Chapter 51: The Captive

After making so many preparations but not being able to fight, this may be boring in the eyes of others, but it is a kind of luck for Qin Chuan and the soldiers.

Because they know that once they hit, the bullets and shells are beyond human control, and any bullet or shrapnel can kill them.

The surrender of the British army in Tugar surprised Qin Chuan and others, and after statistics, a total of more than 2,000 British troops surrendered...... This is almost equal to the total strength of the German army.

As many as 500 trucks were seized, each loaded with gasoline, ammunition or food...... These supplies were sent to Mechichi, but were held back in Tugar because Tengetenre was occupied by the Germans.

In addition to this, there were fifteen Matilda tanks, and then they found a warehouse in the city of Tugla, which was also full of supplies.

In terms of supplies, the British can really be described as "extravagant", these supplies and supplies are at least several times more than the German army, and the German army even found vegetables, red wine and ice in the supply...... This is unimaginable in the desert area of this era, and it is also a time of war.

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

However, there are always two sides to the story: the quality and determination of the troops that are accustomed to enjoyment will be questionable...... This is actually very easy to understand, there is a good life waiting for you, of course, you will be afraid of dirty, tired, especially afraid of death. As the old saying goes, "Born in sorrow and die in peace."

The British army in Tugla was the one who had always been "at peace", and they thought that Tengeten was surrounded by the British army, so they were not prepared at all, and it is said that when a German army entered the city, many British officers were found drunk at the drinking party...... When they opened their eyes, they found that the Germans were already standing in front of them.

The Germans dealt with the captured equipment and supplies by taking what they could, and burning what they couldn't, along with the warehouses in Tugla.

The more troublesome issue was the capture of the British army...... At this time, the German army had penetrated deep behind enemy lines, and the prisoners could not be taken back at all, and a series of problems would arise when advancing with the army, such as the prisoners would consume a lot of food and water for the troops, and the speed of the march would be seriously delayed.

There were even dangers associated with this, such as the fact that the prisoners could riot at any time, especially if the Germans were engaged with the British.

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

So Qin Chuan saw an officer with a company of riflemen escorting a group of British prisoners with infinite horror in their eyes walking out of the city...... The German soldiers even had British "Enfield" rifles in their hands, which would save the Germans ammunition.

"God, that's more than 2,000 captives!" Qin Chuan said: "Are they going to execute all these two thousand people? ”

"We don't have a choice, do we?" Werner spread his hands.

"No, we have a choice!"

Qin Chuan noticed that Colonel Slein was talking to a few German officers with a map not far away, so he walked up with a walk.

When Werner sensed Qin Chuan's intentions, he hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, but it was too late.

"Colonel!" Qin Chuan stepped forward towards Colonel Slain and did not salute.

In this regard, the Germans had long been agreed that they saluted their commanders only indoors or in other safe places, and outside or while still in battle...... That will only point to the target for the enemy to snipe.

"Oh, Sergeant!" When Colonel Slane saw that it was Qin Chuan, he nodded and asked, "We met again, is there anything wrong?" ”

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

"You know, Sergeant!" Colonel Slain's face flashed with displeasure when he heard this, but he replied anyway: "We have to do this, these people will be our enemies when they pick up their rifles, we must not capture them again and again, if we do, we will really just capture a large number of rifles that are useless to us!" ”

In a way, Colonel Slane was right.

Because it is clear that Germany and Britain are two different countries, this makes it difficult for the "preferential treatment of prisoners" in a civil war to work...... It was impossible for the British to pick up a gun and fight with the Germans, and neither would the Germans.

So when they were captured, they were either put in concentration camps or they were left dead bodies that could never become enemies of the German army.

At this time, the German army could not put the prisoners in concentration camps, so they had to choose the latter.

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

"Sergeant!" Lucas, who was standing next to him, replied in an angry tone: "The colonel has already said that these Englishmen will become our enemies when they pick up guns, and they will even tell other Englishmen about our situation......"

Colonel Slane 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 know that this is war, and we must consider our own interests......"

"But the Colonel!" Qin Chuan replied: "I am thinking about our own interests!" ”

Colonel Slain put on a disapproving expression: "I don't think it's in our interest to let these Britons go!" ”

"No, Colonel!" Qin Chuan said: "I think it is very likely that it will be related to whether we can take the port of Tobruk!" ”

Colonel Slane couldn't help but look at Qin Chuan suspiciously, he didn't understand what the relationship between the two would be.

"Let me say so!" Qin Chuan continued: "If we attack all the way, we may occupy many towns like Tengetor and Tugla, and we will also capture a lot of British soldiers, if we execute all the British soldiers who surrendered, then we are telling the British not to surrender, because surrender means death, and Tobruk is a fortress for the British...... What does the Colonel think we're going to encounter there? ”

Hearing this, Colonel Slane couldn't help but be stunned, he hadn't considered the issue of prisoners from this aspect.

"The British army in Tobruk will definitely fight until the last moment!" Qin Chuan continued: "Because they know that defeat or surrender is a dead end, and they can only fight to the end. On the contrary, if we let go of the British soldiers who surrendered, they would tell everyone, including the British garrison stationed in the port of Tobruk...... If you surrender, you can live, and there is only one way to resist if you die, then they will not have much will to defend, and the British will to resist is not strong in itself......"