What, in your opinion, was the best speech a general gave moments before a battle?
I have some in mind, but I'm not sure if they were said moments before the battle.
Best Speech
What, in your opinion, was the best speech a general gave moments before a battle?
I have some in mind, but I'm not sure if they were said moments before the battle.
Under the wing of Nihil - Under my claws; Farnan, Ummon, & Ecclesiastes.
Human beings will be happier — not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie — but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again. That’s my utopia.
Kurt Vonnegut
Primicerius
William the Conquerers before Hastings is good, but the authenticity is suspect.
Comes Limitis
Bill the Bastard before hastings.
define a battle?
in modern eras, a generals speech before a battle, can happen many days before actual combat starts, due to the changing nature of warfare, and the location of the generals (at the back... a long way from any action, and no where in site of field HQ lol... except for admirals, of course)
if we're thinking the patriotic inspiring morale boosting speeces... then Winston Churchill's speech, on june the 4th 1940, before the battle of britain...
to quote the most famous extract...
We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
finally, how about the short, but to the point speech, or rather signal, in my sig
England Expects That Every Man Will Do His DUTY
each capitalised letter representing the one flag or word used in the signal flown from HMS Victory's mizzen mast, sent By Admiral Nelson before the battle of Trafalgar.
his exact words were England Confides, but his Signals Lieutenant, Lt Pasco, pointed out that like Duty, Confides would have to be spelt out, for no single flag combination existed for that word in the code at the time. Pasco suggested substituting expects instead
Last edited by Phoenix; June 02, 2005 at 12:33 PM.
England Expects That Every Man Will Do His Duty
long live the Queen and the Queen's Navy
Comes Limitis
What about that one thing Ike said before D-Day?
Does anybody know what Alexander told his soldiers before battle?
Anyway, even though it didn't happen, I thought this was quite a good speech by Hector in the movie called Troy;
"I have lived my life by a code of honor. The code is simple; honor the gods, love your wives, and fight for your country! Troy has been our motherland for all here, fight for her!"
Under the wing of Nihil - Under my claws; Farnan, Ummon, & Ecclesiastes.
Human beings will be happier — not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie — but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again. That’s my utopia.
Kurt Vonnegut
Comes Limitis
We don't know if Hector didn't really say that, though.
the Iliad doesn't exactly specify the entire war...
Well Alexanders many speeches for his famous battles like Issus and Gaugemela. King Aragorn at the black gates! Churchill, and a few speeches by Adolf Hitler. Prepares from flame.
Give unto the king what is the king's, and unto God what is God's.
-German Proverb
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Kaiser!
Beware that ancient authors used to invent speeches by famous people when they wrote "history".
This was an accepted literary convention and nothing strange, but it means that all pre-battle speeches recorded in ancient texts are deeply, deeply suspect.
Here's a modern one http://www.usni.org/resources/Iraq/c...ish_guards.htm
Lol I no it may not be counted as a pre battle speech but druing one of the great napoleonic battles the commander of of the Grenadiers à Cheval tuned to his men and shouted
"Don't Duck you Bastards, they are Russian musket balls, not Terds."
Oh yea I saw that on a documentary or news or something a couple of nights ago, mickalos. Fully support the guy in the war crimes investigations.
"we few, we proud, we band of brothers" Henry V, (and yes, I know shakspear made it up)
Tiro
i dunno i thought that hector speech in Troy was pretty crappy. The one in the Iliad where he is talking to his wife and the women of Troy is pretty good though. Maximus' speech in the opening scene of Gladiator is a lot better than the Troy one.
So, does anybody know one of the reported speeches of Alexander, I would really hope to read one.
Under the wing of Nihil - Under my claws; Farnan, Ummon, & Ecclesiastes.
Human beings will be happier — not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie — but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again. That’s my utopia.
Kurt Vonnegut
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