What is the difference in meaning between the relative pronoun "das/den/die" and "wie"?

Question

Er versuchte, auf dem Schlachtfeld das Kind zu schützen. So gab er sein Leben. Ein Ende, wie es nur dieser aufrichtige Mann finden konnte ...

Does this mean:

"An end the like of which only that righteous man could find."

How does it compare to saying:

Ein Ende, das nur dieser aufrichtige Mann finden konnte ...

I also find it interesting that when you use wie as a connector, you need to place the direct object es{=Ende} – again, in a manner of speaking. I wonder why?

Answer 1

"das" as pronoun starting a relative clause means "(exactly) which", whereas "wie" as used here means "like", as you've noticed.

So,

Ein Ende, das nur dieser aufrichtige Mann finden konnte 

Implies that it really is this specific end (and not a comparable one)