A Dictionary of Military Quotations

Book excerpt: This book, first published in 1990, is a provocative collection of military quotations that captures the human essence of warfare. From the skirmishes beneath the walls of Troy to the dropping of the atomic bomb, nearly 3,500 quotations distil the experiences of generations of soldiers, depicting the preparation for and the waging of war. Read the words of field marshals and generals, kings and dictators, and follow them into battle – Alexander the Great at Issus, Wellington at Waterloo, Sitting Bull at Little Big Horn and Montgomery at El Alamein. Here too are the recorded details of life among the ranks as diverse as ammunition and uniform, sick parade and comradeship, discipline and ‘Dear John’ letters. A final section, ‘Last Post’, deals with the tragic aftermath of conflict.