Top 15 Erwin Rommel Quotes

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

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

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

Be an example to your men, in your duty and in private life. Never spare yourself, and let the troops see that you don't in your endurance of fatigue and privation. Always be tactful and well-mannered and teach your subordinates to do the same. Avoid excessive sharpness or harshness of voice, which usually indicates the man who has shortcomings of his own to hide.

No plan survives contact with the enemy

I would rather be the hammer than the anvil

Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas.

Winning the men's confidence requires much of a commander. He must exercise care and caution, look after his men, live under the same hardships, and — above all — apply self discipline. But once he has their confidence, his men will follow him through hell and high water.

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

Loose lips sink ships.

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

The organization of supplies, the command of men, anything in any way constructive requires more than intellect; it requires energy and drive and an unrelenting will to serve the cause, regardless of one's personal interests.

It is my experience that bold decisions give the best promise of success. But one must differentiate between [strategic] and tactical boldness and a military gamble. A bold operation is one in which success is not a certainty but which in case of failure leaves one with sufficient forces in hand to cope with whatever situation may arise. A gamble, on the other hand, is an operation which can lead either to victory or to the complete destruction of one's force. Situations can arise where even gamble may be justified - as, for instance, when in the normal course of events defeat is merely a matter of time, when the gaining of time is therefore pointless and the only chance lies in an operation of great risk.

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

Sturm, Swung, Wucht