George Patton Quotes from Wisdom-of-the-Wise.com

“In case of doubt, attack.”

"Perpetual peace is a futile dream."

“You’re never beaten until you admit it.”

“Never let the enemy pick the battle site.”

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

"Courage is fear holding on a minute longer."

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

“Say what you mean and mean what you say.”

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

"Better to fight for something than live for nothing."

"Always do everything you ask of those you command."

"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't.”

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

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

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

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

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

"Success demands a high level of logistical and organizational competence."

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

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

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

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

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

"I believe in the old and sound rule that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood."

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

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

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

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

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

"An Army is a team; lives, sleeps, eats, fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is a lot of crap."

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

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

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

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

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

"In war the only sure defense is offense, and the efficiency of the offense depends on the warlike souls of those conducting it."

"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".

"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."

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

“You cannot be disciplined in great things and indiscipline in small things. Brave undisciplined men have no chance against the discipline and valour of other men. Have you ever seen a few policemen handle a crowd?”

"We are going to kill German bastards. I would prefer to skin them alive, but gentlemen, I fear some of our people at home would accuse me of being too rough."

"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."

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

'I do not fear failure. I only fear the "slowing up" of the engine inside of me which is pounding, saying, "Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?"'

"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."

"Goddamnit, I'm not running for the Shah of Persia. There are no practice games in life. It's eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. I want my bunch to be in there first, to be the 'fustest with the mostest'. They won't do it if I ask them nicely."

"To conquer, we must destroy our enemies. We must not only die gallantly; we must kill devastatingly. The faster and more effectively you kill, the longer you will live to enjoy the priceless fame of conquerors."

"I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but by how high he bounces when he hits bottom." "We have got by due to persistance and on the ability to make plans fit circumstances. The other armies try to make circumstances fit plans."

"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."

"There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates."

"Tin soldier politicians in Washington have allowed us to kick the Hell out of one b*stard and at the same time forced us to help establish a second one as evil or more evil than the first...This time we'll need almighty God's constant help if we're to live in the same world with Stalin and his murdering cutthroats."

"Many of you have in your veins Geman and Italian blood. But remember that these ancestors of yours so loved freedom that they gave up home and country to cross the ocean in search of liberty. The ancestors of the people we shall kill lacked the courage to make such a sacrifice and remained slaves."

"War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it's the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you'll know what to do!"

"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. Some men get over their fright in a minute under fire. For some, it takes an hour. For some, it takes days. But a real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood. Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base."

Compiled by Thomas George
editor@Wisdom-of-the-Wise.com