10 Quotes by Robert L. O'Connell

In other words, what we know for sure is entirely limited, and all the rest is basically opinion.

Rome, on the other hand, lost—suffering on that one day more battle deaths than the United States during the entire course of the war in Vietnam, suffering more dead soldiers than any other army on any single day of combat in the entire course of Western military history.

That’s the way it is with Appian; things that appear ridiculous on average just might have happened, so they cannot be entirely dismissed.

Polybius managed to attach himself to the clan and person of Scipio Aemilianus, grandson of one of the two losing consuls at Cannae,

He wanted to bring up his plan for a retreat, but something told him not to. “Well, Grant, we’ve had the devil’s own day, haven’t we?” he opened instead. “Yes,” Grant replied chewing on a cigar. “Lick ’em tomorrow, though.”75.

Or imagine him in the middle of a battle coming upon a soldier cowering behind a tree and loudly proclaiming his intention to desert – prompting Sherman to shower the tree with rocks, convincing the reluctant warrior he was under even heavier fire.

I wish I were there to watch the operations and changes; but alas! I am in Kansas scratching for a living.

Tom Jr. was steeped in Free Soil politics and was now chief justice of the Kansas State Supreme Court.

Real strategists are warriors and must be willing and able to fight battles, to “see the elephant,” as Civil War soldiers were fond of saying.