Miscellaneous Military Anecdotes
Alexander The Great
"I do not fear an army of lions, if they are led by a lamb. I do fear an army of sheep, if they are led by a lion."Antigonos (one of Alexander the Great's successors) once saw some soldiers occupying their leisure playing ball but still wearing their armour. When he sought out their officers to commend them for instilling such zeal in their men, he found them busy drinking, and accordingly demoted them instead and promoted the zealous soldiers in their places.
General Charles Lee
During the War of American Revolution, the British attacked Sullivan's Island (28th June, 1776) which lay in the approaches to Charleston. Sergeant Lamb, one of the defenders of the fort on Sullivan's Island, remembered General Lee during this attack.
'General Lee exposed himself to great danger,' Sergeant lamb recorded. 'As the balls whistled about he observed one of his aide-de-camps shrink every now and then, and by the motion of his body seemed to evade the shot. "Death, sir!" cried Lee. "Why do you dodge like that? Do you know that the King of Prussia lost above an hundred aide-de-camps in one campaign?" "So I understand, sir," replied the officer, "but I did not think you could spare so many."
Emperor Haile Selassie
from Captain (N ) G J Oman
Mobilisation Order by Emperor Haile Selassie - Abyssinia 1936
' Everyone will now be mobilised and all boys old enough to carry a spear
will be sent to Addis Ababa '
' Married men will take their wives to carry food and to cook. Those
without wives will take a woman without a husband. Woman with small babies
need not go '
' The blind, those who cannot walk, or for any reason cannot carry a
spear, are exempted.'
' Any one found at home after receipt of this order will be hanged.'
So much for modern military motivational techniques!
The Marquis of Granby
At the Battle of Warburg (31st July,1760, Seven Year's War) the Colonel of 'The Blues', the Marquis of Granby led his regiment in a charge against the French. The Marquis lost his hat and wig whilst charging and yet still managed to salute the Commander-in-Chief as the charge rammed home. This gave rise to the expression 'going at it, bald-headed'. Since that day 'The Blues' are the only regiment to allow saluting by all ranks even when not wearing any headdress. After his military campaigns, he set up his senior non-commissioned officers who had been disabled in action, as innkeepers, which accounts for the large number of inns throughout the country that bear his name.
The Archers Going Downhill
By the 1500s, the English Longbowmen's skill had sadly declined from their peak in the Hundred Years War:
Even enthusiasts for the bow had to admit that Frenchmen in battle were apt in contempt to "...turn up their tails and cry: 'shoot English!'", though maintaining that an archer of an earlier generation would have had "the breech of such a varlet nailed to his bum with one arrow, and another feathered in his bowels, before he should have turned about to see who shot the first".
Kurt Hammerstein-Equord
Kurt Hammerstein-Equord was born in Hinrichshagen, Germany, on 26th September, 1878. He joined the German Army and was attached to the General Staff during the First World War. Hammerstein-Equord was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Reichswehr in 1930. He was extremely hostile to the Nazi Party and warned Paul von Hindenburg about the dangers of appointing Adolf Hitler as chancellor. Hammerstein -Equord's opposition to Hitler was well-known and in February, 1934, he was dismissed from office. During World War II he was involved in several plots to overthrow Hitler. Kurt Hammerstein-Equord died in Berlin on 25th April, 1943. This is what he had to say about his officers:'I divide my officers into four classes; the clever, the lazy, the industrious, and the stupid. Each officer possesses at least two of these qualities. Those who are clever and industrious are fitted for the highest staff appointments. Use can be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy however is for the very highest command; he has the temperament and nerves to deal with all situations. But whoever is stupid and industrious is a menace and must be removed immediately!'