Military Quotes/Quotations
Y: Yamamoto - Yu
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"In the first
six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will
run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after
that, I have no expectation of success."
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief of the Japanese Navy (1940)
"A military
man can scarcely pride himself on having 'smitten a sleeping enemy'; it is more
a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten."
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief of the Japanese Navy (about
Pearl Harbor, 1942)
"The mindless
rejoicing at home is really appalling; it makes me fear that the first blow
against Tokyo will make them wilt at once...I only wish that [the Americans] had
also had, say, three carriers at Hawaii..."
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander in Chief of the Japanese Navy (1942)
"if a spirit
of anger can be made to pervade all ranks of an army at one and the same time,
its onset will be irresistible. Now the spirit of the enemy's soldiers will be
keenest when they have newly arrived on the scene, and it is therefore our cue
not to fight at once, but to wait until their ardor and enthusiasm have worn
off, and then strike. It is in this way that they may be robbed of their keen
spirit."
- Chang Yu
"If the
enemy's dispositions are visible, we can make for him in one body; whereas, our
own dispositions being kept secret, the enemy will be obliged to divide his
forces in order to guard against attack from every quarter."
- Chang Yu
"A real man dies on
a battlefield, and his body is wrapped in horsehide.
Who wants to die in bed, surrounded by his wife and children?"
-General Ma Yuan, Eastern Han Dynasty
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