@matrix British officers and generals were complete assholes during WW1 and it's a miracle they were able to achieve something.

@matrix "Captain Wilfred Nevill sought to encourage the four platoons of his 8th East Surrey Battalion to continue moving forward by presenting each with a soccer ball and promising a prize to whichever was first to kick it into the German trenches. One platoon painted “The Great European Cup” and “East Surreys v. Bavarians” on its soccer ball. When the whistles blew at “zero hour,” the cheering East Surreys kicked their balls as they moved forward, but they couldn’t escape the carnage. Seven officers were killed, and the 21-year-old Nevill was shot through the head in the first minutes of the battle. Two of the soccer balls were recovered from the battlefield near his body."

I KNEW THE BONGS WERE MENTALLY DEFICIENT BUT HOLY SHIT