The US has a crazy way of killing tanks without killing the crew - We Are The Mighty

the crew is more valuable than the tank. If not killed they just go get another tank and continue to fight. Anytime a country has highly trained crews for different equipment the crew id the most important part. Most of the time more equipment can be brought up and maned by survivors of battle much faster than new crews trained.

One reason the US won the war in the Pacific is that battles like Midway decimated the highly trained and experienced Japanese pilots. Japan could replace the planes, but not the pilots. If you could take those tank crews prisoner and take them permanently out of the war, then yes, spare them. Otherwise no...

The key word is ruthless. If won't back down. Attack with overpowering force