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"Great One Liner's of History..." Topic


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Altefritz20 Jun 2008 6:15 a.m. PST

The Persian herald asked the surrender of the Spartans at the Thermopilae, saying that "If we shall invade Greece we shall burn your cities, if we shall invade Greece we shall rape your wives, if we shall invade Greece we shall sold your children as slaves…if…if…"

Then he finished his speech waiting for the answer. King Leonidas said only: "If.."

(In ancient greek if is "lacon" so the adjective "laconic")

grywolf120 Jun 2008 8:35 a.m. PST

Okay, this is a paraphrase. At Arnhem, when congratulhated on their skill in house to house fighting by a veteran of the eastern front, the leader of the Brit Paras stated,

"This was our first time, we'll be better at it next time"

again.. a horrific paraphrase.

grywolf120 Jun 2008 8:37 a.m. PST

And another one quoted while watching LoTR. While the Fellowship was running from what seemed to be every orc in Moria, my long time D&D partner turned to me and said…


"Hey.. we've done this!"

vtsaogames20 Jun 2008 10:24 a.m. PST

I'll trot out my old favorites:

"Best clerk I ever had"
- McArthur on Eisenhower.

"I studied drama under him in the Phillipines for eight years"
- Eisnehower on McArthur.

Gary Kennedy20 Jun 2008 10:59 a.m. PST

Found a few good ones in a book of military quotations, first regarding Wavell –

"There is no need for your son to go into the Army; he is really quite intelligent."

From the Headmaster of Winchester to Wavell's father.

And one on Wellington –

"We would rather see his long nose in a fight than a reinforcement of 10,000 men a day."

One I've not heard before –

"By the Grace of God and a few Marines;
MacArthur returned to the Philippines."

And not military but…on Wild Bill Hickok

"He is said never to have killed a man except in self defence, but he was defending himself almost constantly."

JackWhite20 Jun 2008 1:10 p.m. PST

Commander of US destroyer approaching unidentified illumination in the Gloom ahead:

This is a United States destroyer and I demand you alter course.

Reply: This is a lighthouse. It's your call.

JW

JackWhite20 Jun 2008 1:11 p.m. PST

A small "g" on "gloom" would probably be sufficient. No sense in turning it into some sort of supernatural murk.

JW

JackWhite20 Jun 2008 1:16 p.m. PST

Another quote from General Hancock at Gettysburg.

Staff officer (upon seeing the movement of III Corps: Was there an order to advance?

Hancock: No. But wait a moment. You'll soon see them come tumbling back.

JW

donlowry20 Jun 2008 1:21 p.m. PST

President Reagan on being asked the hardest thing he'd ever had to do (or something like that): "Well, I had to work with Errol Flynn." Or words to that effect.

donlowry20 Jun 2008 1:25 p.m. PST

In the movie Zulu, a colonial scout tells a Welsh private that the Zulus can run all day and fight a battle when they get there, and the soldier replies, "Who would want to run to a battle?"

JackWhite20 Jun 2008 1:29 p.m. PST

Davey Crockett to his constituents in Tennessee
after losing re-election to Congress:

You go to hell; I'm going to Texas.

JW

LORDGHEE20 Jun 2008 2:26 p.m. PST

The actor David Niven who was a grad of Sandhurst and ended up in hollywood returned to England to serve in Her defense. He ended up in the commandos (read his autobio , the Moon is a balloon) and on the beach June 6 where his company was begining to be pin down by long range Mg fire where he rally his men with a line he been saving.

David Niven stands up and say's

" get up men you only have to do this once, but they are going to make me do it again with Errol Flynn."

VonTed21 Jun 2008 3:18 a.m. PST

One of my favorites (not sure if it has been posted before):

"In the immortal words of Socrates – I drank what?!"


(ok, maybe that is from a movie. But he could have said it!)

Kevin F Kiley21 Jun 2008 10:33 a.m. PST

When asked if he would give up power when he considered his work to be finished, Napoleon replied, 'Who do you think I am, George Washington?

Sincerely,
Kevin

marcpa21 Jun 2008 1:37 p.m. PST

One taken from a movie, not real, but my all-time
favourite.
After a lecture in the planning stages of
Market Garden, a general commanding the
airborne (Sean connery) adressing a British officer
"Which side are you on ?"

