Artillery just takes the joy out of life.
Nothing in life is quite as exhilerating as having been shot at and realized that they missed.
-- Sir Winston Churchill
You can fly over a territory, you can bombard it, you can blow it to
hell, you can even sterilize it, but you don't own it until you stand a
seventeen year old kid with a rifle on top of it.
-- T.R. Fehrenbach
Once you pull the pin out of Mr. Grenade, he is no longer your friend.
There's nothing like siege guns to brighten one's day.
If you listen carefully, you can almost hear it over the chirping of springtime birds.
Or is that the scraping of the ramrods in the barrels, as the regiment reloads for the next volley?
No no, it is the clang of thousands of breech blocks closing and the
revving engines of the Guards Tank Army just behind the ridge.
Za rodina!
History is written for schoolmasters and armchair strategists. Statesmen and
warriors pick their way through the dark.
-- Lord Esher.
Don't think of it as being outnumbered, think of it as having a wide target selection.
Want a hot breakfast? Try Breakfast Napalm on your Rice Krispies! Brought to you by the company that made Agent Orange Breakfast Drink!
However absorbed a commander may be in the elaboration of his own
thoughts, it is sometimes necessary to take the enemy into
account!
-- Sir Winston Churchill
Gods play games with the fates of men. But first they have to get all the
pieces on the board and look all over the place for the dice.
--Terry Pratchett
Also, it's never clearly stated how one can wage an extended atomic campaign in Europe without turning the place into a "glass floored, self-lighting parking lot
The British Soldier can stand up to anything except the British
War Office.
-- GB Shaw
It takes 15,000 casulaties to train a General.
-- Foch
For a battle like Crecy, you do not need a military genius like Edward III. All you need is an idiot like Duke of Alencon.
Russia's Closest Friends Ready To Try Military Intervention
The intervention, which will be led by Germany and include the U.S., France, England, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, will most likely occur next week, before the harsh Russian winter makes acts of caring difficult for armored vehicles and infantrymen.
I have heard two stories about Sheridan's service as a military observer during the FPW.
In the first instance he was trying to address a question about Grant's abilities as a general. Stating that Grant wasn't especially brilliant as a tactician or a strategist, he summed him up by saying that if Grant landed in Lisbon with the Army of the Potomac, he would be in Berlin in 8 weeks and nobody would be able to stop him.
The second example is his telegram to President Grant requesting permission to return to the U.S. because, "We have nothing to learn from these people.
There was an excellent historical film shown during MST3K (Military Science Theater 3000) that taught me a bit about Mongels vs Poles @1450AD. After Hercules (nice abs, no shirt) wrestled with the alligators of the Polish Everglades and crossed the hot springs of central Poland to rescue a polish princess (which he then left behind to aid his own escape), There was a polish assault on the Mongolian stronghold (Ghengis, Kubla, and one other Khan). As the Christians were climbing the walls, the Mongels pushed the walls of their castles over to crush the attackers.
Is this tactic unique to the Mongels?
Those who forget their past are doomed to repeat it.
Unless you are absolutely insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Analysts write about war as if it's a ballet, like it's choreographed
ahead of time, and when the orchestra strikes up and starts playing,
everyone goes out there and plays a set piece. It is choreographed,
but what happens is, the orchestra
starts playing and some son of a bitch climbs out of the orchestra pit with
a bayonet and starts chasing you around the stage. And the choreography
goes right out the window.
Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf after Operation Desert Storm
Bernadotte would have made an excellent lawyer especially if the case were a bad one and, required dexterous tinkering with the witnesses.
But war is not just a cruel and brutal affair;
It's also dangerous and stupid.
Animaniacs
A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what's left of your unit. - Army's magazine of preventive maintenance.
Aim towards the Enemy. - Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher
When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend. - U.S. Marine Corps
Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs are guaranteed to always hit the ground. - USAF Ammo Troop
If the enemy is in range, so are you. - Infantry Journal
It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed. - U.S. Air Force Manual
Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons. - General Macarthur
Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo. - Infantry Journal
You, you, and you ... Panic. The rest of you, come with me. - U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt.
Tracers work both ways. - U.S. Army Ordnance Manual
Five second fuses only last three seconds. - Infantry Journal
Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last, and don't ever volunteer to do anything. - U.S. Navy Swabbie
Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid. - David Hackworth
If your attack is going too well, your walking into an ambush. - Infantry Journal
No combat-ready unit has ever passed inspection. - Joe Gay
Any ship can be a minesweeper ... once. - Anonymous
Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do. - Unknown Marine Recruit
- Don't draw fire; it irritates the people around you. - Your Buddies
If you see a bomb technician running, follow him. - USAF Ammo Troop
Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death ... I Shall Fear No Evil. For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing."- At the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Japan
You've never been lost until you've been lost at Mach 3. - Paul F. Crickmore (test pilot)
The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.
Blue water Navy truism: There are more planes in the ocean than submarines in the sky. - From an old carrier sailor
If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's probably a helicopter -- and therefore, unsafe.
When one engine fails on a twin-engine airplane you always have enough power left to get you to the scene of the crash.
Without ammunition, the USAF would be just another expensive flying club.
What is the similarity between air traffic controllers and pilots? If a pilot screws up, the pilot dies; If ATC screws up, .... the Pilot dies.
Never trade luck for skill.
The three most common expressions (or famous last words) in aviation are: "Why is it doing that?", "Where are we?" and "Oh S...!
Weather forecasts are horoscopes with numbers.
Progress in airline flying: now a flight attendant can get a pilot pregnant.
Airspeed, altitude and brains. Two are always needed to successfully complete the flight.
A smooth landing is mostly luck; two in a row is all luck; three in a row is prevarication.
I remember when sex was safe and flying was dangerous.
Mankind has a perfect record in aviation; we never left one up there!
Flashlights are tubular metal containers kept in a flight bag for the purpose of storing dead batteries.
Flying the airplane is more important than radioing your plight to a person on the ground incapable of understanding or doing anything about it.
When a flight is proceeding incredibly well, something was forgotten.
Just remember, if you crash because of weather, your funeral will be held on a sunny day.
Advice given to RAF pilots during WWII: "When a prang (crash) seems inevitable, endeavor to strike the softest, cheapest object in the vicinity as slow and gently as possible.
The Piper Cub is the safest airplane in the world; it can just barely kill you. - Attributed to Max Stanley (Northrop test pilot)
A pilot who doesn't have any fear probably isn't flying his plane to its maximum. - Jon McBride, astronaut
If you're faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible. - Bob Hoover (renowned aerobatic and test pilot)
Never fly in the same cockpit with someone braver than you.
There is no reason to fly through a thunderstorm in peacetime. - Sign over squadron ops desk at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, 1970
If something hasn't broken on your helicopter, it's about to.
Basic Flying Rules: "Try to stay in the middle of the air. Do not Go near the edges of it. The edges of the air can be recognized by the appearance of ground, buildings, sea, trees and interstellar space. It is much more difficult to fly there.
You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes full power to taxi to the terminal.
As the test pilot climbs out of the experimental aircraft, having torn off the wings and tail in the crash landing, the crash truck arrives, the rescuer sees a bloodied pilot and asks "What happened?". The pilot's reply: "I don't know, I just got here myself! - Attributed to Ray Crandell (Lockheed test pilot)