Chapter 203: Terms for Surrender

Chapter 203: Terms for Surrender



Smoke rose in the air, and the bullets ceased to fire a few hours after they had begun. Bruno gazed upon his pocket watch, which carried his family's coat of arms. Or should I say the coat of arms, he was granted permission to fly within the Russian Empire.

This coat of arms did not belong to the Prussian Junker House of Zehntner, but rather the Russian Princely House of Zehntner. And because of this, Bruno chose his own coat of arms to represent his personal line of succession.

The coat of arms was a Russian Imperial Eagle, with a Totenkopf emblazoned across its chest. This was not the infamous Totenkopf of the SS, which resounded throughout the history of his past life as a controversial symbol.

Rather, the earlier variant used by the Freikorps, which just so happened to be the version he utilized during the Russian civil war for his so called "Iron Division."

The distinction between the two symbols was noticeable by the golden double-headed and crowned eagle, which had the silver skull and crossbones in the center. It was a symbol that reminded him, and all of his future descendants, of how their noble house was founded.

At the same time, it made for an intrinsic heirloom when embossed onto the center of a master crafted pocket watch, one which Bruno used to keep time as the battle came to a sudden stop.

The white flag was raised in the distance by what remained of Serbia's forces, and when it was reached into Bruno's line of sight, he closed his pocket watch and called for a cease to all ongoing hostilities.

"Hold your fire! The enemy has surrendered!"

The order rang throughout the lines of communication. Every radio operator heard Bruno's words relayed to them, as they themselves gave the order to their troops to cease firing their weapons. As the bullets ceased flying, eventually a man wearing an officer's uniform within the Serbian Royal Army stepped forward.

His exact rank, Bruno, was unsure of as the distinctive markings that would otherwise let him know were covered with blood, no doubt belonging to someone who had died very close and very violently while next to the officer in question.

Nevertheless, this officer bore the white flag of peace and stepped forward to speak with Bruno. In a time of war, even in the rear echelon, Bruno carried at least two weapons on him at all times. Currently, he had Mauser C96 "Red 9" holstered on his belt.

At the same time, he had an MP-34 or MP-05, as it was known in this timeline, slung around his shoulder. Both had a round chambered and were ready to be fired at a moment's notice if need be.

Nevertheless, Bruno approached the Serbian officer with his own personal case of cigarettes in hand. The tobacco inside was grown in colonies abroad and personally processed into the white stick within Bruno's hands by his own employees.

The case itself was gold, and marked with the same symbol as his pocket watch. Needless to say, it was strange for a German General to have a personal item bearing the Russian Imperial Eagle upon it. Or so it would have been if this coat of arms had not already become infamous across Europe by now.

Though Bruno was partially insulted by the man's words, he realized he didn't necessarily have that right half way through the thought. He had acted viciously and inhumanely towards an enemy he thought of as subhuman. And he still had no regrets about that.

By now all kinds of rumors had spread about his time in Russia, which was his last foray into the battlefield, and thus it was understanding that those ignorant of the reason why he had behaved so monstrously to the Red Army in Russia were not to blame for their

misunderstanding.

Instead, Bruno made his reasons for sparing them abundantly clear, as he pointed towards the tattered banners in the distance which bore the pride and prestige of the Serbian Royal Family, and in doing so answered the question that the Officer sought an answer to. "Why? You're the King's men, are you not? As far as I'm aware you and I, nor any of the men beneath your command share any past enmity between us. And since you fight for the honor and glory of your king, why should I treat you like a rabid dog in need of being put down? I mean, you're not a Marxist, are you?"

What Bruno had said was enough to convince the Serbian Officer that he had been wrong about Bruno, and thus he was quick to surrender, knowing that to continue to fight even against such overwhelming odds would only lead to certain death for him and his men.

"You offer your terms, I have none..."

Bruno was quick to offer his terms, which were far greater than the Serbian Officer was

expecting.

"I will guarantee you and your man's safe passage to Sarajevo, where you will be fed and housed in accordance with the rules of war. And when this dreadful conflict finally comes to an end, you will be released without any form of retribution acted upon you.

From there you are free to do as you wish as you will no longer be our prisoners of war... Are these terms acceptable in condition for your surrender and disarmament?"

To say that the Serbian Officer was not expecting such graceful terms was an understatement. Especially when the man thought he was dealing with the devil himself. He was quick to agree to Bruno's terms as he returned to his men and ordered their immediate disarmament and

surrender.

By the time the prisoners were all loaded up on the trucks and transported back to Sarajevo, Bruno would reunite with his commanding officer Generalfeldmarschall August von Mackensen, who would report the overwhelming victory back to the Kaiser.

Though Bruno did not realize it yet, he was about to receive two very prestigious awards for

his victory had in the opening hours of the Great War. Ones that he felt were long overdue considering his long list of accomplishments up until this point.