"The
great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate,
contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and
unrealistic." - John F. Kennedy
I could write a whole blog on the irony of that quote coming from JFK of all people. However, I shall restrain myself and address the subject that I had in mind. Last night saw the Operation Crusader game that we have been playing come to a sort-of conclusion. It ended anyway. I shall write about it in due course as no doubt will James. Between weeks two and three James had, as is his wont, changed the rules, including some aspects of the morale/training classes of the troops. Coincidentally this month's Wargames Illustrated contains an article by Barry '
League of Augsberg' Hilton on the questions of which units deserve superior performance status on the tabletop and how is this attained. As one of his examples he takes the Royal Scots Greys performance at Waterloo; his point being that while they performed admirably, no-one could possibly have known this in advance, and so rather than being rated as superior at the start of the battle they should be average and if the luck of the dice/cards are with them they will live up to their illustrious forbears and if it isn't then they won't. he further ascribes part of any reluctance on the part of wargamers to do that to Lady Butler's famous painting 'Scotland Forever!'.
The original of this is, of course, in Leeds Art Gallery and so I decided to go and take another look at it. Painted in 1881, it has no value as a historical record and is - exactly as Hilton implies - simply propaganda. Furthermore, while current day wargamers may take it as supporting the elite status of the 2nd Dragoons, I suspect that it was in fact simply meant to support High Victorian British Imperialism. The curators at the gallery would appear to think so because it is hung on the same wall as another painting that will no doubt be familiar to readers: 'General Gordon's Last Stand' by George William Joy.
Naturally no-one knows how Chinese Gordon met his death, although even those who point to the negative aspects of his character (his religious views were somewhat odd even by the peculiar standards of those who, er, hold religious views in the first place) don't denigrate his physical courage, so it's all at least possible. It has, in any event, become the accepted version and - if memory serves me right - Charlton Heston's demise in the 1966 film owes a debt to this portrayal.
The imperialist apologia is completed by a third painting on the same gallery wall, the truly dreadful 'Drums of the Fore and Aft' by Edward Matthew Hale, depicting the selfless sacrifice of child musicians in order to rally the regiment.
For those wishing for an antidote to all this there is a sculpture in the same gallery by Bob and Roberta Smith which acts as a commentary on the Joy painting and draws parallels between 19th century and 21st century western imperialism in the Muslim world. For those wishing to be reminded of the reality of war I would also recommend, currently to be found hanging in one of the upstairs galleries while on loan from a private collection, 'Night Arrival of Walking Wounded' by C.R.W. Nevinson, the marvellous futurist war painter who served as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War. That's the truth, rather than the myth.