Altefritz21 Jun 2008 4:25 p.m. PST

I would kiss a man ass to get him at my service.

Napoleon

Gallowglass21 Jun 2008 5:34 p.m. PST

"Nobody asked me to take my kid gloves to Kerry and I didn't take them"

General Paddy O'Daly, O/C National Army (Free State) troops in Kerry during the Irish Civil War.

Defiant21 Jun 2008 6:00 p.m. PST

Not really one liners but Maxims of Napoleon :


An army ought to have but one line of operation. This should be preserved with care, and never abandoned but in the last extremity.


The transition from the defensive to the offensive is one of the most delicate operations in war.


Nothing is so rash or so contrary to principle, as to make a flank march before an army in position, especially when this army occupies heights at the foot of which you are forced to defile.


and one of my favourites…


A general-in-chief should ask himself several times a day, What if the enemy were to appear in my front, or on my right, or my left?


Shane

Fatman22 Jun 2008 6:21 a.m. PST

@)#$ 'em if they can't take a joke.

The 20th Centuries greatest philosipher, Bette Midler

Tommiatkins22 Jun 2008 10:14 a.m. PST

Copyright Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf 2003

There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!"

"My feelings – as usual – we will slaughter them all"

"Our initial assessment is that they will all die"

"I blame Al-Jazeera – they are marketing for the Americans!"

"God will roast their stomachs in hell at the hands of Iraqis."

"They're coming to surrender or be burned in their tanks."

"No I am not scared, and neither should you be!"

"Be assured. Baghdad is safe, protected"

"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything – they don't even control themselves!"

"We are not afraid of the Americans. Allah has condemned them. They are stupid. They are stupid" (dramatic pause) "and they are condemned."

"The Americans, they always depend on a method what I call … stupid, silly. All I ask is check yourself. Do not in fact repeat their lies."

"I can say, and I am responsible for what I am saying, that they have
started to commit suicide under the walls of Baghdad. We
will encourage them to commit more suicides quickly."

"I can assure you that those villains will recognize, will discover in appropriate time in the future how stupid they are and how they are pretending things which have never taken place."

"We have destroyed 2 tanks, fighter planes, 2 helicopters and their shovels – We have driven them back."

"The authority of the civil defense … issued a warning to the civilian population not to pick up any of those pencils because they are booby traps," he said, adding that the British and American forces were "immoral mercenaries" and "war criminals" for such behavior.
"I am not talking about the American people and the British people," he said. "I am talking about those mercenaries. … They have started throwing those pencils, but they are not pencils, they are booby traps to kill the children."

"We have them surrounded in their tanks"

"The American press is all about lies! All they tell is lies, lies and more lies!"

"I have detailed information about the situation…which completely proves that what they allege are illusions . . . They lie every day."

"Lying is forbidden in Iraq. President Saddam Hussein will tolerate nothing but truthfulness as he is a man of great honor and integrity. Everyone is encouraged to speak freely of the truths evidenced in their eyes and hearts."

"Now even the American command is under siege. We are hitting it from the north, east, south and west. We chase them here and they chase us there. But at the end we are the people who are laying siege to them. And it is not them who are besieging us

"because we will behead you all"

"Let the American infidels bask in their illusion"

"I triple guarantee you, there are no American soldiers in Baghdad."

Britain "is not worth an old shoe"

"we have given them a sour taste"

"blood-sucking bastards"

Of US troops: "They are most welcome. We will butcher them."

"We will welcome them with bullets and shoes."

"We are in control. They are in a state of hysteria. Losers, they think that by killing civilians and trying to distort the feelings of the people they will win. I think they will not win, those bastards."

"The British forces which were dropped there have been eliminated mostly on the (battle)field, except for those who fled … It is a complete defeat … Amazingly the Americans have pushed the British to do that. They pushed them ahead as if it is an experiment. The result was very tragic for the British."

