"Surrounded By the Enemy...

Susan

New Member
My uncle, age 79, was buried yesterday...Veterans Day...saw comabt in WWII, Korea and Viet Nam...the following qoute was used in his service...would like to know where it was first used...was told perhaps WWII or Viet Nam...any help appreciated..

"Surrounded by the enemy...low on ammunition...but will hold position. Situation good"

This may not be exact, may have come from a movie or actual battle.

Thank you
 
Hi Susan, and welcome to the forum.

Sorry to hear about you Uncle....


Is the quote: "Surrounded by the enemy...low on ammunition...but will hold position. Situation good" the exact quote you are looking for?

I have heard several version of this one.
"I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold. "
- 1.Lt. Clifton B. Cates, USMC. In Belleau Wood, 19 July 1918

Or

"Hard pressed on my right; my left is in retreat. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I am attacking. Attaquez!"
- General Ferdinand Foch (to General Joffre during Battle of the Marne)

Or it could be Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC
(I have found three versions of this one)

"We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem."

"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time"

"They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can't get away from us now!"
When the Marines were cut off behind enemy lines and the Army had written the 1st Marine Division off as being lost because they were surrounded by 22 enemy divisions. The Marines made it out inflicting the highest casualty ratio on an enemy in history and destroying 7 entire enemy divisions in the process. An enemy division is 16500+ men while a Marine division is 12500 men.


I think the first one by Cates sounds like the one you are looking for.
Hope this helps you a bit. :D
 
Or it could be "Chesty" Puller... :D


But I'll do some more research on this one, I think I have heard something more like that quote before...
 
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