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It's also much deadlier for the winners to not let the opposing side retreat/surrender, if people feel trapped they'll fight to the death.

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Exactly.

I suspect that WW2 went on for an extra year because the Allies announced they wanted "unconditional surrender", which meant death for the leaders.

The Germans had a saying, "enjoy the war because the peace will be hell".

Also a german saying: "Der Soldat der beizeiten flieht, der kämpft auch noch im nächsten Krieg"... if you flee in time you can be able to fight in the next conflict.

An old saying from early in the first Millennium at least, through Menander apparently, but common in many cultures.

FWIW, the length of time between D-Day and the German surrender was less than a year.

The Germans knew long before D-Day that they were going to lose.

Ransom money and family relations or treatment of the hostages the enemy had were probably the big motivators.

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