George S. Patton quotes:

Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood.

A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.

If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened.

Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.

We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.

Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.

You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals.

Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.

Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.

Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle.

I am a Soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.

Untutored courage is useless in the face of educated bullets.

If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results.

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

If a man does his best, what else is there?

Better to fight for something than live for nothing.

The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.

I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.

Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn't give a hoot and hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor ever lose a war.

An active mind cannot exist in an inactive body.

Few men are killed by the bayonet, many are scared by it. Bayonets should be fixed when the fire fight starts

I always believe in being prepared, even when I'm dressed in white tie and tails.

Battle... brings out all that is best.

I do not have to tell you who won the war. You know, the artillery did.

It is the cold glitter of the attacker's eye not the point of the questing bayonet that breaks the line.

The highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is bearing arms.

Take calculated risks.

Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.

Never in history has the navy landed an army at the planned time and place. But if you land us anywhere within 50 miles of Fedela and within 1 week of D-Day. I'll go ahead and win.

Battle is an orgy of disorder.

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

If I do my full duty, the rest will take care of itself.

I wonder if I could have been here before as I drive up the Roman road the Theater seems familiar - perhaps I headed a legion up that same white road... I passed a chateau in ruins which I possibly helped escalade in the middle ages. There is no proof nor yet any denial. We were, We are, and we will be.

No good decision was ever made in a swivel chair.

Wars are not won by fighting battles; wars are won by choosing battles

All glory is fleeting.

Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.

Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man.

My men don't dig foxholes. I don't want them to. Foxholes only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. And don't give the enemy time to dig one either.

Often I have encountered in life that great disappointments have proved to be the road to future successes.

A pint of sweat, saves a gallon of blood.

The god of war hates those who hesitate.

Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader.

Sir, I am not a brave man...The truth is, I am an utter craven coward. I have never been within the sound of gunshot or in sight of battle in my whole life that I wasn't so scared that I had sweat in the palms of my hands.

I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed! Gen.

I am the best damn ass-kicker in the whole U.S. Army!

Infantry must move forward to close with the enemy. It must shoot in order to move.... To halt under fire is folly. To halt under fire and not fire back is suicide. Officers must set the example

Human beings are made up of flesh and blood, and a miracle fiber called courage.

We entered a synagogue which was packed with the greatest stinking bunch of humanity I have ever seen. Either these Displaced Persons never had any sense of decency or else they lost it all during their period of internment by the Germans.... My personal opinion is that no people could have sunk to the level of degradation these have reached in the short space of four years.

There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear.

Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politicians.

The supreme measure of a man, is what he would risk his life for.

There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time.

Discipline can only be obtained when all the officers are imbued with the sense of their awful obligation to their men and to their country that they cannot tolerate negligence. Officers who fail to correct errors or to praise excellence are valueless in peace and dangerous misfits in war.

Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men

There is no such thing as luck, merely opportunity meeting preparedness. George S. Patton Jr.

Do your damnedest in an ostentatious manner all the time.

Prisoner of War guard companies, or an equivalent organization, should be as far forward as possible in action to take over prisoners of war, because troops heated with battle are not safe custodians. Any attempt to rob or loot prisoners of war by escorts must be dealt strictly with.

Let's keep our boots polished, bayonets sharpened, and present a picture of force and strength to the Red Army. This is the only language they understand and respect.

The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That's the time to listen to every fear you can imagine! When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead!

In landing operations, retreat is impossible, to surrender is as ignoble as it is foolish. above all else remember that we as attackers have the initiative, we know exactly what we are going to do, while the enemy is ignorant of our intentions and can only parry our blows. We must retain this tremendous advantage by always attacking rapidly, ruthlessly, viciously, and without rest.

Attack rapidly, ruthlessly, viciously, without rest, however tired and hungry you may be, the enemy will be more tired, more hungry. Keep punching.

Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.

