Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood. George S Patton
Battle is an orgy of disorder. George S Patton
We may stumble and fall but shall rise again; it should be enough if we did not run away from the battle. Mahatma Gandhi
Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory. Sun Tzu
People do not want words – they want the sound of battle – the battle of destiny. Gamal Abdel Nasser
A wise man thinks it more advantageous not to join the battle than to win. Francois de la Rochefoucauld
Every man should lose a battle in his youth, so he does not lose a war when he is old. George R R Martin, A Feast for Crows
Why should we honour those that die upon the field of battle? A man may show as reckless a courage in entering into the abyss of himself. William Butler Yeats
I’m in the West Country marching in the footsteps of a rebel army. In 1685 this rural area was the scene of one of the most remarkable uprisings in English history ... The very last battle on English soil. Walking Through History: England’s Last Battle – West Country, Channel 4 2014
A rebel march, the Battle of Sedgemoor and the infamous Bloody Assizes. ibid.
‘We have been walking for day with almost nothing in our bellies. We’re up to our knees in mud.’ Waterloo: The Ultimate Battle, soldier, Discovery 2015
June 1815: A day of reckoning was approaching. At stake – Europe’s fate. At war Britain and her allies against a resurgent French army. ibid.
Tim: And what happens, you’re going into battle situation, right, you are up the front, with your men, or are you coming up the rear?
Gareth: Well, depends ...
Dawn: So it’s possible you’d come up the rear?
Gareth: It’s possible, yeah.
Tim: That’s all we wanted to know. The Office, Christmas Special II, BBC 2003
Good, then we shall have our battle in the shade. Dienekes, attributed, when told at Thermopylae that Persian archers could block out sun with arrows
What did battles like this achieve? Tony Robinson’s World War I s1e2, Discovery 2014
The Socialist – very much against his will – finds himself in the midst of this horrid battle, and he appeals to the other combatants to cease from fighting and establish a system of Brotherly Love and Mutual Helpfulness, but he does not hypocritically pretend to practise brotherly love towards those who will not agree to his appeal, and who compel him to fight with them for his very life. He knows that in this battle he must either fight or go under. Therefore, in self-defence, he fights; but all the time he continues to appeal for the cessation of the slaughter. He pleads for the changing of the system. He advocates Co-operation instead of Competition; but how can he co-operate with people who insist on competing with him? No individual can co-operate by himself! Robert Tressell, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist
El Alamein was Britain’s first major land victory of the Second World War. The desert battles which took place in 1942 were some of the bloodiest of the North African campaign. El Alamein: The Soldier’s Story, Yesterday 2013
The opening months of 1945 would see some of the most brutal battles of the Second World War. WWII: Countdown to Victory: The Race for Berlin, Yesterday 2014
Hitler’s gamble in the Arden had failed. ibid.
In one of the biggest set-piece battles in history, and the largest tank engagement of the war, Soviet tank crews came face to face with the Tiger. Killer Tanks: Fighting the Iron Fist, Discovery 2004
102,858. Dwight may have won the battle but I will win … the next battle. The Office US s3e8: The Merger, Andy, NBC 2006
The Duke of Wellington was the most famous Briton of the first half of the nineteenth century. His victory over Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815 altered the course of history. Steely eyed, lantern jawed, for later generations he came to embody the essence of Britishness. But the real man was not made of iron. Wellington: The Iron Duke Unmasked, BBC 2019
General, politician, lover, wit, outsider, the hero of Waterloo was far more complex than the public image. ibid.
Arthur Wellesley’s victories in India had established his reputation. They had also made his fortune. ibid.
Arthur’s Irish aristocratic background would shape his political outlook throughout his life. ibid.
If Ireland tried his patience, so did his wife. ibid.
The two armies met at Waterloo just outside Brussels on June 18th 1815. For 8 hours of savage hand to hand fighting, the fate of Europe hung in the balance. ibid.
Wellington would never fight another battle. ibid.
Whether you win or lose a battle in the long run doesn’t matter: the question is did you fight it hard. Tony Benn, Last Will & Testament ***** Youtube 1.31.36
There is no final victory as there is no final defeat. There is just the same battle. To be fought over and over again. So toughen up. Bloody toughen up. Tony Benn
Celebrated civil war hero George Armstrong Custer and over 250 of his men lay dead on the battlefield of Little Bighorn. Robert Redford’s The West aka The American West IV: Showdown, AMC 2016
Majestic, powerful and deadly: for over 400 years British ships ruled the waves. These magnificent vessels shaped the fortunes of our nation. Rob Bell, Great British Ships s1e1: HMS Victory: Nelson’s Great Warship, Channel 5 2018
129,136. HMS Victory: The ship that won the Battle of Trafalgar. Together with her famous commander Admiral Nelson, Victory confirmed Britain’s domination of the oceans for over a century. ibid.
21st October 1805: In the waters off the southern tip of Spain a battle raged that would come to be seen as Britain’s greatest ever naval encounter: Trafalgar. ibid.
The mystery of the Mary Rose: Henry VIII’s gun-laden battle ship lost in an unexplained tragedy. Rediscovered by pioneering archaeologists, she is a Tudor time capsule and Britain’s most extraordinary shipwreck. Rob Bell, Great British Ships s1e2: The Mary Rose: Secrets from the Deep
The only 16th-century ship anywhere on Earth. ibid.
Henry’s own fleet of some eighty ships. They were outnumbered nearly three to one. ibid.
Her hull showed no damage from enemy firepower. ibid.
Ages ranged between 10 and 40. ibid.
The black loyalists fighting for the British are making a significant impact on the War … A truly integrated unit: the first Rhode Island regiment is born … With roughly 140 black men now in the unit, their first taste of action is the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778. Covering the retreat of six American brigades, they courageously withstand three ferocious British assaults, saving the day … Other colonies followed suit. Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution, Kareem Aldul-Jabbar reporting, History 202
But the British battle loses are severe: In just three hours of fighting, nearly 1,000 of some 1,500 troops are either killed or wounded including 63 officers. Washington s1e1: Loyal Subject, History 2021
The following spring Washington’s fears are realised at Lexington and Concord. ibid.
In June 1815 two armies gathered on the plain of southern Belgium for an epic battle that would change the face of Europe. What became known as the Battle of Waterloo resulted in a victory of an alliance of forces commanded by English general, the Duke of Wellington. And defeat for the French forces commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte. Wellington v Napoleon: Aftermath of Waterloo, History 2021
Wellington never lost a battle; Napoleon arousing and charismatic commander instilled huge loyalty in his troops. ibid.