I don't know. My DM from the pipe band is ex-British Army - moved to Canada because his kids moved there. Served in Aden and several other places where nasty things took place. He has an interesting take on such things. Soldiers are trained to do certain things. When they are allowed to do those things there is a fair amount of satisfaction. When part of that is being an "avenging angel" you're a hero. When part of that is saving the lives at the expense of other people's lives (your enemy) you get a medal pinned on your chest.

When you're a witness to horrific acts acted out on your unit and horrific acts your unit retaliates with, neither of which make the papers or the TV or the history books, it becomes a question of survival - and the survivors write the accounts.

In his case (my DM's) the enemy would brandish body parts of dead soldiers or civilians to frighten the soldiers and encourage their fellows. So, a marksman would shoot the brandisher in the knee. Not to kill, but to seriously injure. When a culture honors courage and valor in a leader above all other traits - that leader tends to loose credibility when rolling on the ground screaming in pain from a wound inflicted by the very fellows he was threatening to emasculate.

The "Angel of Mons" and other myths serve a purpose - the reality of battle and combat is incredibly horrific and most folks really do not want to deal with it.

The general was speaking a line from training - one that is used in training people to kill others - to hunt others hunting them. Those who have survived it get to talk about it quietly, if at all. Those who don't, don't talk about much. Those who were never there talk about people saying things like that.

Pete