There are many many quotes ... but this one is a poignant one I think ! It was in despair that the French General Charles Mangin wrote - "Whatever you do, you lose a lot of men."
Here is one I hope you all like it.? " In war-time the word patriotism means suppression of truth". S. Sassoon in " memoirs of an infantry officer." ]
Ferdinand Foch had quite a few ..... but heres two that strike a chord !! " It takes 15,000 casualties to train a major general " " The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire "
If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes - the Allies would lose the war French Field Marshal Joffre
The Kaiser's speech to departing troops in August 1914 - "You will be home before the leaves have fallen from the trees."
"Ils ne passeront pas!" ('They shall not pass!') Henri-Philippe Petain – 1916 Verdun There is another quote from Petain made before the war - it would turn out quite prophetic considering the actual conditions of the war ! “Le feu tue” (‘Firepower kills’)
Heres some flyer ones ........ This one makes me laugh !! .... 'At one point he waved to me' Manfred Von Richthofen (again referring to Hawker when in combat with him) To Taffy Jones ... "You are too old, Taffy - it's a young man's game " - King George VI "Back off Bohme - this Tommy is mine!" - Oswald Boelcke, Oct. 28 1916
" Come on you sons of b*tches! Do you wanna live forever ? " Attributed to Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daily 6th Marine Regiment Marine Brigade 2nd Infantry Division. Battle of Belleau Wood 1918. Sgt Maj Daly was a pretty amazing Marine - he was awarded the Medal of Honor twice in addition to the Navy Cross, the highest award for valor awarded by the Navy/Marine Corps.
Haig "The machine gun is a much over rated weapon.." - Field-Marshal Douglas Haig, 1915 "The nation must be taught to bear losses. No amount of skill on the part of the higher commanders, no training, however good, on the part of the officers and men, no superiority of arms and ammunition, however great, will enable victories to be won without the sacrifice of men's lives. The nation must be prepared to see heavy casualty lists." - Written by Haig in June 1916 before the Battle of the Somme began "Very successful attack this morning... All went like clockwork... The battle is going very well for us and already the Germans are surrendering freely. The enemy is so short of men that he is collecting them from all parts of the line. Our troops are in wonderful spirits and full of confidence." - A Report by Haig on the first day of attack, 1st July 1916
"What is important is to act. One makes a decision, and these pursues that goal with inflexible willpower." - F. Foch "Inaction is atrophy, paralysis, death." - F. Foch "A battle won is a battle which we will not acknowledge to be lost." - F. Foch "It takes 15,000 casualties to train a major general." - F. Foch "The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire." - F. Foch "The will to conquer is the first condition of victory." - F. Foch
The War was decided in the first twenty days of fighting, and all that happened afterwards consisted in battles which, however for midable and devastating, were but desperate and vain appeals against the decision of Fate.
I don't want to shoot any Englishmen. I never saw one 'til I came up here. But I suppose most of them never saw a German 'til they came up here.
The most profound effect of World War I on me ... was that it committed me to international affairs as the principal work of my life. ...I have sometimes regretted that my avocation or chief hobby happened to be such a gloomy one. ...When I look at the world today ... I sometimes wonder whether [my efforts] were not nearly all in vain. Perhaps it would have been better if I had adopted as my chief hobby the cultivation of chrysanthemums or the breeding of West Highland White Terriers or even, as did one of my friends, the collection of Japanese sword guards
Women realize that we are living in an ungoverned world. At heart we are all pacifists. We should love to talk it over with the war makers, but they would not understand. Words are so inadequate, and we realize that the hatred must kill itself; so we give our men gladly, unselfishly, proudly, patriotically, since the world chooses to settle its disputes in the old barbarous way.
The government will ... go on in the highly democratic method of conscripting American manhood for European slaughter.
From All Quiet On The Western Front: "A generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war."
