I haven’t done one of these in an age. For the dverse prosery night.
The general finally wound up his speech.
‘So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.”
His horse shook its head and the general raised his, to stare into the middle distance, a heroic poise. He pulled on the reins, and to whoops and cheers, turned his horse around to ride off majestically to the rear.
“They need not fear the firing squad for insurrection, he means.” Alfred spat on the ground and nudged Bill in the ribs. “He wasn’t talking about that lot out there.”
The two men stared over the sandbags at the line of men, advancing through the dust raised by armoured cars and tanks. Bill wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Because they’re going to do more’n harm us. They’re going to fuckin’ wipe us off the face of the fuckin’ earth.”
Jane Dougherty Writes 
The soldiers lot, summed up so succinctly: they get to be cannon fodder while the generals stay ‘in the rear, with the gear.’ Great use of the prompt, Jane!
Thanks, Ingrid.
The general found his place at the rear heroically commanding the firing squads… indeed we had the same idea.
OMG hope the planet survives this
happy Monday
much❤love
I have grave doubts! Thanks Gillena, you too 🙂
” ‘Forward!’ he cried from the rear as the front ranks died… ” (courtesy Pink Floyd) Your descriptive skills bring this to life.
It’s always been like that and it always will be. War is a nasty business in so many ways.
The line Ingrid provided begged for this sort of interpretation!
That’s what I thought. At least the line reads like something someone would actually say. Someone pompous 🙂
Yes, exactly! 😀
I absolutely agree, the line by Blake fits here perfectly! Beautifully done, Jane 💝💝
Thank you, Sanaa!
War is such a senseless sacrifice of young men and women. If only as much effort weren’t expended on making peace!!
There’s usually more money in making war than running the peace.
After Custer bit the big one, the officers remove their designations when on the battlefield. Kings and generals used to lead the troops. Now everybody stays home and uses drones.
Well, not everyone. Most wars are still fought usually by soldiers with guns murdering civilians without.
Well done, Jane!
Thanks Marie 🙂
Well written piece. If it hadn’t been so sad about the soldiers being wiped off the face of the earth, I might have laughed about the generals silly heroic pose.
I wonder how war would change if the ones deciding upon it had to go to battle themselves?
In the old days, they did. Wars were fewer, smaller scale, and they ended usually before too many men were killed. The good old days…
Some straight talk in your dialogue! 😄 Great interpretation of the line!
Thank you, Tricia 🙂
The Masters of War…forever exiting stage right. (K)
Off to stoke up the next conflict.
OOof… that last line. BAM!
❤
David
I don’t have much time for the heroism of war.
So true, so sad and nothing has changed, maybe the names and places.
War means killing people we have never met for obscure, unexplained reasons.
Yes indeed it does
😦
A very vivid sampling of war. Made me think of a line from Bjorn’s prosery…” soldiers don’t have beliefs, only obedience.” (Bjorn Rudberg). Great minds think alike.
It’s the conscripts who are most likely to rebel, and the ones who get pushed to the frontl. The professionals know the ropes.
I, too, love watching damselflies executing their ballet–their pas de deux above the swimming pool.
They slip along the rays of sunlight on the stream, love watching them.
A great write! Would love to know what happened next ~~~~~~~~~~~
The usual, I imagine. The soldiers were killed and the general got a few more medals.