I love understatement. Reminds me of the quote from the First War. A division of the British Army had got themselves into a corner and needed help. They sent a message to the US Army to the effect: "We're in rather a tight corner" or words to that effect. The Americans read this and thought, "Doesn't sound too bad." And stayed where they were, to the detriment of the Brits.
By the Second War, they had agreed standard commands and information to avoid the Americans misunderstanding British understatement.