--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of the 664 men who rode into the Valley…" description: "\"Of the 664 men who rode into the Valley of Death about 540 eventually got out of it again. By far the highest casualty rate was among the horses. Compa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/simon-heffer-45158_blitz_of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley_3042580.png" --- # Of the 664 men who rode into the Valley of Death about 540… ![“Of the 664 men who rode into the Valley of Death about 540 eventually got out of it again. By far the highest casualty rate was among the horses. Compared with the Somme or an evening in the Blitz, the Valley of Death was a piece of cake.” quote by Simon Heffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/simon-heffer-45158_blitz_of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley_3042580.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/simon-heffer-45158_blitz_of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley_3042580.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/simon-heffer-45158_blitz_of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley_3042580.png) > “Of the 664 men who rode into the Valley of Death about 540 eventually got out of it again. By far the highest casualty rate was among the horses. Compared with the Somme or an evening in the Blitz, the Valley of Death was a piece of cake.” [Simon Heffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Most soldiers survived, but horses suffered the most; the battle was less deadly than other famous conflicts. **In simple terms:** Many men lived, horses died; the battle was relatively easy. Key Takeaway Recognize differing impacts on participants. Themes war survival casualties Mood reflective somber Type historical analytical When to use this quote - historical analysis - military training - animal welfare discussions Key Concepts military history risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - How do we value animal lives in war? - What lessons do casualty rates teach? A Different Perspective Animals often bear the brunt of human conflicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blitz/) [British history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-history/) [Cake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cake/) [Casualties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casualties/) [Casualty Rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casualty-rate-2345938/) [Compared Somme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compared-somme-5022848/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Highest Casualty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest-casualty-5022847/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horse/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Piece of cake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piece-of-cake/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rate/) [Valley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valley/) [Valley Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valley-death-1065655/) [Valley of death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valley-of-death-199951/) [Valleys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valleys/) ## Related quotes > [Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/half-a-league-half-a-league-half-a-league-onward-all-in-the-valley-of-2/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/into-the-valley-of-death-rode-the-six-hundred/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [By turns sad and uplifting, Life in the Valley of Death tells the amazing tale of Alan Rabinowitz's courageous and spirited efforts to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thant-myint-u/by-turns-sad-and-uplifting-life-in-the-valley-of-death-tells-the/) [Thant Myint-U](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thant-myint-u/) > [Too much! Wait till you have lived here longer. Look down the valley! See the cloud of a hundred chimneys that overshadows it! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/too-much-wait-till-you-have-lived-here-longer-look-down-the-valley/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [The world seemed a bad and terrible place, all its denizens suspect, and I the lamb wandering through the valley of death with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/the-world-seemed-a-bad-and-terrible-place-all-its-denizens-suspect/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“During the forty-five months of World War II, the United States lost just under 1 percent of its adult male population; during the Civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/during-the-forty-five-months-of-world-war-ii-the-united-states-lost-2/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [“During the forty-five months of World War II, the United States lost just under 1 percent of its adult male population; during the Civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/during-the-forty-five-months-of-world-war-ii-the-united-states-lost/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [Proving yourself in a field where the casualty rate is so notoriously high is an ongoing challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-e-grant/proving-yourself-in-a-field-where-the-casualty-rate-is-so-notoriously/) [Richard E. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-e-grant/) > [“More than a hundred new airlines went into business around this time, although the casualty rate was extremely high: in 1994 alone, fifty-seven new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siobhan-creaton/more-than-a-hundred-new-airlines-went-into-business-around-this-time/) [Siobhan Creaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siobhan-creaton/) > [... Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me...Surely goodness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-though-i-walk-through-the-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death-i-fear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/there-is-no-easy-walk-to-freedom-anywhere/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, for I am the evilest motherfucker in the valley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/though-i-walk-through-the-valley-of-death-i-will-fear-no-evil-for-i/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [Yea, though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, for I am the meanest son of a bitch in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-rosenberg/yea-though-i-walk-through-the-valley-of-death-i-will-fear-no-evil-for/) [Joel Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-rosenberg/) > [The good news is that even though we walk through this valley of death, we don't have to fear, at least not for ourselves!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/the-good-news-is-that-even-though-we-walk-through-this-valley-of/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“Yea though I walk through the Valley of Death, I shall fear no evil, for I am the baddest M-F in the valley.