--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a battalion commander in France, it…" description: "\"“As a battalion commander in France, it was said, he had once pulled a pistol on a hesitant junior officer and shot him in the buttocks. “There,” Allen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/rick-atkinson-7144_bullet_as-a-battalion-commander-in-france-it-wa_2900776.jpg" --- # As a battalion commander in France, it was said, he had… ![“As a battalion commander in France, it was said, he had once pulled a pistol on a hesitant junior officer and shot him in the buttocks. “There,” Allen said. “You’re out. You’re wounded.” Such gestures would be unnecessary here.” quote by Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/rick-atkinson-7144_bullet_as-a-battalion-commander-in-france-it-wa_2900776.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/rick-atkinson-7144_bullet_as-a-battalion-commander-in-france-it-wa_2900776.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb5/rick-atkinson-7144_bullet_as-a-battalion-commander-in-france-it-wa_2900776.jpg) > ““As a battalion commander in France, it was said, he had once pulled a pistol on a hesitant junior officer and shot him in the buttocks. “There,” Allen said. “You’re out. You’re wounded.” Such gestures would be unnecessary here.”” [Rick Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A commander’s harsh discipline illustrates the brutal realities of war and the limits of authority. **In simple terms:** Harsh discipline in war. Key Takeaway Recognize war’s brutal nature. Themes military authority discipline Mood serious historical Type military ethical When to use this quote - military training - combat leadership - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts war ethics command responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What are the moral limits of military discipline? - How does trauma affect leadership style? 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It was stopped by a silver case I got for my brother's wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-doohan/luckily-the-bullet-that-hit-my-chest-never-got-to-me-it-was-stopped/) [James Doohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-doohan/) ## 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…. 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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/) [Explore all 93 Rick Atkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-atkinson/) ## More Bullet quotes > [Luckily, the bullet that hit my chest never got to me. 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One bullet, one chamber - and we're pulling the trigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/this-is-like-playing-russian-roulette-with-a-luger-rather-than-a/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [For Whom Would You Take This Bullet ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-bassam/for-whom-would-you-take-this-bullet/) [Ali Bassam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-bassam/) > [“I don’t know how these things died without benefit of a bullet to the brain pan. They seemed to exist in an eternal twilight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/i-don-t-know-how-these-things-died-without-benefit-of-a-bullet-to-the/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [I was playing in the league when Ray Guy was playing in the league. He was the best kicker I've ever seen. He could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-sayers/i-was-playing-in-the-league-when-ray-guy-was-playing-in-the-league-he/) [Gale Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-sayers/) > [I carved your name into this bullet so that everyone would know that you were the last thing going through my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-carved-your-name-into-this-bullet-so-that-everyone-would-know-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you take a shot at someone, you keep firing until they can no longer return fire. Wound them, and you have an angry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/if-you-take-a-shot-at-someone-you-keep-firing-until-they-can-no/) [Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/) > [“So I heard the boom of my father's rifle when he shot my best friend. 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