Cherbourg

"As the Americans closed in on Cherbourg they encountered a greater density of pillboxes and weapon pits, as well as major forts. Each position had to be dealt with individually. Colonel Bernard B. MacMahon's 315th Infantry was faced with what seemed to be a major defence work at Les Ingoufs, with a garrison of several hundred. A Polish deserter led MacMahon and a reconnaissance party close to it. It looked as if the guns had been destroyed, either by air attack or by the Germans themselves. MacMahon ordered a newly arrived loudspeaker truck to be brought up. He then ordered forward some artillery and announced over the loudpseakers in German that a full divisional assault was about to be launched. They had ten minutes to surrender, then 'any part of the garrison not surrending would be blasted out of existence'. He kept repeating the message, 'feeling rather foolish because his talking seemed to have produced no results'. Suddenly, he heard yells: 'Here they come!' Large numbers of German soldiers could be seen advancing, some with white flags and the rest with their arms raised. But they represented only a portion of the garrison.
A group of five German officers appeared next, as delegates sent by the garrison commander. They asked MacMahon to have his guns fire one phosphorus shell at the position so that their commander could feel he 'had satisfied his obligation to the Fuhrer and surrender'. MacMahon had to admit that he had no phosphorus shells. Would 'German honor be satisfied' if five phosphorus grenaders were thrown? After discussion of this counter-proposal, the senior German officer agreed with more saluting. But only four grenades could be found in the whole company. There was more haggling, then these four grenades were thrown into a cornfield. The German officers inspected the results and agreed that they were indeed phosphorus, and returned to inform their commander that he could surrender the rest of the garrison and the field hospital attached.
MacMahon found that they had taken 2,000 prisoners."

From D-Day, by Antony Beevor.