George S. Patton Military Quotations

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Untutored courage is useless in the face of educated bullets.

Do your damnedest in an ostentatious manner all the time.

So as through a glass, and darkly - The age long strife I see - Where I fought in many guises, - Many names, but always me.

I have the utmost confidence that through your efforts we will eventually beat the hell out of those bastards - You name them; I'll shoot them!

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?

Tanks are new and special weapon-newer than, as special, and certainly as valuable as the airplane.

Many, who should know better, think that wars can be decided by soulless machines, rather than by the blood and anguish of brave men.

The soldier is the army.

I'd rather have a German Division in front of me than a French one behind.

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.

Take calculated risks.

You must do your damdest and win.

There is only one sort of discipline - PERFECT DISCIPLINE. Men cannot have good battle discipline and poor administrative discipline.

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.

All glory is fleeting.

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.

Many soldiers are led to faulty ideas of war by knowing too much about too little.

Live for something rather than die for nothing.

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

Success is how you bounce on the bottom.

If I win I can't be stopped! If I lose I shall be dead.

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

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

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

The leader must be an actor.

Go forward until the last round is fired and the last drop of gas is expended...then go forward on foot!

Make your plans to fit the circumstances.

I don’t fear failure. I only fear the slowing up of the engine inside of me which is saying, ‘Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?

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

It is only by doing things others have not that one can advance.

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.

War is an art and as such is not susceptible of explanation by fixed formula

Just drive down that road, until you get blown up

The obvious thing for the cavalryman to do is to accept the fighting machine as a partner, and prepare to meet more fully the demands of future warfare.

Success demands a high level of logistical and organizational competence.

You shouldn't underestimate an enemy, but it is just as fatal to overestimate him.

War is the supreme test of man in which he rises to heights never approached in any other activity.

The only way you get on in this profession is to have the reputation of doing what you are told as thoroughly as possible.

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.

Pressure makes diamonds

Perpetual peace is a futile dream.

The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country

The highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is bearing arms.

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.

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.

No good decision was ever made in a swivel chair.

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

Urge all of your men to pray, not alone in church, but everywhere. Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle.Pray for the defeat of our wicked enemy whose banner is injustice and whose good is oppression. Pray for victory. Pray for our Army, and Pray for Peace. We must march together, all out for God.