"The strongest army in the world [the French] facing no more than twenty-six [German] divisions, sitting still and sheltering behind steel and concrete while a quixotically valiant ally was being exterminated!" - General J. F. C. Fuller (speaking of the "Phony War" between France and Germany)
"We are having shock after shock out here. The damage to the battleships at this time is a disaster... One cannot but admire the cold-blooded bravery and enterprise of these Italians." - Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, Commander in Chief of Britain's Mediterranean Fleet (speaking of the Italian Navy Frogmen) "Everyone has the jitters, seeing objects swimming about at night and hearing movements on ships' bottoms. It must stop." - Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, Commander in Chief of Britain's Mediterranean Fleet (speaking of the Italian Navy Frogmen)
"Before Alamein, we had no victories. After Alamein, we had no defeats." - Prime Minister Winston Churchill I do not agree entirely with this one!
"I declare today, and I declare it without any reservation that the enemy in the East has been struck down and will never rise again... Behind our troops there already lies a territory twice the size of the German Reich when I came to power in 1933." - Adolf Hitler, Nazi Dictator (a speech about the current condition of the Soviet Union on October 3, 1941) "The Soviet Government would not fight against us... the Soviets would not repeat the Czar's mistake and bleed to death for Britain. They would, however, try to enrich themselves, possibly at the expense of the Baltic States or Poland, without engaging in military action themselves." - Adolf Hitler, Nazi Dictator (1939)
"Troops without ammunition or food… Effective command no longer possible… 18,000 wounded without any supplies or dressings or drugs… Further defense senseless. Collapse inevitable. Army requests immediate permission to surrender in order to save lives of remaining troops." - Field Marshall Paulus, Commander of the 6th Army (a message to Hitler about the situation at Stalingrad) "Surrender is forbidden. Sixth Army will hold their positions to the last man and the last round and by their heroic endurance will make an unforgettable contribution toward the establishment of a defensive front and the salvation of the Western world." - Adolf Hitler, Nazi Dictator (replying to Paulus' request for surrender at Stalingrad)
"They have surrendered there [Stalingrad] there - formally and absolutely. Otherwise they would have closed ranks, formed a hedgehog, and shot themselves with their last bullet… The man [Paulus] should have shot himself just as the old commanders who threw themselves on their swords when they saw that the cause was lost… Even Varus gave his slave the order: 'Now kill me!'" - Adolf Hitler, Nazi Dictator (1942)
"With this signature the German people and the German Armed Forces are, for better or worse, delivered into the hands of the victors… In this hour I can only express the hope that the victor will treat them with generosity." - General Jodl (during the signing of the unconditional surrender, 1945)
Germany has sunk the following vessels ".......... HMS Ganges" Lord Haw Haw (William Joice) not realising it was a land base training establishment.
