Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.
—Sun Tzu (fl. c.544–496 BCE) Chinese General, Military Theorist
No battle plan survives contact with the enemy
—Colin Powell (1937–2021) American Military Leader
Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
The one who figures on victory at headquarters before even doing battle is the one who has the most strategic factors on his side
—Sun Tzu (fl. c.544–496 BCE) Chinese General, Military Theorist
A leader who doesn’t hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.
—Golda Meir (1898–1978) Israeli Head of State
Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Carry the battle to them. Don’t let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don’t ever apologize for anything
—Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) American Head of State
Don’t fight a battle if you don’t gain anything by winning.
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
Pessimism never won any battle.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American Head of State, Military Leader
To conquer oneself is a greater victory than to conquer thousands in a battle.
—Buddhist Teaching
Marriage is like life – it is a field of battle, not a bed of roses.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
Never has there been a good war or a bad peace
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
A good battle plan that you act on today can be better than a perfect one tomorrow
—George S. Patton (1885–1945) American Military Leader
France has lost the battle but she has not lost the war
—Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) French General, Statesman
In a battle all you need to make you fight is a little hot blood and the knowledge that it’s more dangerous to lose than to win.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
There are times when a battle decides everything, and there are times when the most insignificant thing can decide the outcome of a battle
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Our cause, then, must be intrusted to, and conducted by its own undoubted friends—those whose hands are free, whose hearts are in the? work—who do care for the result. Two years ago the Republicans of the nation mustered over thirteen hundred thousand strong. We did this under the single impulse of resistance to a common danger, with every external circumstance against us. Of strange, discordant, and even, hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought the battle through, under the constant hot fire of a disciplined, proud, and pampered enemy. Did we brave all then, to falter now?—now—when that same enemy is wavering, dissevered and belligerent? The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail—if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise councils may accelerate or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later the victory is sure to come.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
If I had believed in a God of rewards and punishments, I might have lost courage in battle
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Our every action is a battle cry against imperialism, and a battle hymn for the people’s unity against the great enemy of mankind: the United States of America. Wherever death may surprise us, let it be welcome, provided that this, our battle cry, may have reached some receptive ear, that another hand may be extended to wield our weapons, and that other men be ready to intone our funeral dirge with the staccato singing of the machine guns and new battle cries of war and victory.
—Che Guevara (1928–67) Argentine-Cuban Revolutionary
The first blow is half the battle.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
Christianity is a battle not a dream.
—Wendell Phillips (1811–84) American Abolitionist, Lawyer, Orator
A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it.
—Frederick Douglass (1817–95) American Abolitionist, Author, Editor, Diplomat, Political leader
A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success from inhospitable surroundings, is the price of all great achievements.
—Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924) American New Thought Writer, Physician, Entrepreneur
Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) Austrian-born British Philosopher
In the battle of existence, Talent is the punch; Tact is the clever footwork
—Wilson Mizner (1876–1933) American Playwright, Entrepreneur
Economy is half the battle of life. It is not so hard to earn money as to spend it well.
—Charles Spurgeon (1834–92) English Baptist Preacher
There is no glory in battle worth the blood it costs
—Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American Head of State, Military Leader
I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but I can do something else – I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.
—Queen Elizabeth II (b.1926) Queen of United Kingdom
I believe in the battle – whether it’s the battle of a campaign or the battle of this office, which is a continuing battle.
—Richard Nixon (1913–94) American Head of State, Lawyer