--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The American casualties continued to be…" description: "\"“The American casualties continued to be staggering, in no small part because among the AEF’s junior officers enthusiasm generally outran their experie..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/joseph-e-persico-10290_quote_the-american-casualties-continued-to-be_1697261.jpg" --- # The American casualties continued to be staggering, in no… ![“The American casualties continued to be staggering, in no small part because among the AEF’s junior officers enthusiasm generally outran their experience.” quote by Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/joseph-e-persico-10290_quote_the-american-casualties-continued-to-be_1697261.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/joseph-e-persico-10290_quote_the-american-casualties-continued-to-be_1697261.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/joseph-e-persico-10290_quote_the-american-casualties-continued-to-be_1697261.jpg) > ““The American casualties continued to be staggering, in no small part because among the AEF’s junior officers enthusiasm generally outran their experience.”” [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Junior officers' enthusiasm exceeded their experience, causing high casualty rates. **In simple terms:** Enthusiasm outpaced skill, leading to losses. Key Takeaway Balance zeal with training. Themes military leadership experience Mood analytical historical Type military educational When to use this quote - battlefield decisions - military education - unit cohesion Key Concepts command training combat dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders temper enthusiasm? - What training improves readiness? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can be deadly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [...And while everybody was tremendously impressed with the low cost of the conflict, for the 146 Americans who were killed in action and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/and-while-everybody-was-tremendously-impressed-with-the-low-cost-of/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [The question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam worth? And the answer is not very damned many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cheney/the-question-in-my-mind-is-how-many-additional-american-casualties-is/) [Dick Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cheney/) > [“The French suffered 531,000 casualties (dead, wounded and captured) in those three months, roughly as many as in the eight months of Verdun in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-asquith/the-french-suffered-531-000-casualties-dead-wounded-and-captured-in/) [Margot Asquith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-asquith/) > [“Kuribayashi had the benefit of having traveled in the United States, and he had even attended Harvard for a short time. In his travels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/kuribayashi-had-the-benefit-of-having-traveled-in-the-united-states/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [“Thus the total Armistice Day casualties were nearly 10 percent higher than those on D-Day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/thus-the-total-armistice-day-casualties-were-nearly-10-percent-higher/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“The first-day casualties on the Somme totaled 57,470.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-first-day-casualties-on-the-somme-totaled-57-470/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [We're giving them a real lesson today. Heavy doesn't accurately describe the level of casualties we have inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/we-re-giving-them-a-real-lesson-today-heavy-doesn-t-accurately/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [There is no battle space the U.S. Military cannot access. They said we couldn't do Afghanistan. We did it with ease. They said we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/there-is-no-battle-space-the-u-s-military-cannot-access-they-said-we/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [When war is declared, truth is the first casualty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-war-is-declared-truth-is-the-first-casualty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Their casualties and bodies are many. Their equipment and vehicles, several were destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/their-casualties-and-bodies-are-many-their-equipment-and-vehicles/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [The cost of an on-site inspection team would be minuscule compared to war, Saddam would have no choice except to comply, the results would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/the-cost-of-an-on-site-inspection-team-would-be-minuscule-compared-to/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [We read our mail and counted up our missions In bombers named for girls, we burned The cities we had learned about in school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/we-read-our-mail-and-counted-up-our-missions-in-bombers-named-for/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [“Meanwhile nothing happened, nothing ever happened. The English had got into the habit of saying that this wasn’t a war, it was a bloody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/meanwhile-nothing-happened-nothing-ever-happened-the-english-had-got/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We went over there and fought the war and eventually burned down every town in North Korea anyway, someway or another, and some in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/we-went-over-there-and-fought-the-war-and-eventually-burned-down/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it-came-it-went-it-left/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More by Joseph E. Persico > [“Sergeant Powell would never understand what compelled Henry Gunther to rise up and charge the enemy. Gunther had never been seduced by dreams of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/sergeant-powell-would-never-understand-what-compelled-henry-gunther/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Henry Cabot Lodge. Wilson rejected even reasonable compromises, and Lodge refused to budge. Hence, the United States failed to enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/senate-foreign-relations-committee-henry-cabot-lodge-wilson-rejected/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“On December 18, he asked each side to set forth its terms for ending the war. The Allies demanded conditions certain to be unacceptable:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/on-december-18-he-asked-each-side-to-set-forth-its-terms-for-ending/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“The first-day casualties on the Somme totaled 57,470.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-first-day-casualties-on-the-somme-totaled-57-470/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“The last deaths of the Great War on the western front occurred at midnight on the twelfth in Hamont, a Belgian town near the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-last-deaths-of-the-great-war-on-the-western-front-occurred-at/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“German resistance continued to present a hodgepodge of fanaticism amid disorder. A British patrol entering a deserted village east of Valenciennes in the northern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/german-resistance-continued-to-present-a-hodgepodge-of-fanaticism/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“The imperative of war is to kill, and thus all wars are exercises in sanctioned murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-imperative-of-war-is-to-kill-and-thus-all-wars-are-exercises-in/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“The initial conclusion of the subcommittee was that “needless slaughter” took place on November 11, 1918. However, this finding was beaten back by