exclusive in this instance or any others for that matter. All wars eventually end despite what was said or done by the combatants. This is true even when one or both of the combatants aren't completely defeated. The Battle of Yorktown in 1781 ended the major military conflict of the American Revolution. Up until that time the conflict was in part a civil war between patriots and loyalists. People were killed. Homes were burned or confiscated. Over 20k loyalists became lifetime refugees. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Henry, etc. would have been hung had they been captured during the war. Yet Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army and two years later the American Revolution was ended, and the United States was formally recognized in the Treaty of Paris.

Had France insisted in 1789 that the war end by some accommodation (off ramp) rather than offering material and military aid, we may today be part of the British Commonwealth, celebrating Boxer Day rather than Independence Day.