"We have women in the military, but they don't put us in the front lines. They don't know if we can fight, if we can kill. I think we can. All the general has to do is walk over to the women and say, 'You see the enemy over there? They say you look fat in those uniforms.'"

— Elayne Boosler

AlohaChris wrote:

jamest wrote:

AlohaChris wrote:"I come in peace. I didn't bring tanks or artillery. I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I will kill every single last one of you."

- Maj. General James Mattis, USMC to Iraqi Tribal leaders in Al Anbar 2003

What was their reply?

Defiance that ended with the battle of Falluja. Not a smart move on their part.

Maybe. Then again, the underdog sometimes wins. They can't win if they poop their pants in the face of words, though. There's a strength there that you have to respect.

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance!"
- Famous last words (?) of Major-General John Sedgwick at the skirmish of Spotsylvania

Supposedly he didn't manage to finish saying "distance".. He also made the error of not actually being an elephant.

Actually, he proved to be absolutely correct. Indeed, the historic records confirm that NO elephants were hit by anything at that battle.

Varangian wrote:A couple of quotes by Erwin Rommel:

“In the absence of orders, go find something and kill it.”

"Sweat saves blood, blood saves lives, and brains saves both."

General Morshead, commander of the 9th Australian Division and the Tobruk Garrison (against Rommel) upon being told that British propaganda was saying that Tobruk could take it, "We're not here to take it, we're here to give it."

"Vae victis!"-Brennus.

Grace wrote:"War is hell."-- General Sherman

This common excerpt misses the point that Sherman was making - his full quote is insightful:

It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/autho ... z1euuL6BZh

"Artillery adds dignity, to what would otherwise be an ugly brawl"
- Frederick the Great, King of Germany, 1740 to 1786

"Happy are those days that knew not the dreadful fury of Artillery! Those instrument of hell - by means of which the cowardly and the base can deprive the bravest soldiers of life."

M. Cervantes, Don Quixote

I saw gunners from 29 Commando Battery RA carrying out their drills with dummy rounds. They loaded the gun, and then on the command 'Fire!', the crew all shouted 'Bang!' in unison. Funny as hell.

Tobruk, 2 Australian soldiers look over the battlefield which was littered with German dead and their destroyed equipment.

Soldier 1 - You know what? I don't even hate them.

Soldier 2 - No one said you had to hate them, just kill them.

Μολών λαβέ. Leonidas in Thermopyles.
Or, as G. Butler in 300 said, "come and get them".

Also,
Ανδρών επιφανών (γαρ) πάσα γη τάφος.. Pericles.
"For the great men, any piece of ground can be their grave.." (translation by me) The interesting thing about this quoting is that it was actually a political manuver. While now it has survived as a saying that underlines the bravery of those that die in battle, back in ancient Greece, the only grave for the soldiers had to be their homeland. It was a matter of honor for the living. Which is why Pericles tried to calm down the angry atheneans with his speech (that included these words), after the failure of the athenean army, not only to beat the spartans, but also to collect the bodies of their dead.

ramseyoptom wrote:"Ours [our army] is composed of the scum of the earth - the mere scum of the earth"

The Duke of Wellington

The caveat "but see what fine fellows we have made of them!" is usually added (would be interested to know the source for this classic)

Byron wrote:

ramseyoptom wrote:"Ours [our army] is composed of the scum of the earth - the mere scum of the earth"

The Duke of Wellington

The caveat "but see what fine fellows we have made of them!" is usually added (would be interested to know the source for this classic)

Before I posted I checked in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations 3rd Edition, it is so easy to misquote, and according to them it was from Stanhope, 'Notes of Conversations with the Duke of Wellington' dated 4 Nov 1831. However the Oxford Dictionary only gives the phrase I quoted, it is usually very good for any caveats.

Thanks for that.

From the source: "The French system of conscription brings together a fair sample of all classes; ours is composed of the scum of the earth -- the mere scum of the earth. It is only wonderful that we should be able to make so much out of them afterwards. The English soldiers are fellows who have all enlisted for drink -- that is the plain fact -- they have all enlisted for drink."

Guess the ODQ agreed that the scum of the earth bit is the better quote!