Erwin Rommel Quotes

It is often possible to decide the issue of a battle merely by making an unexpected shift of one's main weight.

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

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

Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas.

Loose lips sink ships.

I would rather be the hammer than the anvil

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

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

To every man of us, Tobruk was a symbol of British resistance and we were now going to finish with it for good.

There are always times where the place of a commander isn't back with his Major State, but onward with his troops.

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

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.

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

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

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

Good soldiers, bad officers; however don't forget that without them we would not have any Civilization.

Sweat saves blood.

Messages can't be intercepted if they aren't sent, can they?

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

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

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

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

One must not judge everyone in the world by his qualities as a soldier: otherwise we should have no civilization.

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

The commander must establish personal and comradely contact with his men, but without giving away one inch of authority.

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

But courage which goes against military expediency is stupidity, or, if it is insisted upon by a commander, irresponsibility.

War makes extremely heavy demands on the soldier's strength and nerves. For this reason, make heavy demands on your men in peacetime exercises.

I would rather he had given me one more division

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.

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

I didn't die nor win.