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Quote by A. J. P. Taylor

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A. J. P. Taylor
A. J. P. Taylor

A. J. P. Taylor was a distinguished British historian celebrated for his incisive analysis of modern European history. His writings primarily centered on the political and diplomatic history of the 18th and 19th centuries, with a particular focus on the Napoleonic era and the two World Wars. Taylor's writing was marked by its wit and clarity, making intricate historical events understandable to a broad readership. more

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“How much atonement is enough? The bombing must be allowed as at least part-payment: those of our young people who are concerned about the moral problem posed by the Allied air offensive should at least consider the moral problem that would have been posed if the German civilian population had not suffered at all.”

PeopleIfsShouldHas BeensWarEnoughProblemYoungPeaceMoralAirConcernedPopulationOffensiveCiviliansPaymentAtonementBombing
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“Arms are instruments of ill omen.... When one is compelled to use them, it is best to do so without relish. There is no glory in victory, and to glorify it despite this is to exult in the killing of men.... When great numbers of people are killed, one should weep over them with sorrow. When victorious in war, one should observe mourning rites.”

PeopleMenShouldWarUsePeaceNumbersArmsVictorySorrowGloryInstrumentsKillingIllDespiteMourningCompelledGlorifyRelishRiteOmen
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“A broadsheet obituarist once pointed out to me that veteran soldiers die by rank. First to go are the generals, admirals and air marshals, then the brigadiers, then a bit of a gap and the colonels and wing commanders and passed-over majors, then a steady trickle of captains and lieutenants. As they get older and rarer, so the soldiers are mythologised and grow ever more heroic, until finally drummer boys and under-age privates are venerated and laurelled with honours like ancient field marshals. There is something touching about that.”

FirstsWarAgeDiesGrowsBitsPeaceBoysAirFieldsMajorsWingsSoldierAncientGapsHonourTouchingSteadyHeroicCaptainsVeteranCommandersDrummerColonelsLieutenantsAdmiralBroadsheet
Book:Paper view: the best of the Sunday Times television reviews
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“One might almost say, to adapt von Clausewitz, that modern warfare is PR by other means. And war-winning strategies mean that modern armies most stop treating their communications operations as secondary assignments or (as still too often happens) dumping grounds for officers who have failed at everything else - but as missions absolutely essential to success.”

MeanStillsWarMightHappensWinningPeaceModernCommunicationEssentialsArmyStrategyMissionsOperationsOfficersWarfareAssignmentsModern Warfare
Author:David Frum
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