"We have placed them in a quagmire from which they can never emerge except dead"

"Washington has thrown their soldiers on the fire"

"I speak better English than this villain Bush"

"These cowards have no morals. They have no shame about lying"

"They're not even [within] 100 miles [of Baghdad]. They are not in any
place. They hold no place in Iraq. This is an illusion … they are
trying to sell to the others an illusion."

"Their failure in this regard is abysmal. They want to tell the world changes thought – as a matter of fact, they do not respect the world, they want to tell taxpayers and the domestic public to keep them deceived. We will embroil them, confuse them and keep them in the quagmire. They have begun to tell more lies so that they might continue with the perpetration of their crimes. May they be accursed."

"We will kill them all……..most of them."

"They are like a snake and we are going to cut it in pieces."

"They do not even have control over themselves! Do not believe them!"

"I would like to clarify a simple fact here: How can you lay siege to a whole country? Who is really under siege now? Baghdad cannot be besieged. Al-Nasiriyah cannot be besieged. Basra cannot be besieged."

"That bastard the American Minister of Defense Rumsfeld, and I won't say shamelessly, because they don't know what shame means. These are criminals. The whole word can hear the warning sirens. This criminal sitting in the White House is a pathetic criminal and his Defense Minister deserves to be beaten. These criminals lie to the world because they are criminals by nature and conditioning. They consider this a military site! Shame on you! You will forever be shamed! You have ruined the reputation of the American people in the most terrible way! Shame on you! And we will destroy you!"

"They are trapped in Umm Qasr. They are trapped near Basra. They are trapped near Nasiriyah. They are trapped near Najaf. They are trapped everywhere."

Called Americans and Brits "Tarateer"– In Iraqi slang, Tartoor means a guy full of farts (i.e. hot air)

"they are nowhere near the airport ..they are lost in the desert…they can not read a compass…they are retarded."

"They are not in Baghdad. They are not in control of any airport. I tell you this. It is all a lie. They lie. It is a hollywood movie. You do not believe them."

"Faltering forces of infidels cannot just enter a country of 26 million people and lay besiege to them! They are the ones who will find themselves under siege. Therefore, in reality whatever this miserable Rumsfeld has been saying, he was talking about his own forces. Now even the American command is under siege."

"They tried to bring a small number of tanks and personnel carriers in through al-Durah but they were surrounded and most of their infidels had their throats cut."

"Our estimates are that none of them will come out alive unless they surrender to us quickly."

"We made them drink poison last night and Saddam Hussein's soldiers and his great forces gave the Americans a lesson which will not be forgotten by history. Truly."

"On this occasion, I am not going to mention the number of the infidels who were killed and the number of destroyed vehicles. The operation continues"

"Today we slaughtered them in the airport. They are out of Saddam International Airport."

"The force that was in the airport, this force was destroyed."

"We're giving them a real lesson today. Heavy doesn't accurately describe the level of casualties we have inflicted."

"Their infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Baghdad. Be assured, Baghdad is safe, protected."

"Today I have visited whole Baghdad city, no invaders found. You go and see how we have ousted them from this city. They are cying outside and waiting to receive bullets. They will be killed shortly."

"These images are not the suburbs of Baghdad. From what I glimpsed, these gardens with rows of palm trees on the side, which you saw in the images, are located in the south of Abu Ghreib, where we have surrounded the Americans and British."

When told coalition troops occupied Baghdad airport -
"…at Saddam Airport? Now that's just silly!"

"The situation is excellent, they are going to try to approach Baghdad…and I believe their grave will be there."

"NO", snapped Mr al-Sahaf, "We have retaken the airport. There are NO Americans there. I will take you there and show you. IN ONE HOUR!"

"We defeated them yesterday. God willing, I will provide you with more information. I swear by God, I swear by God, those who are staying in Washington and London have thrown these mercenaries in a crematorium."

"Please, please! The Americans are relying on what I called yesterday a desperate and stupid method."

"They will be burnt. We are going to tackle them"

We blocked them inside the city. Their rear is blocked"

"Desperate Americans"

"Today we slaughtered them in the airport. They are out of Saddam International Airport. The force that was in the airport, this force was destroyed."

