And in every surrender, there is usually a moment when slaughter is the only other possible outcome. The British at Singapore were left with a Royal Navy that had been destroyed and complete loss of the air.
At Bataan, no rescue was coming for the American forces.
At Stalingrad, the Germans faced surrender or the death of everyone. No victory or escape was possible.
At Dunkirk, the Brits leaving was the only sane strategic choice. They could stay with the French, die, and leave England defenseless. Or they could retreat and prepare for the German attack.
The Germans in North Africa were cut off and surrendered by the tens of thousands.
Besides the American west against Indians, and the Japanese on islands, most battles are not fought to utter annihilation. Only armchair Generals think otherwise.
But the French soldier is a solid performer. Always has been, and still is. And generals everywhere in that era pretty much sucked.
I remember reading one time, that Rochambeau (sp?) did quite a lot of reform of the French military when he was put in charge, and he had a fighting force that was almost if not better than what Great Britain had! This was before he took his forces over to America.