Dwight D. Eisenhower Quotes
Our landings … have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops …. The troops, the air, and the navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.
This was hand written the day before D-Day by Eisenhower. It was to be issued in the event of a failure of operation Overlord—the D-Day landings. The success was by no means a sure thing and the greatness of Eisenhower is indicated by the fact that he was not arrogant, kept the possibility of failure in mind, and took it upon himself to accept the responsibility of things had not gone well. This was one of the greatest quotations that was never made.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1890-1969, 34th President of the United States (Republican KS), Draft Press Release Statement, June 5, 1944
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Ataturk was a young major at the time commanding troops of a weak and corrupt Ottoman regime. However a combined English and French (the strongest military powers in Europe) invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula threatened to capture the Turkish capital, Constantinople. Ataturk alone rallied the Turkish defenders and fought the invaders to a standoff in long drawn out battle with huge casualties on both sides. Ataturk became a national hero. Although Ataturk thereafter was very reluctant to use military force or endanger troops, the thing he always thought worth the supreme sacrifice (including his own) was the independence and sovereignty of the nation. See {584502} for his continuing belief in this type of sacrifice.
Eisenhower was then the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Forces.
He was announcing the fall of France, and the start of the Battle of Britain. And that was their finest hour.
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower GCB OM GCS CCLH KC NPk was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he became a five-star general in the Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of Normandy in 1944–45 from the Western Front.