"They are trying to fool you. They are showing any old pictures of buildings. They even went into the VIP section of the airport, just because Saddam Hussein may have sat in such and such a chair or slept in such and such a bed"

"We went into the airport and crushed them, we cleaned the WHOOOLE place out, they were slaughtered"

"Yes, the american troops have advanced further. This will only make it easier for us to defeat them"

"Their casualties and bodies are many."

[On surrenders] "Those are not Iraqi soldiers at all. Where did they bring them from?"

"Just look carefully, I only want you to look carefully. Do not repeat the lies of liars. Do not become like them. Once again, I blame al-Jazeera before it ascertains what takes place. Please, make sure of what you say and do not play such a role."

"This is unbased"

"Search for the truth. I tell you things and I always ask you to verify what I say. I told you yesterday that there was an attack and a retreat at Saddam's airport."

"I have detailed information about the situation . . . which completely proves that what they allege are illusions . . . They lie every day."

"You can go and visit those places. Nothing there, nothing at all. There are Iraqi checkpoints. Everything is okay."

"This boa, the American columns, are being besieged between Basra and other towns north, west, south and west of Basra….Now even the American command is under siege. We are hitting it from the north, east, south and west. We chase them here and they chase us there."

"By God, I think this is rather very unlikely. This is merely a prattle. The fact is that as soon as they reach Baghdad gates, we will besiege them and slaughter them….Wherever they go they will find themselves encircled."

"They (the U.S.) are deceiving their soldiers and their officers that aggressing against Iraq and invading Iraq will be like a picnic. This is a very stupid lie they are telling their soldiers, what they are facing is a definite death."

"Listen, this explosion does not frighten us any langer. The cruise missiles do not frighten anyone. We are catching them like fish in a river. I mean here that over the past two days we managed to shoot down 196 missiles before they hit their target."

"Blair…is accusing us of executing British soldiers. We want to tell him that we have not executed anybody. They are either killed in battle, most of them get killed because they are cowards anyway, the rest they just get captured."

"They fled. The American louts fled. Indeed, concerning the fighting waged by the heroes of the Arab Socialist Baath Party yesterday, one amazing thing really is the cowardice of the American soldiers. we had not anticipated this."

"We will slaughter them, Bush Jr. and his international gang of bastards!"

"the louts of colonialism."

"The forces of American colonialism began to drop containers that produce a sound explosion, a very huge sound. I remind you that they said that their strategy is based on shock and awe. Those failed ones manufactured a type of container that has an explosive substance, which they drop. They cause a very huge explosion in terms of sound, as if the universe was shaken. After a while, you go out and you don't find anything. You find some nails, screws, pieces of metal, but the important thing here is the sound. Those failed ones think that through the huge sound explosion, people would be shocked and consequently would collapse and be defeated. What happened? The contrary. The fighters…, the masses…, and the heroic sons of the Iraqi tribes discovered this game. They will turn it against the American louts so as to shock them. Wait for surprises, God willing, to see how the US game will fail."

"The shock has backfired on them. They are shocked because of what they have seen. No one received them with roses. They were received with bombs, shoes and bullets. Now, the game has been exposed. Awe will backfire on them. This is the boa snake. We will extend it further and cut it the appropriate way."

"It has been rumored that we have fired scud missiles into Kuwait. I am here now to tell you, we do not have any scud missiles and I don't know why they were fired into Kuwait."

The United Nations….[is] a place for prostitution under the feet of
Americans."

"They are sick in their minds. They say they brought 65 tanks into center
of city. I say to you this talk is not true. This is part of their sick mind."

"We have destroyed 50 tanks today. That 5-ohhh tanks" [while holding up his fingers]

"They are superpower of villains. They are superpower of Al Capone."

Americans are "wild donkeys" ('ALOG' in Arabic . Other possible translations offered by M.S.S. – 'The children of pigs', 'Those who have dramatically ugly faces', or 'leeches')

Americans and Brits are "Sick dogs".

"There are no Iraqis disguising themselves"

"They are retreating on all fronts. Their military effort is a subject of laughter throughout the world."

"…they are nowhere (pause)…they are nowhere, really"

"I can assure you that those villains will recognize, will discover in appropriate time in the future how stupid they are and how they are pretending things which have never taken place"

"Iraqi fighters in Umm Qasr are giving the hordes of American and Brtish
mercenaries the taste of definite death. We have drawn them into a
quagmire and they will never get out of it."

