Erwin Rommel Quotes

Quotes about:

• Men are basically smart or dumb and lazy or ambitious. The dumb and ambitious ones are dangerous and I get rid of them. The dumb and lazy ones I give mundane duties. The smart ambitious ones I put on my staff. The smart and lazy ones I make my commanders.

  Erwin Rommel

  Smart, Men, Giving

  586 Copy quote

• Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning.

  Erwin Rommel

  Life, War, Fighting

  Attributed to Rommel‎'s "Infanterie Greift An" ("Infantry Attacks") (1937), in "World War II: The Definitive Visual History: from Blitzkrieg to the Atom Bomb" by Richard Holmes, p. 128, 2009.

  451 Copy quote

• Sweat saves blood, blood saves lives, but brains saves both.

  Erwin Rommel

  Blood, Sweat, Brain

  534 Copy quote

• A risk is a chance you take; if it fails you can recover. A gamble is a chance taken; if it fails, recovery is impossible.

  Erwin Rommel

  Taken, Recovery, Risk

  480 Copy quote

• Be an example to your men, in your duty and in private life. Never spare yourself, and let the troops see that you don't in your endurance of fatigue and privation. Always be tactful and well-mannered and teach your subordinates to do the same. Avoid excessive sharpness or harshness of voice, which usually indicates the man who has shortcomings of his own to hide.

  Erwin Rommel

  Military, Men, Voice

  "Quotations for Martial Artists: Hundreds of Inspirational Quotes to Motivate and Enlighten the Modern Warrior". Book by John Moore, p. 46, 2003.

  507 Copy quote

• If I had to take hell, I would use the Australians to take it and the New Zealanders to hold it.

  Erwin Rommel

  Use, Hell, Ifs

  694 Copy quote

• In the absence of orders, go find something and kill it.

  Erwin Rommel

  Military, Bad Ass, Order

  423 Copy quote

• One of the most important factors, not only in military matters but in life as a whole, is ... the ability to direct one's whole energies towards the fulfillment of a particular task.

  Erwin Rommel

  Military, Important, Energy

  402 Copy quote

• I would rather be the hammer than the anvil

  Erwin Rommel

  Hammers, Anvils

  277 Copy quote

• For me, soldiers are all equal. Those black people wore your same uniform, fought on your side, and so you will be in the same jail.

  Erwin Rommel

  Your Side, Jail, People

  403 Copy quote

• The German soldier has impressed the world, however the Italian Bersagliere soldier has impressed the German soldier.

  Erwin Rommel

  Italian, Soldier, World

  438 Copy quote

• The battle is fought and decided by the quartermasters, long before the shooting begins.

  Erwin Rommel

  Long, Historical, Battle

  319 Copy quote

• Winning the men's confidence requires much of a commander. He must exercise care and caution, look after his men, live under the same hardships, and-above all- apply self discipline. But once he has their confidence, his men will follow him through hell and high water.

  Erwin Rommel

  Exercise, Winning, Men

  384 Copy quote

• There is one unalterable difference between a soldier and a civilian: the civilian never does more than he is paid to do.

  Erwin Rommel

  Differences, Soldier, Doe

  367 Copy quote

• Training errors are recorded on paper. Tactical errors are etched in stone.

  Erwin Rommel

  Errors, Training, Paper

  293 Copy quote

• When there's no clear option, it's better to do nothing.

  Erwin Rommel

  Clear

  270 Copy quote

• Always in a moment of extreme danger things can be done which had previously been thought impossible.

  Erwin Rommel

  Done, Impossible, Moments

  286 Copy quote

• In a man-to-man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.

  Erwin Rommel

  Military, Fighting, Men

  "'Infanterie Greift An' ('Infantry Attacks')". Book by Erwin Rommel, p. 62, 1937.

  280 Copy quote

• One cannot permit unique opportunities to slip by for the sake of trifles.

  Erwin Rommel

  Unique, Opportunity, Sake

  91 Copy quote

• Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas.

  Erwin Rommel

  Ideas, Danger, Fixed

  "The Rommel Papers". Book edited by Basil Henry Liddell Hart. Chapter 11: "The Initiative Passes," p. 244, 1953.

  92 Copy quote

• The best form of welfare for the troops is first-rate training.

  Erwin Rommel

  Training, Troops, Firsts

  113 Copy quote

• Manstein is a man of illusions. ... He believes Hitler will listen to facts.

  Erwin Rommel

  Believe, Men, Facts

  56 Copy quote

• The commander must be at constant pains to keep his troops abreast of all the latest tactical experience and developments, and must insist on their practical application. He must see to it that his subordinates are trained in accordance with the latest requirements. The best form of welfare for the troops is first-class training, for this saves unnecessary casualties.

  Erwin Rommel

  Pain, Communication, Class

  174 Copy quote

• Which would your men rather be, tired, or dead?

  Erwin Rommel

  War, Tired, Men

  55 Copy quote

• In Tunisia the Americans had to pay a stiff price for their experience, but it brought rich dividends. Even at that time, the American generals showed themselves to be very advanced in the tactical handling of their forces, although we had to wait until the Patton Army in France to see the most astonishing achievements in mobile warfare.

  Erwin Rommel

  Army, Achievement, Waiting

  "The Rommel Papers". Book edited by Basil Henry Liddell Hart. Chapter 23: "The Sky Has Grown Dark," p. 523, 1953.

  178 Copy quote

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