Great Military Quotes

[Sandman]

"There is a peculiar gratification in receiving congratulations from one's squadron for a victory in the air. It is worth more to a pilot than the applause of the whole outside world. It means that one has won the confidence of men who share the misgivings, the aspirations, the trials and the dangers of aeroplane fighting."
 - Captain Edward V. "Eddie" Rickenbacker, USAS

[Toad]

Originally posted by Dune
"For Americans war is almost all of the time a nuisance, and military skill is a luxury like Mah-Jongg. But when the issue is brought home to them, war becomes as important, for the necessary period, as business or sport. And it is hard to decide which is likely to be the more ominous for the Axis -- an American decision that this is sport, or that it is business."
-D. W. Brogan, The American Character

Gets my vote.

Never saw that one.. nice, Dune.

[mjolnir]

"Rommel, you magnificent bastard!  I read your book!"
-Patton

[wulfie]

I can't recall the exact unit, and the quote can be found in 'Panzer Battles'.

Basically it explains how a Pz. Div. and a Mot. Inf. Div., working as a 'weak' Korps and acting as a fire brigade vs. the waves of Russian spearheads moving around after Stalingrad finally fell, inflicted huge losses on the Russian forces in the area with almost no loss to themselves. They would march all thru the night and move into attack positions vs. HQ, artillery, and supply units very stealthily just before dawn. At dawn, they would attack with surprise and kill the 'guts' of the Russian unit and be gone before any help could arrive. They then hammered the (leaderless, in terms of high level HQ direction and support-less in terms of artillery support, supply, etc.) Russian Rgt./Brigade/etc. in a mobile battle when they found them.

The quote goes something like this (it's from the Kps. or one of the Div. commanders):

"Years after those battles, historians have interviewed me about those times and the one recurring question has been when the panzergrenadiers of the division actually slept. In all honesty I myself have no idea."

If you are looking for good reading on operational level combat on the Eastern front before the tide of the war had turned in the favor of the Russians for good, read that book.

Mike/wulfie

[flakbait]

Originally posted by Saurdaukar
"Retreat Hell, we're just attacking in a different direction."  (Korean War, Marine Sergeant, name escapes me)

Actually the marine who said that was General Oliver Smith. Here's a couple choice excerpts from Chesty Puller (famous marine)...


"We're surrounded. That simplifies our problem of getting to these people and killing them."
- Chesty Puller at the Chosin Reservoir

When an Army captain asked him for the direction of the line of retreat, Col Puller called his artillerymen, gave them the Army position,

 and ordered: "If they start to pull back from that line, even one foot, I want you to open fire on them." Turning to the captain, he replied "Does that answer your question? We're here to fight." At Koto-ri in Korea
- Chesty Puller at Koto-ri in Korea

"The mail service has been excellent out here, and in my opinion this is all that the
Air Force has accomplished during the war."
- Chesty Puller in a letter to his wife while in Korea

"Don't forget that you're First Marines! Not all the Communists in hell can overrun you!"
- Chesty Puller motivating his men at Chosin Reservoir

"Remember, whatever you write, this was no retreat. All that happened was that we found more Chinese behind us than in front of us, so we about-faced and attacked."
- Chesty Puller, USMC, speaking to reporters after the battle out of the Chosin Reservoir, Korean War


-----------------------
Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta Six's Flight School
Put the P-61B in Aces High

[Dowding]

"Quantity has a quality of its own."

- Joseph Stalin

"Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valor, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar."

"Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

"We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills. We shall never surrender and even if, which I do not for the moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, will carry on the struggle until in God's good time the New World with all its power and might, sets forth to the liberation and rescue of the Old."

-Sir Winston Churchill

"You must consider every man your enemy who speaks ill of your king; and...you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the Devil."

"May the Great God, whom I worship, grant to my Country and for the benefit of Europe in general a great and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in anyone tarnish it; and may humanity after Victory be the predominant feature of the British Fleet. For myself, individually, I commit my life to Him who made me, and may His blessing light upon my endeavours for serving my Country faithfully. To Him I resign my and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend. Amen. Amen. Amen."

"I have only one eye, I have a right to be blind sometimes...I really do not see the signal." (Ignoring Admiral Parker's signal to retreat by holding his telescope up to his missing eye, and carrying on to victory in the Battle of Copenhagen, defeating the Danish fleet in 1801.)

"England expects the every man will do his duty."

- Lord Horatio Nelson

[davidpt40]

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distan.."

Last words of Union officer before being shot by a Confederate cannon (seriously).

[Holden McGroin]

"Where the f**k did all these Indians come from?
                                                        -George Armstrong Custer

[Mini D]

Originally posted by davidpt40
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distan.."

Last words of Union officer before being shot by a Confederate cannon (seriously).

A confederate sniper actually.  I was thinking of this exact same quote.  Saw it on a "Tales of the Gun... Snipers" show on the history channel.

MiniD

[Curval]

Dowding...if you are quoting Nelson you should really include his most famous one:

"Kiss me Hardy".

[Dowding]

Hehehe.

He didn't actually say that. He was grieviously wounded and was a bit on the knackered side and his words were muddied. He said:

"Kiss me? Hardly."

Hardy, being a cabin boy and very likely a fly-by-night-sailor-fluffer, was trying to take advantage of the Admiral's 'position', hence the rebuttal, which has been mis-interpretted ever since.

[OIO]

"I have 12 jap zero's surrounded, I could use some help here"

-Lone US fighter pilot, somewhere over the pacific (not sure if this is the exact quote)

[Kadesh]

Somewhat similar to OIO's ost above:

"I'm down here by myself ..... I'm chasing thirty 109's.  I'm about to catch 'em.   You'd better hurry up!  It's gonna be a hell of a fight!"

Johnny Eaves ... Pilot with the 56th FG 1944

[Suave]

"I've not yet begun to fight."
John Paun Jones

He said this as his ship was being sunk, he should've began to fight . He would've lived longer .

"Holy ****!"

Crew member on the Enola Gay on that faithfull day .

"I don't need a lot of men, only a few good ones."

General George Washington

"Mike Durant we will not leave you behind"

[straffo]

Originally posted by Dago
"Don't shoot, we surrender"

Numberous French Generals in history.  

I'm pissed again.

I fail to see any humour in this sentence.