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherise-sinclair/yea-though-i-walk-through-the-valley-of-death-i-shall-fear-no-evil/) [Cherise Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherise-sinclair/) ## More by Simon Heffer > [In England, even the poorest of people believe that they have rights; that is very different from what satisfies the poor in other lands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/in-england-even-the-poorest-of-people-believe-that-they-have-rights/) [Simon Heffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/) > [The more a climate can be created in which neither the English nor the Scots are given cause to resent each other, the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/the-more-a-climate-can-be-created-in-which-neither-the-english-nor/) [Simon Heffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/) > [Political genius consists in identifying oneself with a principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/political-genius-consists-in-identifying-oneself-with-a-principle/) [Simon Heffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/) > [Football is not, in my view, a sport: it is somewhere between a business racket and a mental illness. I associate it with all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/football-is-not-in-my-view-a-sport-it-is-somewhere-between-a-business/) [Simon Heffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/) > [If there is writing on Hadrian's Wall, it reads that the English should leave Scotland to its own devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/if-there-is-writing-on-hadrian-s-wall-it-reads-that-the-english/) [Simon Heffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/) > [The IRA sending a message of sympathy to America is like Jack the Ripper giving us a lesson in the sanctity of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/the-ira-sending-a-message-of-sympathy-to-america-is-like-jack-the/) [Simon Heffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/) > [This is, in theory, still a free country, but our politically correct, censorious times are such that many of us tremble to give vent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/this-is-in-theory-still-a-free-country-but-our-politically-correct/) [Simon Heffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/) > [Those Victorians: endlessly fascinating, broad in their learning, heroic in their achievements, in parts completely mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/those-victorians-endlessly-fascinating-broad-in-their-learning-heroic/) [Simon Heffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/) [Explore all 9 Simon Heffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/) ## More Blitz quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) [Brian Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-reade/) > [Yes, I have played a blitz game once. It was on a train, in 1929.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-botvinnik/yes-i-have-played-a-blitz-game-once-it-was-on-a-train-in-1929/) [Mikhail Botvinnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-botvinnik/) > [No true fan wants to go to Comic-Con and get assaulted with a marketing blitz about just any old show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lee/no-true-fan-wants-to-go-to-comic-con-and-get-assaulted-with-a/) [Jim Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lee/) > [Never before and never since have I seen - and I cannot even imagine, such an amazing rapidity of chess thinking that Capablanca possessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-alekhine/never-before-and-never-since-have-i-seen-and-i-cannot-even-imagine/) [Alexander Alekhine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-alekhine/) > [Perfect alchemists I keep who can transmute substances without end, and thus the corner of my garden is an inexhaustible treasure-chest. Here you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/perfect-alchemists-i-keep-who-can-transmute-substances-without-end/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [One substitute for the disappearing Evil Empire (The Soviet Union) has been the threat of drug traffickers from Latin America. In early September 1989,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/one-substitute-for-the-disappearing-evil-empire-the-soviet-union-has/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I think if you go from show to show without doing that big PR blitz it's helpful because people can get pretty sick of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-curtin/i-think-if-you-go-from-show-to-show-without-doing-that-big-pr-blitz/) [Jane Curtin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-curtin/) > [Life is like invading Russia. A blitz start, massed shakos, plumes dancing like a flustered henhouse; a period of svelte progress recorded in ebullient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/life-is-like-invading-russia-a-blitz-start-massed-shakos-plumes/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Live Free or Die Hard may work better for an audience that doesn't know much about the series is than it will for Die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-berardinelli/live-free-or-die-hard-may-work-better-for-an-audience-that-doesn-t/) [James Berardinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-berardinelli/) > [Playing rapid chess, one can lose the habit of concentrating for several hours in serious chess. That is why, if a player has big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-kramnik/playing-rapid-chess-one-can-lose-the-habit-of-concentrating-for/) [Vladimir Kramnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-kramnik/) > [No Blitz, that's oversimplifying it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-cain/no-blitz-that-s-oversimplifying-it/) [Herman Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-cain/) > [But I, you know, if I could choose a period to go back to, I think I would like to live through the Blitz.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/but-i-you-know-if-i-could-choose-a-period-to-go-back-to-i-think-i/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [You have different schemes for different teams. Some teams blitz a lot, and some teams drop eight in coverage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolando-mcclain/you-have-different-schemes-for-different-teams-some-teams-blitz-a-lot/) [Rolando McClain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolando-mcclain/) > [MTV is such a commercial blitz that a lot of our fans would not watch it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-popper/mtv-is-such-a-commercial-blitz-that-a-lot-of-our-fans-would-not-watch/) [John Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-popper/) > [“Smoke curls among the ruins of East London. Many of the buildings have burned to the ground or split like exploded rocks. Small lights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen-theobald/smoke-curls-among-the-ruins-of-east-london-many-of-the-buildings-have/) [John Owen Theobald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen-theobald/) [Browse all 49 Blitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blitz/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of the 664 men who rode into the Valley of Death about 540 eventually got out of it again. By far the highest casualty rate was among the horses. Compared with the Somme or an evening in the Blitz, the Valley of Death was a piece of cake.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Simon Heffer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley-of-death-about-540-eventually/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blitz" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley-of-death-about-540-eventually/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/simon-heffer-45158_blitz_of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley_3042580.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/simon-heffer-45158_blitz_of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley_3042580.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6a/simon-heffer-45158_blitz_of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley_3042580.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of the 664 men who rode into the Valley of Death about 540 eventually got out of it again. By far the…” — Simon Heffer", "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": "Simon Heffer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-heffer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Of the 664 men who rode...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley-of-death-about-540-eventually/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-heffer/of-the-664-men-who-rode-into-the-valley-of-death-about-540-eventually/#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 } } ] } ```