Charlotte Lee drops some Napoleon wisdom that explains more about male psychology than years of therapy ever could.
The tweet: “before you waste a lot of time in therapy trying to understand men, consider that Napoleon got volunteers to man a battery position with an almost 100% casualty rate by simply renaming it ‘the battery of not being a little bitch'”
504K views. 17.9K likes. The internet agrees with Napoleon’s recruitment strategy.
The actual history: During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon did indeed use psychological tactics to get volunteers for dangerous positions. The real story involves him asking for volunteers for a forward battery, getting no takers, and then having his aide-de-camp go back and ask for volunteers for “the battery of the elite” or similar pride-based naming. The modern translation is the internet’s gift to historical education.
Gorgocutie says:
The reason this tweet has half a million views is that it reveals a fundamental truth about men that has been consistent for all of recorded history: we will do absolutely anything if it means not being seen as cowardly. Napoleon understood this better than any modern HR department ever will. He didn’t need bonuses, incentives, or therapy. He just needed to challenge their honor.
The “battery of not being a little bitch” would have worked in 1805, it would have worked in 480 BC at Thermopylae, and it would work today. Some things never change.
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