"What they say about a breakthrough [in Najaf] is completely an illusion. They are sending their warplanes to fly very low in order to have vibrations on these sacred places . . . they are trying to crack the buildings by flying low over them."

"We have crushed the whole force which dared to venture there. Now they're outside the wall and the heroic Republican Guard is now in control of the whole area. . . . So where are those villainous louts, those mercenaries?''

"Their forces committed suicide by the hundreds…. The battle is very
fierce and God made us victorious. The fighting continues."

"Yesterday, we slaughtered them and we will continue to slaughter them."

"They think we are retarded – they are retarded."

(leaflet drops) "I think this is very laughable for a Superpower to be so cheap to drop inside Iraq such poor things and they are printed in Kuwait''

"…crocodile tears [shed in] .. The gangster Bush's lair…" (refers to Bush and Blair at Camp David calling for the Geneva Conventions to be applied to all POWs)

"We're going to drag the drunken junkie nose of Bush through Iraq's desert, him and his follower dog Blair…There are 26 million Saddams in Iraq"

"We will push those crooks, those mercenaries back into the swamp"

"When we were making the law, when we were writing the literature and the mathematics the grandfathers of Blair and little Bush were scratching around in caves"

"Those Iraqi fighters are slapping those gangsters on the face, and then when they flee, they will kick their backsides."

About Bush: "the leader of the international criminal gang of bastards."

"the insane little dwarf Bush"

"The midget Bush and that Rumsfield deserve only to be beaten with shoes by freedom loving people everywhere."

"Rumsfeld, he needs to be hit on the head"

"Yesterday we heard this villain called Rumsfeld. He, of course, is a war criminal, and he is one of the worst of the American rulers. He said the American mercenaries and the British mercenaries, they are defending themselves inside Iraq. They are in a defensive position. They are engaged in self-defense. They are fighting a self-defense war inside Iraq. Well, congratulations, Mr. Villain, you are defending yourself inside our country. We will show you what defense means."

"Bush is a very stupid man. The American people are not stupid, they are very clever. I can't understand how such clever people came to elect such a stupid president."

"Who is this dog Franks in Qatar?"

"Bush doesn't even know if Spain is a republic or a kingdom, how can they follow this man?"

"Whenever we attack, they retreat. When we pound them with missiles and heavy artillery, they retreat even deeper. But when we stopped pounding, they pushed to the airport for propaganda purposes.''

Any apparent American gains, he said, were a cunning ploy by the Iraqis to lure the enemy into a trap. "Our armed forces, according to their tactics, are leaving the way open"

"The capital, especially the commandos, are getting ready to wipe them out"

"We are surrounding them and pounding them. The whole trend has changed and we are going to finalize this very soon.''

"After we finish defeating all of those animals we will disclose that with facts and figures."

"Bush, Blair and Rumsfeld. They are the funny trio"

"We have shot down 2 Apache helicopters. Have the Americans said yet that they were shot down by their – what do they call it – friendly fire? No? Well… [dramatic pause, then smiles] …not yet!"

Question: Is Saddam Hussein still alive:
"I will only answer reasonable questions"

"Don't believe anything! We will chase the rascals back to London!"

"We're now trying to exhaust them, until our leadership decides the time and method to clean our territory of their desecration."

"Those are mercenaries. Most probably they will be treated as mercenaries, hirelings and as war criminals. … For sure, international law does not apply to those"

Bush "knows that he is standing in quicksand when it comes to his baseless talk on Iraq"

"This criminal (Bush) in the White House is a stupid criminal"

"They are not in Najaf. They are nowhere. They are on the moon. They are snakes in the desert…"

Iraqi opposition leaders are "bats … and a bad American product."

"Even those who live on another planet, if there are such people, would have condemned this action before it started"

"We expect the aggressors to use anything, we don't rule out that in their depression at being vanquished, those losers will become hysterical and commit even more folly."

"They are becoming hysterical. This is the result of frustration."

On U.S. General Richard Myers: "He must be crazy"
His reports are "basic propaganda".

