Reply #56: It's impossible to beat guys w/ spears - an old parable

[Nevernose]

There's parable that's been told in many forms throughout the twentieth century; I first heard it as a Vietnam story, but others have told me they heard it about the French, the Germans, and the British, and it usually involves spears.

Soldiers come back from a patrol with crossbow bolts sticking out of the side of their jeep. The CO asks, "How'd it go?"

One of the soldiers replies, "They shot at us with crossbows! CROSSBOWS! With our fire power and superior technology against an enemy with crossbows, how can we lose?"

The CO says, "With an enemy willing to use crossbows against our firepower and superior technology, how can we win?"

I don't mean to be gloom-and-doom defeatist, but everytime we brag about our superior technology and much higher body count, and another one of our soldiers comes home in a bodybag, I'm reminded of this story.