviets are braver than you. At least they haven't sent anyone to discuss surrender."

The taunting made Lieutenant Colonel Thompson look very ugly. Although he wanted to refute, he didn't know how to say it. After all, he came to discuss surrender. Doesn't this mean that they are cowards?

At this time, Major General Judit slowly spoke. "Lieutenant Colonel Thompson, I have to say that your army's conditions are really hard to accept. We can only guarantee the safety of your soldiers. As for other aspects, your army must obey our arrangements, including labor. Our prisoner-of-war camps will not support idle people in vain. As for whether to accept or not, the choice is in your hands. If you want to fight to the death, we welcome it. After all, given the current situation, I am also curious about how your army is going to cause considerable casualties to our army." The last sentence made the officers around him laugh.

This series of humiliations almost made Lieutenant Colonel Thompson furious, but he couldn't help but feel confused. "Major General Judit, don't we need to report to your army's headquarters?" As a division commander, how can he decide these things?

Major General Judit smiled. "These decisions have been made by our army's headquarters. Lieutenant Colonel Thompson doesn't think we didn't expect your army to surrender, right? The decision of the headquarters is that your army must surrender unconditionally, without any room for negotiation. Come on, send this Lieutenant Colonel Thompson back."

Lieutenant Colonel Thompson opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything, and turned away with a gloomy expression.

At this time, in the "Underground Kremlin" combat command room, Eisenhower was persuading Rokossovsky. "Commander Rokossovsky, you and I both know that the Soviet Union's war is over. Every minute you resist here, you will lose hundreds of excellent soldiers under your command, as well as those innocent civilians. At least they should not be forced to die." He really experienced what it meant to be stubborn. He wanted to take a scalpel to cut open the heads of these guys to see what the structure was. Is there reinforced concrete in the brain?

Rokossovsky sighed heavily and said bitterly. "If we hold on for one more day, the Soviet Union will exist for one more day; once we give up, the Soviet Union will be completely dead. Commander Eisenhower, if this is Washington, would you give up easily?"

Eisenhower couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Washington is almost in ruins." And after completely conquering Moscow, Germany's next target will be the United States. Unfortunately, at that time he could only watch the war as a prisoner of war. After a long silence, Eisenhower said slowly. "Even if this is Washington, at least I won't let a bunch of civilians be buried with us."