General's speeches

[rotorgun]

Here is an interesting excerpt from a speech delivered to a British infantry battalion just before the first day on the Somme:

Many commanders approached the battle with great optimism. The pre-battle speech delivered to the 8th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry — which would suffer 539 casualties on the first day — included:

"When you go over the top, you can slope arms, light up your pipes and cigarettes, and march all the way to Pozières before meeting any live Germans."



Edit: just found an interesting article about King Henry V and his actual speech bfore the battle of Agincourt. Here are some excerpts:

New battle of Agincourt for St. Georges Day
By Peter Almond
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

Agincourt, , Apr. 23 (UPI) -- It might have been St. George's Day -- England's national day -- on Friday, but if you were English you would have been best advised to keep that quiet on this battlefield, where King Henry V's sick and depleted army destroyed a French army four times its size 600 years ago.

Appearantly, there is some sort of row about the French wanting to erect some wind mill towers or somesuch on the battlefield. It has upset the purists who want the battlefield preserved. Below is the link for those interested.
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-break...0532-7148r.htm

Sick, depleted in numbers but inspired by King Henry V some 6,000 English and Welsh soldiers defeated an overconfident French force four times their number, killing at least 8,000 soldiers -- including the cream of French knights -- for the loss of less than 300 of their own. Henry's pre-battle warning to the archers that they had better fight because the French had promised to cut off their draw-string fingers (not in Shakespeare's account) when they were captured is believed to be the origin of the traditional English two-fingered riposte, first shown to French prisoners at Agincourt.