The reason our ancestors allowed soldiers to put down their rifles and go home was to prevent wars from becoming Total Wars.
I'm not sure you're right there. Total war is the mobilization of the entire society, which is a development starting in 1793 with the levee-en-masse of the French Revolution - at least in modern times.
I think you mean: soldiers are allowed to surrender, because otherwise they would fight to the death. And that is indeed a very good reason to take prisoners and to treat them humanely. Like Sun Tzu said: make a golden bridge for your enemy's retreat.
That said, I fully support the Americans who committed the war crime of killing the camp guards at Dachau. SS soldiers were bad guys almost to a man (some were forcibly conscripted, so not all) and should not have been allowed to surrender, but obviously, great powers don't care about morality of any kind.
I'm not sure you're right there. Total war is the mobilization of the entire society, which is a development starting in 1793 with the levee-en-masse of the French Revolution - at least in modern times.
I think you mean: soldiers are allowed to surrender, because otherwise they would fight to the death. And that is indeed a very good reason to take prisoners and to treat them humanely. Like Sun Tzu said: make a golden bridge for your enemy's retreat.
That said, I fully support the Americans who committed the war crime of killing the camp guards at Dachau. SS soldiers were bad guys almost to a man (some were forcibly conscripted, so not all) and should not have been allowed to surrender, but obviously, great powers don't care about morality of any kind.