David Gemmell - War Quotes

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[...] In real war an officer may have only one chance at succeeding. Consider each problem.

David Gemmell
Most wars are fought for greed, but we are luckier here—we fight for our lives and the lives of the people we love.

David Gemmell
No matter how impossible this war, I shall fight to win. Whatever I have to do, I will do.

David Gemmell
While men compete in war, there will be warriors. While there are warriors, there will be princes among warriors. Among the princes will be kings, and among the kings an emperor.

David Gemmell
I am not a hero; I am a soldier. When the battle is lost, I retreat and regroup; when the war is over, I lay down my sword. No last dashing charge; no futile last stand!

David Gemmell
I don't give a damn, laddie. Until the actual moment, when they cut me down, I shall still be looking to win. And the gods of war are fickle at best.

David Gemmell
Our ancestors have fought wars since time. And won them. More than that, we have built societies and held them together. We are the rulers, Gaise. We are the mighty. Remember that tomorrow.

David Gemmell
War. What was it about the prospect of some bloody enterprises that reduced men to the level of animals?

David Gemmell
When your life has been spent in one war after another for forty-five years, you have to be pretty handy to survive.

David Gemmell
We are closest to life when we are vying with death... The blood runs hot, the air smells sweet, the sky becomes an unbearably beautiful blue. Battle is intoxicating. That is why the ghastly vileness of war has always been so popular.

David Gemmell
There is only one way to survive in war, and that is by being willing to die. You will find soon that swordsmen can be downed by untutored savages who would slice their fingers if asked to carve meat. And why? because the savage is willing. Worse, he may be a baresark.

David Gemmell
It would be a fine thing if war could be conducted as a game where no lives were lost. At the end of a battle combatants could meet [...] and drink and talk.

David Gemmell
Only a fool loves war. Or a man who has never seen it. The trouble is that the survivors forget about the horrors and remember only the battle lust. They pass on that memory, and other men hunger for it.

David Gemmell
Gentlemen, you are in sorry condition. But war will render you yet more sorry. The soldier will fight in mud and hail, snow and ice, drought and flood. It is rare that a warrior gets to fight in comfort.

David Gemmell
How many hopes and dreams are trapped within these bones? How many wonders lie never to be discovered? This is what war is. Desolation, despair and loss. There are no victors.

David Gemmell
One day the enemy will cross the Great Green. They will bring war and tragedy to these eastern lands. Such is the nature of vile men. Yet we cannot live in dread of them. We cannot hide behind these high walls, our hearts trembling. For that is not life. We must accept the needs and the duties of each day, and face them one at a time.

David Gemmell