Duke Of Wellington Quotes & Sayings

The hardest thing of all for a soldier is to retreat. — Duke Of Wellington

Today when a man gets married he gets a home, a housekeeper, a cook, a cheering squad and another paycheck. When a woman marries, she gets a boarder. To define it rudely but not ineptly, engineering is the art of doing that well with one dollar, which any bungler can do with two after a fashion. — Duke Of Wellington

Just to show you how little reliance can be placed even on what are supposed the best accounts of a battle, I mention that there are some circumstances mentioned in General -'s account which did not occur as he relates them. It is impossible to say when each important occurrence took place, or in what order. — Duke Of Wellington

What masks are these uniforms to hide cowards! — Duke Of Wellington

The history of a battle, is not unlike the history of a ball. Some individuals may recollect all the little events of which the great result is the battle won or lost, but no individual can recollect the order in which, or the exact moment at which, they occurred, which makes all the difference as to their value or importance.. — Duke Of Wellington

If you had seen one day of war, you would pray to God that you would never see another. — Duke Of Wellington

You must build your House of Parliament on the river: so ... that the populace cannot exact their demands by sitting down round you. — Duke Of Wellington

I see no reason to suppose these machines will ever force themselves into general use. — Duke Of Wellington

I have got an infamous army, very weak and ill-equipped, and a very inexperienced staff. — Duke Of Wellington

Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained. — Duke Of Wellington

The only thing that they can be relied on to do is to gallop too far and too fast. — Duke Of Wellington

Believe me that every man you see in a military uniform is not a hero. — Duke Of Wellington

Our army is composed of the scum of the earth - the mere scum of the earth. — Duke Of Wellington

The British soldiers are fellows who have all enlisted for drink. That is the plain fact - they have all enlisted for drink. — Duke Of Wellington

We always have been, we are, and I hope that we always shall be detested in France. — Duke Of Wellington

Napoleon has humbugged me, by God; he has gained twenty-four hours' march on me. — Duke Of Wellington

My rule always was to do the business of the day in the day. — Duke Of Wellington

Always get over heavy ground as lightly as you can. — Duke Of Wellington

I never saw so many shocking bad hats in my life. — Duke Of Wellington

There is nothing so dreadful as a great victory
except a great defeat. — Duke Of Wellington

As a member of the Protestant British squirearchy ruling Ireland, he was touchy about his Irish origins. When in later life an enthusiastic Gael commended him as a famous Irishman, he replied A man can be born in a stable, and yet not be an animal. — Duke Of Wellington

There is no mistake; there has been no mistake; and there shall be no mistake. — Duke Of Wellington

Yes, about ten minutes. — Duke Of Wellington

I have seen their backs before. — Duke Of Wellington

God deliver me from my friends! I'll take care of my enemies myself. — Duke Of Wellington

When other Generals make mistakes their armies are beaten; when I get into a hole, my men pull me out of it. — Duke Of Wellington

Hard pounding, gentlemen. Let's see who pounds the longest. — Duke Of Wellington

Always make water when you can. — Duke Of Wellington

Call on a business man only at business times, and on business; transact your business, and go about your business, in order to give him time to finish his business. — Duke Of Wellington

The French system of conscription brings together a fair sample of all classes; ours is composed of the scum of the earth - the mere scum of the earth. It is only wonderful that we should be able to make so much out of them afterwards. — Duke Of Wellington

Troops would never be deficient in courage, if they could only know how deficient in it their enemies were. — Duke Of Wellington

If you believe that you will believe anything. — Duke Of Wellington

All the business of war, and indeed all the business of life, is to endeavour to find out what you don't know by what you do; that's what I called 'guess what was at the other side of the hill'. — Duke Of Wellington

An extraordinary affair. I gave them their orders and they wanted to stay and discuss them. — Duke Of Wellington

A great country ought not to make little wars. — Duke Of Wellington

There is nothing on earth so stupid as a gallant officer. — Duke Of Wellington

I attribute my success on the battlefield to always being on the spot to see and do everything for myself — Duke Of Wellington

A great country can have no such thing as a little war. — Duke Of Wellington

The scum of the earth ... but what fine soldiers we have made them. — Duke Of Wellington

As Lord Chesterfield said of the generals of his day, 'I only hope that when the enemy reads the list of their names, he trembles as I do.' — Duke Of Wellington

Error is ever the sequence of haste. — Duke Of Wellington

When one begins to turn in bed, it is time to get up. — Duke Of Wellington

Rashness is oftener the resort of cowardice than of courage. — Duke Of Wellington

I used to say of Napoleon that his presence on the field made the difference of forty thousand men. — Duke Of Wellington

It is very true that I have said that I considered Napoleon's presence in the field equal to forty thousand men in the balance. This is a very loose way of talking; but the idea is a very different one from that of his presence at a battle being equal to a reinforcement of forty thousand men. — Duke Of Wellington

A great country cannot wage a little war. — Duke Of Wellington

Wise people learn when they can; fools learn when they must. — Duke Of Wellington

I am not only not prepared to bring forward any measure of this nature, but I will at once declare that, as far as I am concerned, as long as I hold any station in the Government of the country, I shall always feel it my duty to resist such measures when proposed by others. — Duke Of Wellington

There are no manifestos like cannon and musketry. — Duke Of Wellington

During the Peninsula War, I heard a Portuguese general address his troops before a battle with the words, Remember men, you are Portuguese! — Duke Of Wellington

To define it rudely but not ineptly, engineering is the art of doing for 10 shillings what any fool can do for a pound — Duke Of Wellington

I have no small talk and Peel has no manners. — Duke Of Wellington

I acknowledge that I should not like to see again such loss as I sustained on
the 23rd September, even if attended by such a gain. — Duke Of Wellington