Rumsfeld is a "crook" and "the most despicable creature."

Rumsfeld is "the worst kind of bastard"

"Our farmers, they are targeting accurately the enemy." (shooting at helicopters)

"The imperialist invading U.S. and British forces are like a snake that slithers all over the place but that doesn't control anything."

"We feed them death and hell!"

"We besieged them and killed most of them, and I think we will finish them soon."

"They are nowhere near Baghdad. Their allegations are a cover-up for their failure"

"They want to deceive their people first because now they are in a very shabby situation."

"It's a small town [Umm Qasar], it has only a few docks… now they are in a trap"

"Iraqi forces are still in control of the city, and they are engaging in an attrition war with the enemy"

"Americans are now in disarray"

"They are again in the dirt in the desert."

"They will try to enter Baghdad, and I think this is where their graveyard will be."

"Their objective is to get to the outskirts of Baghdad. So be it."

"We will see how the issue will turn out when they come to Baghdad."

"We are determined to defeat them and destroy them on the walls of our capital, as we are determined to destroy their miserable armies in every Muslim spot."

"Iraq will spread them even more and chop them up."

"The Iraqi troops and the Iraqi fighters are in control of all the places, as we have witnessed. No big change in that. We are fighting against them."

"They are achieving nothing; they are suffering from casualties. Those casualties are increasing, not decreasing."

"Fight them everywhere. Don't give them a chance to breathe until they withdraw and retreat."

"The criminals will be humiliated… To hurt the enemy more, raise the level of your attacks."

"They are lying every day. They are lying always, and mainly they are lying to their public opinion."

"You think their tanks are in an endless line coming towards us, wrong they are only a few of them and they turn around and then return as if to make a long snake"

"I can assure you that those villains will recognize, will discover in appropriate time in the future, how stupid they are and how they are pretending things which have never taken place"

"In a few days, you will all witness something that can only be considered very beautiful against the Coalition forces. That, I assure you."

"we managed to chop off their rotten heads"

"There are only two American tanks in the city."

"We are winning!"

CooperSteveOnTheLaptop22 Jun 2008 11:29 a.m. PST

Thanks. What happened to him? I recall him being imprisoned, was he tried for anything?

I hoped they'd let him come over here. He'd've been great as a panto star

Defiant22 Jun 2008 2:53 p.m. PST

wow…

capncarp22 Jun 2008 5:31 p.m. PST

Is that _all_ he said? :J

CooperSteveOnTheLaptop23 Jun 2008 12:53 a.m. PST

Chancellor Norman Lamont's "green shoots of economic recovery" back inthe 80s

White Dwarf editor's explanation of why Games Workshop games always got good reviews back in the 80s (a few months before they admitted they were a house mag and turned into the Warhammer caalogue it is today…) OK, in no way a one liner but still pretty classic

Ronald Reagan coming out with cowboy movie cliches after the straffing of Libya (Can't remember the exact wording)

mosby6524 Jun 2008 7:25 a.m. PST

An unsolicideted radio commuinication to a British warship in the Falklands War:

"Hey, you in the boat. There's an Argintine task force of three surface ships 420 miles SW of your current position."

British captain: "Who is speaking?"

"George Washington and the Continental Congress."

British captain: "Thank you, General. I apologize about burning the White House".

"Long forgotton and forgiven. But you might want to think about returning the silverware."

British captain: "I will certainly look into that. But next time you might want to reconsider calling us a boat."

Last Hussar25 Jun 2008 12:38 p.m. PST

"The American press is all about lies! All they tell is lies, lies and more lies!"

So not everything was wrong then?

Bellbottom25 Jun 2008 2:55 p.m. PST

Not specifically a "quote" but it makes you think. Comes from a site about 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstauffen at Arnhem
"SS veterans recounted a story of two paratroopers attacking them through intense gunfire armed only with knives. What impressed them was that one was deliberately drawing fire to enable the other to close in"
Paul F

Tommiatkins26 Jun 2008 1:50 p.m. PST

Falklands war.Mount Tumbledown.

