--- title: "2 Churchill Quotes By Rick Atkinson" description: "2 Churchill quotes by Rick Atkinson. Plus more from Rick Atkinson and more Churchill sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/rick-atkinson-7144_about_the-spring-of-1942-was-given-over-to-a-v_2102726.jpg" --- > [The spring of 1942 was given over to a very impassioned, strategic debate about where we should first attack in counterpunching against the Germans and Italians. The British argued very persuasively on the part of Winston Churchill, prime minister, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/the-spring-of-1942-was-given-over-to-a-very-impassioned-strategic/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/rick-atkinson-7144_about_the-spring-of-1942-was-given-over-to-a-v_2102726.jpg) > [“One man who did not understand was the New Zealanders’ legendary commander, Lieutenant General Bernard C. Freyberg. English-born but raised in New Zealand, Freyberg had been a dentist before finding his true calling as warrior of Homeric strength and courage.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/one-man-who-did-not-understand-was-the-new-zealanders-legendary/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/rick-atkinson-7144_british-empire_one-man-who-did-not-understand-was-the-n_2254164.jpg) ## Other authors on Churchill ## More by Rick Atkinson > [“To his brother Edgar he confided, “I suffer from the usual difficulty that besets the higher commander—things can be ordered and started, but actual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/to-his-brother-edgar-he-confided-i-suffer-from-the-usual-difficulty/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“To make it perfectly clear to you: suppose you lose a hand or an ear is shot off, or perhaps a piece of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/to-make-it-perfectly-clear-to-you-suppose-you-lose-a-hand-or-an-ear/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“I could hear them yell and laugh each time and there was nothing I could do about it…. I saw them do it, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/i-could-hear-them-yell-and-laugh-each-time-and-there-was-nothing-i/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“The largest contingent of invaders—drawn from the U.S. 1st Infantry and 1st Armored divisions aboard thirty-four transport ships—would storm ashore at Beach Z near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/the-largest-contingent-of-invaders-drawn-from-the-u-s-1st-infantry/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [Global war is a clash of systems, not just battalions biffing one another in some godforsaken forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/global-war-is-a-clash-of-systems-not-just-battalions-biffing-one/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“fifty-six, his hour had come round. He was a paradox and would always remain one, a great tangle of calculated mannerisms and raw, uncalculated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/fifty-six-his-hour-had-come-round-he-was-a-paradox-and-would-always/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“If U-boats torpedoed a transport during the Atlantic passage, how many destroyers should be left behind to pick up survivors? Hewitt was not certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/if-u-boats-torpedoed-a-transport-during-the-atlantic-passage-how-many/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [There were almost 11,000 American soldiers killed in Germany in April of 1945, the last full month of the war. That's almost as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/there-were-almost-11-000-american-soldiers-killed-in-germany-in-april/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“TWO hundred and thirty nautical miles southeast of Gibraltar, Oran perched above the sea, a splinter of Europe cast onto the African shore. Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/two-hundred-and-thirty-nautical-miles-southeast-of-gibraltar-oran/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“blared “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” clearly audible on the hillcrest, where a lieutenant who was immune to the prevailing confidence of his seniors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/blared-the-stars-and-stripes-forever-clearly-audible-on-the-hillcrest/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“The troops also edged toward that timeless state common to veteran armies in which the men trusted no one less wretched than themselves. Still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/the-troops-also-edged-toward-that-timeless-state-common-to-veteran/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“In the first half of 1944, battle casualty rates for every 1,000 bomber crewmen serving six months in combat included 712 killed or missing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/in-the-first-half-of-1944-battle-casualty-rates-for-every-1-000/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“In less than three years he would be the most celebrated American battle captain of the twentieth century, a man whose name—like those of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/in-less-than-three-years-he-would-be-the-most-celebrated-american/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [“If you don’t succeed, I don’t want to see you alive,” he advised. “I see no point in surviving defeat, and I am sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/if-you-don-t-succeed-i-don-t-want-to-see-you-alive-he-advised-i-see/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) > [In searching for a rationale to go to war, Bush settled on the notion of Saddam as an incarnation of evil, basically, and convinced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/in-searching-for-a-rationale-to-go-to-war-bush-settled-on-the-notion/) [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churchill/rick-atkinson/#itemlist", "name": "2 Churchill Quotes By Rick Atkinson", "numberOfItems": 2, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The spring of 1942 was given over to a very impassioned, strategic debate about where we should first attack in counterpunching against the Germans and Italians. The British argued very persuasively on the part of Winston Churchill, prime minister, that this was a very green American Army, green soldiers, green commanders.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rick Atkinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/the-spring-of-1942-was-given-over-to-a-very-impassioned-strategic/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/rick-atkinson-7144_about_the-spring-of-1942-was-given-over-to-a-v_2102726.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/rick-atkinson-7144_about_the-spring-of-1942-was-given-over-to-a-v_2102726.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/rick-atkinson-7144_about_the-spring-of-1942-was-given-over-to-a-v_2102726.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The spring of 1942 was given over to a very impassioned, strategic debate about where we should first attack…” — Rick Atkinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“One man who did not understand was the New Zealanders’ legendary commander, Lieutenant General Bernard C. 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Churchill a month earlier had proclaimed Freyberg “the salamander of the British empire,” an accolade that raised Kiwi hackles—“Wha’ in ’ell’s a ‘sallymander’?”—until the happy news spread that the creature mythically could pass through fire unharmed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rick Atkinson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-atkinson/one-man-who-did-not-understand-was-the-new-zealanders-legendary/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/rick-atkinson-7144_british-empire_one-man-who-did-not-understand-was-the-n_2254164.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/rick-atkinson-7144_british-empire_one-man-who-did-not-understand-was-the-n_2254164.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/416/rick-atkinson-7144_british-empire_one-man-who-did-not-understand-was-the-n_2254164.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One man who did not understand was the New Zealanders’ legendary commander, Lieutenant General Bernard C…” — Rick Atkinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churchill/rick-atkinson/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churchill/rick-atkinson/", "name": "Churchill Quotes by Rick Atkinson", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churchill/rick-atkinson/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d89/rick-atkinson-7144_about_the-spring-of-1942-was-given-over-to-a-v_2102726.jpg" }, "description": "2 Churchill quotes by Rick Atkinson. 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