vocal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-initial-conclusion-of-the-subcommittee-was-that-needless/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“Moltke began to tamper with Schlieffen’s plan. Instead of investing 90 percent of the German Army in the French campaign, as required, he began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/moltke-began-to-tamper-with-schlieffen-s-plan-instead-of-investing-90/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“Compounding the horror, German officials committed an act of staggering insensitivity: they struck a commemorative medal with a depiction of the sinking ship on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/compounding-the-horror-german-officials-committed-an-act-of/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“constant companions throughout the project: Stanley Weintraub’s A Stillness Heard Round the World, A. J. P. Taylor’s The First World War, John Keegan’s The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/constant-companions-throughout-the-project-stanley-weintraub-s-a/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“Mustard gas was stubborn, clinging to the ground as long as three days. Heavier than air, it settled into craters and trenches where men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/mustard-gas-was-stubborn-clinging-to-the-ground-as-long-as-three-days/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“Barely across the Ourcq, Donovan’s battalion began taking fire from three sides. One bullet grazed Wild Bill’s thigh; another tore off the heel of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/barely-across-the-ourcq-donovan-s-battalion-began-taking-fire-from/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“A great many of the Army officers were very fine in the way that they took care of their men. But there were certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/a-great-many-of-the-army-officers-were-very-fine-in-the-way-that-they/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“MacArthur strode before his men, armed only with a riding crop, a cigarette holder clamped jauntily between his teeth, without the slightest suggestion in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/macarthur-strode-before-his-men-armed-only-with-a-riding-crop-a/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) [Explore all 66 Joseph E. Persico quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) ## More Casualties quotes > [I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it-came-it-went-it-left/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [We went over there and fought the war and eventually burned down every town in North Korea anyway, someway or another, and some in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/we-went-over-there-and-fought-the-war-and-eventually-burned-down/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [“Meanwhile nothing happened, nothing ever happened. The English had got into the habit of saying that this wasn’t a war, it was a bloody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/meanwhile-nothing-happened-nothing-ever-happened-the-english-had-got/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We read our mail and counted up our missions In bombers named for girls, we burned The cities we had learned about in school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/we-read-our-mail-and-counted-up-our-missions-in-bombers-named-for/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [The cost of an on-site inspection team would be minuscule compared to war, Saddam would have no choice except to comply, the results would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/the-cost-of-an-on-site-inspection-team-would-be-minuscule-compared-to/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“The first-day casualties on the Somme totaled 57,470.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-first-day-casualties-on-the-somme-totaled-57-470/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [Their casualties and bodies are many. Their equipment and vehicles, several were destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/their-casualties-and-bodies-are-many-their-equipment-and-vehicles/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [When war is declared, truth is the first casualty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-war-is-declared-truth-is-the-first-casualty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no battle space the U.S. Military cannot access. They said we couldn't do Afghanistan. We did it with ease. They said we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-p-m-barnett/there-is-no-battle-space-the-u-s-military-cannot-access-they-said-we/) [Thomas P.M. Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-p-m-barnett/) > [We're giving them a real lesson today. Heavy doesn't accurately describe the level of casualties we have inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/we-re-giving-them-a-real-lesson-today-heavy-doesn-t-accurately/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [I wanted people who wouldn't become too worried about casualties. One always should be concerned about casualties, but the risk of incurring casualties can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-vokes/i-wanted-people-who-wouldn-t-become-too-worried-about-casualties-one/) [Christopher Vokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-vokes/) > [WikiLeaks exposed corruption, war crimes, torture and cover-ups. It showed that we were lied to about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jemima-khan/wikileaks-exposed-corruption-war-crimes-torture-and-cover-ups-it/) [Jemima Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jemima-khan/) > [The Civil War was fought in 10,000 places, from Valverde, New Mexico, and Tullahoma, Tennessee, to St. Albans, Vermont, and Fernandina on the Florida…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/the-civil-war-was-fought-in-10-000-places-from-valverde-new-mexico/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [By citing the UN Charter I indicate that the defensive party to the conflict should use only proportionate force, try to avoid civilian casualties,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhikkhu-bodhi/by-citing-the-un-charter-i-indicate-that-the-defensive-party-to-the/) [Bhikkhu Bodhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhikkhu-bodhi/) > [A martyr's just a casualty with really good PR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/a-martyr-s-just-a-casualty-with-really-good-pr/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) Browse all 251 Casualties quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The American casualties continued to be staggering, in no small part because among the AEF’s junior officers enthusiasm generally outran their experience.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph E. Persico" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-american-casualties-continued-to-be-staggering-in-no-small-part/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Casualties" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-american-casualties-continued-to-be-staggering-in-no-small-part/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/joseph-e-persico-10290_quote_the-american-casualties-continued-to-be_1697261.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/joseph-e-persico-10290_quote_the-american-casualties-continued-to-be_1697261.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0e/joseph-e-persico-10290_quote_the-american-casualties-continued-to-be_1697261.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The American casualties continued to be staggering, in no small part because among the AEF’s junior officers…” — Joseph E. Persico", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joseph E. Persico", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The American casualties continued to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-american-casualties-continued-to-be-staggering-in-no-small-part/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/the-american-casualties-continued-to-be-staggering-in-no-small-part/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```