soc.history.war.world-war-ii

On Apr 4, 4:06 pm, narrled...@hotmail.com wrote:

> Don't apologize. I started it, and expected some hair-splitting!
>
> Supposedly, Wellington prevented an artillery battery from taking a
> shot at Napoleon before the battle of Waterloo got started, remarking
> to the effect that "generals had better things to do than shoot at
> each other." That's very gallant, but even back then I doubt that
> anyone would argue that it was forbidden or unlawful.

Wellington might have been afraid that if they shot at Napoleon and
missed (highly probable in those days), the French emperor would think
it was his "lucky star" or something like that, and use this event to
bolster up his own and his troops' spirits.

RW