Posted on 08/01/2026 6:51:54 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
From Caesar to Eisenhower, 25 verified military quotes that captured courage, command, sacrifice and the chaos of war in a single line.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
That one is disturbing, and the older I get, and the more I see, the more it bothers me.
“I was surrounded, so I attacked”
-Erwin Rommel
The article mentions those questionable quotes.
Famous Quotes That Did Not Make the List
A few irresistible lines had to stay on the cutting-room floor. “The first casualty of war is truth” is often credited to Aeschylus without evidence. Patton is regularly linked to “The object of war is not to die for your country,” but the wording changes depending on the source. Quotes attributed to Chesty Puller, Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto and Marine Sgt. Maj. Daniel Daly also tend to arrive with more legend than documentation.
I think of this as the white collar version of boxer Mike Tyson's quote "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." Both say basically the same thing if you think about it.
Captain Blackadder: Well, I’m afraid it’ll have to wait. Whatever it was, I’m sure it was better than my plan to get out of this by pretending to be mad. I mean, who would have noticed another madman round here?
Captain Blackadder: [whistle blows] Good luck, everyone.
LOL, sorry I didn’t see your post before commenting!
By the way, Stalin didn’t say it, it is the thought that bothers me and combining it with Stalin or Mao, or other historical figures, brings home how true it is.
It has the virtue of being extremely practical!
Lyudmila Pavlichenko was one of the deadliest female Soviet snipers in WWII. Over 300 kills.
She rivals Vasily Zaitsev in number of kills. Most snipers kill a LOT more than their official accounts.
If Lyudmila said that the politicians were hiding behind her, and she knew it, they should be very afraid.
There’s a lot behind the quote in #9.
I know who she is, but the context is not her inspiring Russian troops in combat or even Russian men as she is rounding them up for the front, it is described in post 19.
“Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” -William Prescott , 175, from the redoubt on Bunker Hill where Joseph Warren was killed.
Hear the whistle, eat some dirt.
"Darn it, sarge! These shirt buttons are keeping me higher off the ground!" I wish I could draw like Bill Mauldin.
ping
“Dear SHAEF, I have just pissed into the Rhine River. For God’s sake, send some gasoline.” — George S. Patton
You don’t reason with intellectuals. You shoot them.— Napoleon ( and a whole bunch more https://www.azquotes.com/author/1621-Napoleon_Bonaparte )
Not just a quote, but this whole speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS5yfhPGaWE
“No war was ever won by some ba#$@%d dying for his country. It was won by making some ba#$%&d die for his country”. General George Patton.
Effing hysterical!
Patton: “No dumb bastard ever won a war by going out and dying for his country. He won it by making some other dumb bastard die for his country.”
I did not mean to insult your knowledge or intelligence.
My comments were meant for a larger audience that may not be aware of the extreme sacrifices of WWII.
I do not like my enemies, but I’d be a fool if I didn’t respect them.
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