"Your Majesty is right. We absolutely cannot tolerate the Russians' brutal actions. We must retaliate against them!" Air Force Minister Field Marshal Kesselring immediately declared.
The deaths of more than a hundred pilots pained him deeply. Although he had known, the moment those pilots were shot down, that their chances of survival were slim, such losses were still impossible for him to accept. Every pilot was precious. Even Bomber pilots required vast amounts of time and resources to train. If they could be rescued after being shot down, they could fly missions again. But now, the Russians had simply hanged them, cutting off every last hope.
"Yes, Your Majesty. We must retaliate against the Russians. We cannot let those pilots die in vain. Since the Russians do not abide by the Geneva Convention, there is no need for us to abide by it either. We can take no Russian prisoners in this war!" Field Marshal Manstein said.
"If we do that, I fear it would be exactly what the Russians want." Ribbentrop, the newly appointed Foreign Minister, said.
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Field Marshal Manstein asked.
"If we take no Russian prisoners, those Russian soldiers will know that capture means certain death. Then they will fight us to the death on the battlefield. That would instead strengthen their combat effectiveness and cause us greater casualties. Russians generally do not care whether prisoners live or die. What they want is victory in the war. As long as they can win, they would not care no matter how many people died. Therefore, the Russians would absolutely love for us to execute prisoners!" Ribbentrop said.
"Cunning Russians!" Field Marshal Manstein could not help cursing.
Oscar's expression darkened further. The Russian government had clearly laid a trap and was waiting for Germany