From the book "The War North Of Rome : June 1944 - May 1945" by Thomas R. Brooks, pages 157 - 158
Author Farley Mowat wrote in his history of the Hastings & Prince Edwards Regiment, an account of an incident in the battle for the Gothic Line. Mr. Mowat felt that the incident might have qualified for one of the most peculiar encounters of the war.
It was the night of 25 Aug 1944 and Lt. Col. Cameron had set up his Battalion CP in an Italian farm building. He and his officers had sat down to eat a beef stew that had been prepared when they heard a cough behind them. The officers turned around to see who had entered the building and found a six foot tall German paratrooper corporal.
Lt Col Cameron snapped at the man, "You are in the wrong camp. Go away."
The German replied that he was lost. Lt Col Cameron replied, "That's easily rectified" and he gave the German detailed directions so that he could return to the German lines which were located 400 yards away.
The Lt Col then remembered his sense of hospitality and asked the German if he had eaten. The paratrooper related that he had not eaten in the past 24 hours and so the Lt Col invited him to partake of the beef stew with the group. After eating, the paratrooper corporal offered himself as an official prisoner of war. The Lt Col dismissed the notion by exclaiming, "Nonsense." and telling the German that he had freely admitted to wandering into the CP by mistake. Lt Col Cameron continued, "And since we've already taken quite enough prisoners today, one more would simply be an administrative nuisance."
Mr. Mowat's account relates the German as banging on the table and saying, "I am your prisoner." The Lt Col banged on the table himself saying, "You are a soldier absent without leave....You may even be charged with desertion. You go along, and when you get back, tell your C.O. that we're going to beat the hell out of him come dawn." Mr. Mowat relates that the argument might have continued all night had the Lt Col not been called back to duty and finally agreed to accept the German's surrender