If you can't get them to salute when they should salute and wear the clothes you tell them to wear, how are you going to get them to die for their country?

All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don t ever let up. Don t ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain.

Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

For years I have been accused of making snap judgments. Honestly, this is not the case because I am a profound military student and the thoughts I express, perhaps too flippantly, are the result of years of thought and study.

A piece of spaghetti or a military unit can only be led from the front end.

In forty hours I shall be in battle, with little information, and on the spur of the moment will have to make the most momentous decisions. But I believe that one's spirit enlarges with responsibility and that, with God's help, I shall make them, and make them right.

Don't fall victim to what I call the ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome. You must be willing to fire.

If I could have three wishes, one would be to take an '88 and shove that barrel up Hitler's ass so that cocksucker can cry like the little god-damned girl he is. And hell, after that, I wouldn't need two more wishes.

All men are timid on entering any fight. Whether it is the first or the last fight, all of us are timid. Cowards are those who let their timidity get the better of their manhood.

No sane man is unafraid in battle, but discipline produces in him a form of vicarious courage.

You cannot be disciplined in great things and undisciplined in small things.

It is absurd to believe that soldiers who cannot be made to wear the proper uniform can be induced to move forward in battle. Officers who fail to perform their duty by correcting small violations and in enforcing proper conduct are incapable of leading.

A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later.

Anyone in any walk of life who is content with mediocrity is untrue to himself and to American tradition.

Give me an Army of West Point graduates and I'll win a battle... Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I'll win a war.

Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it.

All very successful commanders are prima donnas and must be so treated.

Nobody ever defended anything successfully, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.

There is only one sort of discipline, perfect discipline.

...an imperfect plan implemented immediately and violently will always succeed better than a perfect plan.

A civil servant is sometimes like a broken cannon - it won't work and you can't fire it.

A good battle plan that you act on today can be better than a perfect one tomorrow.

A leader is a man who can adapt principles to circumstances.

A man is not measured by how much he can take and stand but by how fast he regains once fallen.

A man must know his destiny.

A man must know his destiny. if he does not recognize it, then he is lost.

A man must know his destiny"¦ if he does not recognize it, then he is lost. By this I mean, once, twice, or at the very most, three times, fate will reach out and tap a man on the shoulder"¦ if he has the imagination, he will turn around and fate will point out to him what fork in the road he should take, if he has the guts, he will take it.

A real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood.

Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory. Always do more than is required of you. If a man has done his best, what else is there?

Achievers are resolute in their goals and driven by determination. Discouragement is temporary, obstacles are overcome, and doubt is defeated, yielding to personal victory. You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals. Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.

All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened.

Always advance. Never dig in.

Always do everything you ask of those you command.

Always do more than is required of you.

America loves a winner, and will not tolerate a loser, this is why America has never, and will never, lose a war.

An incessant change of means to attain unalterable ends is always going on; we must take care not to let these sundry means undo eminence in the perspective of our minds; for, since the beginning, there has been an unending cycle of them, and for each its advocates have claimed adoption as the sole solution of successful war.

Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge.

But between the plan and the operation, there is always an unknown. That unknown spells victory or defeat. ... Some people call it getting the breaks. I call it God. God has His part in everything. That's where prayer comes in.

By perseverance, study, and eternal desire, any man can become great.

Close the playand keep the store open nights.

Compared to war, all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance. God help me, I do love it so.

continue to advance until you run out of ammunition. Then, dig in.

Coward: someone who in a bad situation thinks with his feet

Death can be more exciting than life.

Discipline must be a habit so ingrained that it is stronger than the excitement of battle.

Do as I have taught you, and you will stay alive.

Do not make excuses, whether it's your fault or not.

Do not try to make circumstances fit your plans. Make plans that fit the circumstances.

Do your duty as you see it, and damn the consequences.

Duty is the essence of manhood.

Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don't want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Goddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men.

Every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he's not, he's a liar. Some men are cowards but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared.