Jul
Half a Story
A recent movie, based on a comic book, told a version of the tale of the Spartans at Thermopylae. The classic story tells of 300 Spartans who held off a Persian army. What most retellings of the story forget is that the Spartans were not alone. There were others alongside them. These were 700 Thespians, 400 Thebans and 900 Helots. Those 300 Spartans were backed by 2,000 others. We never hear of the others, though. Most retellings speak only of 300 Spartans.
It was much the same in the Middle Ages. We hear of battles with knights, but little or nothing of the common soldiers and peasant levees. Few accounts wax on the bravery of spearmen and crossbowmen and peasants in jacks. Those forgotten footmen were the bulk of the standard Medieval Army.
More recently, there are the stories of the Afrika Korps. The focus is on Rommel’s German army. There were three divisions: the 15th panzer, 21st Panzer and the 90th. Even the more reliable writers focus on the German units. They rarely mention the more numerous Italian units. The plain fact is that the Italian troops in North Africa were the larger contingent. Faced with poor leadership, outdated equipment and a shaky supply situation, those Italians still fought. Stories of Italian cowardice were fabrications of British propaganda. We never hear of the Ariete, Trieste or Pavia divisions, even though they blunted many a British attack.
Many are the instances where history records only half of a story. It makes for good legends. We know the legendary status of the 300 Spartans, the knights and General Rommel. Most of us have never heard much of the 700 Thespians, the Medieval peasant conscripts, nor the Italian generals in North Africa. The part they played is much bigger than we have been taught. Without them, the outcome of their various battles might have been very different. Unaided, the Spartans would certainly have been overwhelmed quickly. The Medieval conflicts would have been quite different without peasants and commoners. Rommel might have been defeated much sooner without the Italians at his side.
The point is that half a story may make for good storytelling, but it makes the kind of omission that could lead to disaster. In life, we need all of the elements necessary for the work at hand. We do not have the luxury of choosing the half that appeal to us. We also need those things that are not attractive. The way to success is to have the whole thing. Half a thing might prove even worse than having nothing at all.
