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Originally posted by tw
If everyone was fighting only to accomplish the mission, then why were Germans so more willing to surrender to Americans than to Russians?
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the americans approached the fight from a different perspective than the russians did. for the american serviceman the fight was something that had to be finished before he could go home. it wasn't an issue of hating the germans for the american gi. many WWII vets held the germans in much higher regard than they did the french. they interrogated them when necessary and killed them when necessary to accomplish whatever mission at hand.
the gi, in general, did not hold the level of contempt for the german soldiers that the russians did. the war hadn't been brought to the gate of any major american city. the russian soldiers were well aware of the russian civilians who had died at the hands of the germans. they approached the german soldier with contempt and with a desire for revenge. the german soldier was well aware of that.
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And if there were no such rules of war, then how did those Germans who massacred captured Americans at (was it Mandalay?) during the Battle of the Bulge end up getting prosecuted? How do we prosecute someone for a rule that did not exist?
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i am not aware of the prosecution of any front line troops after teh battle of the bulge. i believe you are talking about the Malmedy Massacre. the american response to that was the order from Headquarters, 328th IR, Dec 21. "No SS troops or paratroopers will be taken prisoner but will be shot on sight." (ambrose, citizen soldiers)