Military Power

I was wondering what you thought were some of the most recognized military quotes of all time.

Quite possibly the most recognized is

I shall return!

- General Douglas MacArthur

Some others are

Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!

- Admiral David G. Farragut

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

- Napoleon Bonaparte

Never in the face of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.

- Winston Churchill

Veni, vidi, vici.

(I came, I saw, I conquered)
- Julius Caesar

We are not retreating, we are advancing in another direction.

- General Douglas MacArthur

To the German Commander: NUTS! The American Commander.

- On 22 December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, Anthony Clement McAuliffe (1898-1975) was acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division in charge of the defense of Bastogne, Belgium. The advancing German forces called on his garrison to surrender. The Americans were surrounded.


Does anyone know any more?

How about:

I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.

- Nathan Hale

I have not yet begun to fight!

- Captain John Paul Jones
aboard the Bon Homme Richard

We have met the enemy and they are ours!

- Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry dispatch

"England expects every man to do his duty"

Admiral Nelson's signal to the Fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar

This is my headline I use on MySpace.....

It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.

- General Douglas MacArthur

While it may not be as famous as others, I feel it it among the most pertinent ones today.

Not really a military quote, but its still very relevant

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

- George W. Bush

"The Beatings will continue until morale improves"

Attributed to the Commander of the Japanese Submarine Force

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

- General George Patton Jr

We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand, of overwhelming power on the other.

- George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff

In war there is no substitute for victory.

- Gen Douglas MacArthur

They’ve got us surrounded again, the poor bastards.

- Gen Creighton W Abrams Jr

If I go forward, follow me.
If I retreat, shoot me.
If I am killed, avenge me.

Napoleon Bonaparte

"So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!"

President Abraham Lincoln; on meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1852

Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less

With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the Army, and save in defense of my native State, with the sincere hope that my poor services may never be needed, I hope I may never be called on to draw my sword...

both quoted from Gen. Robert E. Lee

General Tommy Franks

When your men get home and face a war protestor, tell them to look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy.

War is God's way of teaching Americans geography.

- Ambrose Bierce

Maximus' one made me laugh

I think that the most widely known quote is "Veni, vidi, vici" really. Now was the second or third time I heard of Chris' first quote.

This is Sparta!

(does it count? )

What luck for rulers that men do not think.

By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise.

The great masses of the people... will more easily fall victims to a great lie than to a small one.

- Adolf Hitler

My personal favorite, and one that shows the kind of insight he had...

Demoralize the enemy from within by surprise, terror, sabotage, assassination. This is the war of the future.