Groucho Marx Quotes
Dig trenches? With our men being killed off like flies? There isn't time to dig trenches. We'll have to buy them ready made.
McCarey, Leo, director. Duck Soup. Paramount Pictures, 1933.
This observation was made when Commander-in-Chief for the 13 American Colonies, General Edward Braddock had organized a military expedition to destroy some of the forts that the French had constructed. (See {37008}.) Braddock and the other military officers thought that the force Braddock had organized what he thought would be overwhelming force that could easily accomplish the objective. But unfortunately for Braddock, Franklin was prescient, See {583428}.
Churchill saw before many others that technology and weaponry had changed the nature of warfare. At the time the military leadership of all the major powers were pursuing 19th century tactics with 20th century weaponry including mass bayonet charges against machine guns behind barbed wire. Churchill and other civilians, although they had legal control over the military, had little de facto tactical control. As a politician he became an itinerant meddler in military tactics thereafter.
The Christian Crusaders were considered particularly cruel and barbarous by the Muslims who themselves were quite barbarous. To this day, Middle Eastern Muslim parents who want to frighten little children threaten them that the “Crusaders” will come—“Crusader” has the connotation of “monster”.
See {637982} for one of the major reasons.
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, and television star. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit and one of America's greatest comedians.
