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Apparently, as in so many ancient battles, the beaten side were the victims of misunderstanding and the fate of the day was decided against them before the bulk of the forces realised that a serious engagement had begun. Reserves descended from the hills too late to achieve victory, but in good time to be massacred in the rout.

— Winston Churchill A History of the English-Speaking Peoples (1956)

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More quotes by Winston Churchill

For myself I am an optimist — it does not seem to be much use being anything else.

Some people did not like this ceremonious style. But after all when you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite.

The Second World War (book series) (1948)

Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because, as has been said, it is the quality which guarantees all others.

To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often.

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Winston Churchill (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.