War Quotes

He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat.

This soldier, I realized, must have had friends at home and in his regiment; yet he lay there deserted by all except his dog. I looked on, unmoved, at battles which decided the future of nations. Tearless, I had given orders which brought death to thousands. Yet here I was stirred, profoundly stirred, stirred to tears. And by what? By the grief of one dog.

The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies.

There is a joy in danger.

Give me enough medals and I'll win you any war.

War is the business of barbarians.

If the art of war were nothing but the art of avoiding risks, glory would become the prey of mediocre minds.... I have made all the calculations; fate will do the rest.

When you have an enemy in your power, deprive him of the means of ever injuring you.

It's the unconquerable soul of man, and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that ensures victory.

The art of war consists in bringing to bear with an inferior army a superiority of force at the point at which one attacks or is attacked.

The bayonet has always been the weapon of the brave and the chief tool of victory.

War is composed of nothing but accidents...there is but one favorable moment, the great art is to seize it.

War is waged only with vigor, decision, and unshaken will; one must not grope or hesitate.

Make war offensively; it is the sole means to become a great captain and to fathom the secrets of the art.

The knowledge of higher leadership can only be acquired by the study of military history and actual experience. There are no hard and fast rules; everything depends on the plans of the general, the condition of the troops, the season of the year, and a thousand other circumstances, which have the effect that no one case will ever resemble another.

Friends, I promise you this conquest; but there is one condition you must swear to fulfill-to respect the people whom you liberate, to repress the horrible pillaging committed by scoundrels incited by our enemies. Otherwise you would not be the liberators of the people; you would be their scourge...Plunderers will be shot without mercy; already, several have been.

If you wage war, do it energetically and with severity. This is the only way to make it shorter, and consequently less inhuman.

The man who cannot look upon the battlefield dry-eyed will allow many men to be killed uselessly.

Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them.

A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of coloured ribbon.