On the battlefield itself individuals make extraordinary sacrifices: Iwa Manyanga (Mambwe, Zambia): to fight one another crawling along on all fours. Mamakakaua (Hawaiian): the leading man in battle who bears the brunt of the fighting. Ohiampunut (Finnish): one who has survived in battle (literally, shot/fired past). Abhi-vira (Sanskrit): surrounded by heroes. Reference de Boinod, A.J.… Read More
Over the years the deadliness of the weapons involved in war has increased: Dagadaga (Sranan Tongo, Surinam): a machine gun. Plofstof (Afrikaans): explosive (literally, puff/bang stuff). Springstof (Dutch): an explosive (literally, jump water). Rakovye Voiska (Russian): strategic missile force (literally, cancer forces – referring to the numerous cancerous diseases caused by radiation). Reference de Boinod,… Read More
Dispute resolution has often been alarmingly violent: Gazi (Mauritanian dialect): a plundering raid in which at least forty camels are employed. Falurombolas (Hungarian): the destruction of villages. Schrecklichkeit (German): a deliberate policy of terrorising non-combatants. Edsabil (Maguindanaon, Phillipines): to fight until death for the cause of Allah. Nuulone (Anywa, Nilo-Saharan): a victory dance with rifles… Read More
The German expression Fisimatenten machen, meaning to make things unnecessarily difficult, is a mingling of the French visiter ma tante (visit my aunt). It originates in the difficulty of imposing a curfew on occupied France during the Second World War. Visiter ma tante was the general excuse used by people arrested on the streets at… Read More
“Our record of learning from previous experience is poor; one reason is that we apply history simplistically, or ignore it altogether, as a result of wishful thinking that makes the future appear easier and fundamentally different from the past. The best way to guard against a new version of wishful thinking is to understand three age-old truths about war… Read More
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who… Read More
“What you get by stealth and guts, you must hold by skill and determination.” Major General Richard Gale, Commander 6th Airborne Division, finishing his briefing prior to D-Day (June 1944).
Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute 