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But it is a well-known maxim of war that whoever tries to hold on to everything at once, finishes up by holding nothing at all.

— Erich von Manstein

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War

More quotes by Erich von Manstein

A war is not lost until you consider it lost.

If Paulus's army had capitulated before the end, the Russians would have had the advantage of withdrawing forces against Paulus and against the southern front, where I had only two Romanian armies. Therefore, the resistance of the Sixth German Army, even to the death of the last man, was necessary.

It has always been the particular forte of German leadership to grant wide scope to the self-dependence of subordinate commanders - to allot them tasks which leave the method of execution to the discretion of the individual. From time immemorial - certainly since the elder Moltke's day - this principle has distinguished Germany's military leadership from that of other armies.

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The last half of the 20th century will seem like a wild party for rich kids, compared to what's coming now.

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Only the dead have seen the end of war.

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Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true.

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Attribution

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