"IVE LOST MY LEG! IVE LOST MY FREAKING LEG!!!"
"No you havnt Corp, It's over here"

As for Mohammed Al sharaf, he was released after a few days , went to Syria and became a regular on the TV circuits for a while. Now he is retired and i dunno where he is.

138SquadronRAF26 Jun 2008 2:05 p.m. PST

Dorothy Parker came out with one I've always want to use:

"I'm too Bleeped text**ng busy, and vice versa"

Defiant26 Jun 2008 2:45 p.m. PST

I you serious about sharaf Tommi ?

Tommiatkins26 Jun 2008 7:19 p.m. PST

Yeah, I saw some 2005 footage of him in civvys. He said his "reporting was correct but the infomation had some flaws"

Ascent03 Jul 2008 4:43 a.m. PST

Field Marshall Paul Von Hindenberg visiting the tank factory at Charleroi

"I do not think that tanks are any use, but as these have been made they may as well be tried"

Ascent03 Jul 2008 5:30 a.m. PST

A German officer captured by the Canadians at the battle of Amiens.

"You Canadians have no buisness down here. We were told you were in Flanders; how I would like to hang our fools of Intelligence officers."

MahanMan03 Jul 2008 8:56 a.m. PST

I *believe* these two are associated with British officers (surprisingly enough)…

When one officer (during the SYW, an I recall) lost his leg to a cannon shot, as he was carried to the rear, he remarked in a casual tone that, "It appears my dancing days are ended".

I think the next was during the Peninsular War; an officer was next to Wellington, and was shot in the thigh. He remarked, "By God, I've lost my leg!", to which Wellington took a look at the wound and replied, "By God, sir, so you have!"

CooperSteveOnTheLaptop03 Jul 2008 11:32 a.m. PST

No get it right, it was 'B'gad, sir…'

The leg was a tourist attraction for decades afterwards. It then travelled about in bizarre ways and if I remember the article in HISTORY right, ended up in East Germany!

Bellbottom03 Jul 2008 11:45 a.m. PST

The "leg" belonged to the Earl of Uxbridge, Wellingtons cavalry commander at Waterloo. He was also Wellingtons brother-in-law, and was being unfaithful to Wellingtons sister. Wellington was not happy about this which resulted in the casual remark when Uxbridge had his leg removed by roundshot at Waterloo. I believe the leg was buried at Charleroi?
Paul F

Aloysius the Gaul03 Jul 2008 6:16 p.m. PST

Phil Barker again, talking to an OT thread on the DBMM lsit about growing old…

It's the eye of the beholder. It is my view that human males as they mature
should turn like gorillas into "Silvertips", give up climbing trees, grow
impressive sit around relaxing and being admired by females, and exercise by
occasionally beating their chest and roaring. At least I would get more
respect on this list…

Phil

SwampfoxFL03 Jul 2008 7:15 p.m. PST

These were actually from a movie, but not entirely implausible.

Just before the famous charge up San Juan Hill, Teddy Roosevelt jumps up in front of the Rough Riders and says:

" Come on, Rough Riders , onward for Glory!"

Blackjack Pershing jumps up in front of the 9th Cavalry and says:

" OK, Buffalo Soldiers. This is what they pay you $13 USD a month for!"

CooperSteveOnTheLaptop04 Jul 2008 12:32 a.m. PST

Don't know if its historical, but Chamberlain at Little Round Top saying "You men wait here until rifles… er… become available!"

Guthroth04 Jul 2008 4:06 a.m. PST

A British Admiral (Jervis ?) speaking about the possibility of a French invasion -

"I do not say the French will not come, merely that they will not come by sea …."

Guthroth04 Jul 2008 4:22 a.m. PST

Brigadier Lord Lovatt, at the head of 1st Special Service Brigade having landed on Sword Beach to the sound of bagpipes – expressly against orders -led his men inland to relieve the paras at Pegasus Bridge.

Having fought their way through Ouistreham, he reached Col Frost (CO 7 Para) 2 minutes late, held out his hand and said -

"Sorry we're late old boy"

Recreated quite well in the film 'Longest Day'

Tommiatkins04 Jul 2008 5:46 a.m. PST

Forget which officer.
British: Napoleonics.

