prisoner of war exchange

[rcaf_777]

Any thoughts as to if this would happened?

[LT. Ox]

Only question is When or more to the point when at what levels?

[pmulcahy11b]

Shoot them.

[Draq]

It would depend on the officers of the units making the exchange, the prisoners being exchanged, and why.

[LT. Ox]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Shoot them.

shhh not so loud, and did you take yer meds today GI?

[unkated]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Shoot them.

Only if you are willing to have yours shot. Always.

Then of course, you have the issue of your troops being willing to risk themselves, knowing that if they are captured, they will be shot.

Then, when they figure out that it's because of you, perhaps they will stop following you.

Uncle Ted

[adimar]

In the us civil war, confederate spec ops were considered bushwhackers and not entitled to be treated as pows and were executed by the north.
This promptly ended when an equal number of northern officers were killed by the CO of this unit. (Can't remember if the officers were shot or hanged)
The operational lesson is don't kill pow unless you are willing to suffer the same. Or have another very good reason.

Adi

[dragoon500ly]

Originally Posted by adimar

In the us civil war, confederate spec ops were considered bushwhackers and not entitled to be treated as pows and were executed by the north.
This promptly ended when an equal number of northern officers were killed by the CO of this unit. (Can't remember if the officers were shot or hanged)
The operational lesson is don't kill pow unless you are willing to suffer the same. Or have another very good reason.

Adi

If memory serves, it was Mosby who hanged some of Custer's men following the execution of several Confederate prisoners. Mosby then promised Custer that it would be repeated if the Yankees wanted to continue.

[ArmySGT.]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Shoot them.

Probably the most common solution in such a post-apocalyptic setting.

Well, near post-Apocalyptic setting.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Shoot them.

I'll grant you I was being flippant, but I just don't see keeping EPWs around. They are a drain on resources and personnel. If your players are a small group, they just don't have the resources to keep EPWs around. Thus, my remark.

Now, here's a possibility that has been used successfully in past games: flip them. If you say the right things, and show them kindness, you have one or more NPCs that can beef up your group numbers, and are reasonably reliable (I've stung players with unreliable NPCs, but if they do it right, you may have a friend for life). Acting skill and high CHA will definitely help here.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I'll grant you I was being flippant, but I just don't see keeping EPWs around. They are a drain on resources and personnel. If your players are a small group, they just don't have the resources to keep EPWs around. Thus, my remark.

Now, here's a possibility that has been used successfully in past games: flip them. If you say the right things, and show them kindness, you have one or more NPCs that can beef up your group numbers, and are reasonably reliable (I've stung players with unreliable NPCs, but if they do it right, you may have a friend for life). Acting skill and high CHA will definitely help here.

Ask my players how much of a pain in the ass it can be to march a bunch of prisoners across Africa to a UN camp for internment.

[rcaf_777]

If your not keeping EPW around what are you doing with them? letting them go? what would happen to EPW in CONUS or Canadian Camps?

[Adm.Lee]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Now, here's a possibility that has been used successfully in past games: flip them. If you say the right things, and show them kindness, you have one or more NPCs that can beef up your group numbers, and are reasonably reliable (I've stung players with unreliable NPCs, but if they do it right, you may have a friend for life). Acting skill and high CHA will definitely help here.

This is much more in line with my understanding of the world by 2000.

[unkated]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I'll grant you I was being flippant, but I just don't see keeping EPWs around. They are a drain on resources and personnel. If your players are a small group, they just don't have the resources to keep EPWs around. Thus, my remark.

In a small group, sure, keeping EPWs may be pointless.

But then deaths for no good reason seem pointless to me, too.

Getting a reputation for killing all EPWs may be hazardous to your health - they start hunting you in particular.

You can always strip them of equipment and leave them tied to a tree (this is one of the ways of making contacts).

It depends on the situation

• are you passing through an area, soon to leave?
• are you inbound on a specific mission and will soon have to transit back through the same area?
• is this part of your area of control in which you found intruders?
• are these enemy soldiers or marauders known for killing anyone and anything they come across?
• how long do you expect to have to operate as a small detached group?

To me, these are all factors in deciding what to do with enemy EPWs.

For a larger group, having a labor source for less soldierly aspects of cantonment can be useful. 50 EPWs watched by 5 soldiers while they work in the field is a net gain of 45 men that are then available for soldiering.

Another option - sell them (or their labor). There are active slave markets in Poland, and probably elsewhere.

And you can always remind them that as much as they may not enjoy being slaves, permanently or temporarily, you could have killed them, and chose not to... (but if they are really unhappy, you can fix that for them).

Uncle Ted

[Silent Hunter UK]

If the other side has someone you want back, it could probably be arranged.