Retreat Quotes
This was an incredible order not allowing any Russian Army unit to retreat or surrender. However, it worked. The Russians, with American help of arms, held off the mighty German invading Army. However the German invasion cost the Russians a staggering 22 million lives, mostly civillian.
The President got the idea for this famous line by reading Thoreau {623573}. Also see Elizabeth I {636845}.for a similar sentiment.
The free man, not controlled by others may see no rational reason to fight and therefore the refusal to war can be as courageous as fighting. This idea is still not accepted in many cultures and nations. The issue was argued mightily in the Vietnam War. Spinoza’s ideas were considered so radical and dangerous that he was the only man in history who was excommunicated by the Catholics, the Jews and the Muslims.
MacArthur was discussing his implementation of women’s suffrage in post World War II Japan. He was told by one of his staff that the Japanese men wouldn't like it: Ironically, the General was a great believer in civil rights for women (he had a very strong and powerful mother) yet he was an inveterate racist when it came to Blacks. See {605734} .
The notion that all the Americans fought bravely in the American Revolution is a myth. George Washington and his other generals were constantly frustrated by some of the state militias which complained often, sometimes mutinied, and frequently ran from battles as in this example of the North Carolina Militia. The federal troops, trained by Washington and his officers, with longer enlistment periods than the militia fought much better and together with the French, won the war.