Cannon ball rips inbetween his horses legs and the horse flinches.
Officer to horse: "You are a coward sir! I shall stop your corn three days"

Texas Grognard06 Jul 2008 4:50 a.m. PST

"As for Mohammed Al sharaf, he was released after a few days , went to Syria and became a regular on the TV circuits for a while. Now he is retired and i dunno where he is."
Thanks Tommi. I always wondered what became of Baghdad Bob.

Marcpa wrote
"One taken from a movie, not real, but my all-time
favourite.
After a lecture in the planning stages of
Market Garden, a general commanding the
airborne (Sean connery) adressing a British officer
'Which side are you on ?'"
Actually that was Gene Hackman who played Gen Sosebowski commander of the Polish Para Brigade.
Since we're on movies heres a few of my favorites:
Another from "Bridge too Far" J.O.E. Vandeleur's being told that that his Irish Guards would lead the attack foe XXX Corps:
Gen Vandeleur: "Christ, not again!" (muttered)
Gen Horrocks: "Whats that Joe!"
Gen Vandeleur: "Oh, delighted sir!"
Still another from "Bridge too Far" was Gen Vandeleur's response to an officers complaint on how narrow the road was. "You this bit here? Its the wide part."
"RUN AWAAYY" Arthur, King the Britons evil grin Yes its Monty Python but I couldn't help myself. This is a maxim for my Skaven army which I've altered to fit their way of speaking. "RUN, RUN AWAAYY" evil grin
As for real quotes here goes.
"On death ground, fight! Sun Tzu
"Boot! Not splat!" Heinz Guderian
I may be paraphrasing "The fighter pilots primary mission is to kill the enemy! All else is rubbish! "Boots" Blesse USAF
"The enemy? We're going to cut it off, and kill it! Gen Colin Powell

Anyhoo. Salut y'all!

Bruce the Texas Grognard

Byrhthelm06 Jul 2008 6:36 a.m. PST

"Having fought their way through Ouistreham, he reached Col Frost (CO 7 Para) 2 minutes late, held out his hand and said -"

Sorry Guthroth:

Actually Major John Howard, OC D Coy, 2nd Bn Oxs and Bucks LI.
(Formerly 52nd Regt (LI) of Peninsula and Waterloo fame)

Guthroth08 Jul 2008 7:57 a.m. PST

ack – sorry – wrong CO …..

Fall Rot08 Jul 2008 3:38 p.m. PST

Just read this in Alistaire Horne's, "To Lose a Battle, France 1940" last night:

Guderain asks General Kirchner of the 1st Panzer whether to take the entire division wesward after the breakthrough at Sedan, or to leave a flank guard facing south?

Kirchner's senior staff officer interjected right away:

"Klotzen, nicht Kleckern!"

Literally "Wallop Them, don't tap them!"

Wyatt the Odd Fezian08 Jul 2008 6:05 p.m. PST

"Where the hell did all those tomahawks come from?"
- Gen. George Custer 1876
- Pres. Saddam Hussein 1991

Supercilius Maximus09 Jul 2008 1:46 a.m. PST

Gutroth/Byrthelm,

Another 7 Para officer who linked up with Howard was Richard Todd, who later became a well-known film star (and the original choice for James Bond). By a strange irony, Todd later played Howard in the film, "The Longest Day" with another actor portraying the real-life Todd.

link

hos45909 Jul 2008 4:26 a.m. PST

"Guderain asks General Kirchner of the 1st Panzer whether to take the entire division wesward after the breakthrough at Sedan, or to leave a flank guard facing south?
Kirchner's senior staff officer interjected right away:
"Klotzen, nicht Kleckern!"
Literally "Wallop Them, don't tap them!""

The reason he said it was (besides being correct in the situation) that it was a favourite saying of Guderians that he had mentioned many times before.

Byrhthelm09 Jul 2008 9:13 a.m. PST

"Another 7 Para officer who linked up with Howard was Richard Todd, who later became a well-known film star (and the original choice for James Bond). By a strange irony, Todd later played Howard in the film, "The Longest Day" with another actor portraying the real-life Todd."

Yes, I knew that… it has always made grin a little – trust Hollywood to jerk around the assignments!

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