--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As if this wasn’t enough, word spread of…" description: "\"“As if this wasn’t enough, word spread of a new peril. Enemy troops masquerading as refugees were said to be infiltrating the lines. From now on, the o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/walter-lord-25430_military-police_as-if-this-wasn-t-enough-word-spread-of_3217688.jpg" --- # As if this wasn’t enough, word spread of a new peril… ![“As if this wasn’t enough, word spread of a new peril. Enemy troops masquerading as refugees were said to be infiltrating the lines. From now on, the orders ran, all women were to be challenged by rifle. What next? wondered Lance Bombardier Gentry; Germans in drag! Fear of Fifth Columnists spread…” quote by Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/walter-lord-25430_military-police_as-if-this-wasn-t-enough-word-spread-of_3217688.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/walter-lord-25430_military-police_as-if-this-wasn-t-enough-word-spread-of_3217688.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/walter-lord-25430_military-police_as-if-this-wasn-t-enough-word-spread-of_3217688.jpg) > ““As if this wasn’t enough, word spread of a new peril. Enemy troops masquerading as refugees were said to be infiltrating the lines. From now on, the orders ran, all women were to be challenged by rifle. What next? wondered Lance Bombardier Gentry; Germans in drag! Fear of Fifth Columnists spread like an epidemic. Everyone had his favorite story of German paratroopers dressed as priests and nuns. The men of one Royal Signals maintenance unit told how two “monks” visited their quarters just before a heavy bombing attack. Others warned of enemy agents, disguised as Military Police, deliberately misdirecting convoys. There were countless tales of talented “farmers” who cut signs in corn and wheat fields pointing to choice targets. Usually the device was an arrow; sometimes a heart; and in one instance the III Corps fig leaf emblem. The”” [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War hysteria creates rumors of enemy infiltrators disguised as civilians, fueling fear and paranoia. **In simple terms:** People feared hidden enemies among refugees. Key Takeaway Verify information before reacting to rumors. Themes war fear propaganda Mood anxious historical Type military societal When to use this quote - military intelligence - civil defense - public communication Key Concepts psychology of fear enemy identification information warfare Questions to Reflect On - How does fear shape wartime narratives? - What safeguards prevent false accusations? A Different Perspective Rumors can lead to harmful actions against innocents. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disguised Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disguised-military-6037080/) [Enemy Agents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-agents-2150563/) [Enemy Troops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-troops-2033489/) [Military police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-police/) [Troops Masquerading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troops-masquerading-6037082/) [Warned Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warned-enemy-6037081/) ## Related quotes > [It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-essential-to-seek-out-enemy-agents-who-have-come-to-conduct/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-skillful-leader-subdues-the-enemy-s-troops-without-any-fighting-2/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce. If the enemy's troops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/when-envoys-are-sent-with-compliments-in-their-mouths-it-is-a-sign-2/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“Men, the enemy troops you can see are all that stands between us and the place we have for so long been determined to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xenophon/men-the-enemy-troops-you-can-see-are-all-that-stands-between-us-and/) [Xenophon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xenophon/) > [The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-skillful-leader-subdues-the-enemy-s-troops-without-any-fighting/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“The commander knows the troops" applies everywhere in fights in my Way of strategy. Using the wisdom of strategy, think of the enemy as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-commander-knows-the-troops-applies-everywhere-in-fights-in-my-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Untrained minds have always been a nuisance to the military police of orthodoxy. God-intoxicated mystics and untidy saints with only a white blaze of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/untrained-minds-have-always-been-a-nuisance-to-the-military-police-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [That policy was abandoned very quickly, and the military police were tagged with the responsibility of conducting training, which they did. We were not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-karpinski/that-policy-was-abandoned-very-quickly-and-the-military-police-were/) [Janis Karpinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-karpinski/) > [There was a military police brigade with over 3,400 soldiers getting ready to go home because their mission - prisoner-of-war operations - was finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-karpinski/there-was-a-military-police-brigade-with-over-3-400-soldiers-getting/) [Janis Karpinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-karpinski/) > [“Thirteen million Negroes in America have never known three of the “Four Freedoms” which America is supposedly spreading to the rest of the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-m-ward/thirteen-million-negroes-in-america-have-never-known-three-of-the/) [Stephen M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-m-ward/) > [Democracy and dependence on the military and police are incompatible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/democracy-and-dependence-on-the-military-and-police-are-incompatible/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“the hinder portion scalding-house good eating Curve B in addition to the usual baths and ablutions military police sumptuousness of the washhouse risking misstatements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/the-hinder-portion-scalding-house-good-eating-curve-b-in-addition-to/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [The war was declared over - the end of major combat operations - in May 2003. Release procedures got under way immediately; reducing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-karpinski/the-war-was-declared-over-the-end-of-major-combat-operations-in-may/) [Janis Karpinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-karpinski/) > [“The die was cast. It was a proud day for the Milligan family as I was taken from the house. "I'm too young to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-milligan/the-die-was-cast-it-was-a-proud-day-for-the-milligan-family-as-i-was/) [Spike Milligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-milligan/) > [“The second tunnel’s a Ministry of Defence tunnel...dug for a nuclear bomb shelter. The entrance is in the garden center at Woolworth’s in Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-second-tunnel-s-a-ministry-of-defence-tunnel-dug-for-a-nuclear/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More by Walter Lord > [“Seen and unseen, the great and the unknown tumbled together in a writhing heap as the bow plunged deeper and the stern rose higher.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/seen-and-unseen-the-great-and-the-unknown-tumbled-together-in-a/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [“Robertson called his ship the Titan; the White Star Line called its ship the Titanic. This is the story of her last night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/robertson-called-his-ship-the-titan-the-white-star-line-called-its/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [“It is a rash man indeed who would set himself up as final arbiter on all that happened the incredible night the Titanic went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/it-is-a-rash-man-indeed-who-would-set-himself-up-as-final-arbiter-on/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [“Before the Titanic, all was quiet. Afterward all was tumult. That is why, to anybody who lived at the time, the Titanic more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/before-the-titanic-all-was-quiet-afterward-all-was-tumult-that-is-why/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [It would be nice to say the rich people, the fancy people, all behaved like bastards and the poor slobs all came through like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/it-would-be-nice-to-say-the-rich-people-the-fancy-people-all-behaved/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [“The night was a magnificent confirmation of "women and children first," yet somehow the loss rate was higher for Third Class children than First…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/the-night-was-a-magnificent-confirmation-of-women-and-children-first/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [Someone once told me the one thread that runs through them all is a premium on personal courage - not intellectual courage, but just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/someone-once-told-me-the-one-thread-that-runs-through-them-all-is-a/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [The ones that measure up are not always the ones you expect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/the-ones-that-measure-up-are-not-always-the-ones-you-expect/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [“Gentry crept out. There, stuck in the slime a few feet away, was a huge unexploded bomb. It was about the size of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/gentry-crept-out-there-stuck-in-the-slime-a-few-feet-away-was-a-huge/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [You have to study the people and the ones that measure up are not always the ones you expect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/you-have-to-study-the-people-and-the-ones-that-measure-up-are-not/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [Brilliantly lit from stem to stern, she looked like a sagging birthday cake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/brilliantly-lit-from-stem-to-stern-she-looked-like-a-sagging-birthday/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [“This was the era when gentlemen formally offered their services to "unprotected ladies" at the start of an Atlantic voyage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/this-was-the-era-when-gentlemen-formally-offered-their-services-to/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [It's a funny thing, but today the Titanic is probably much more - that is people are much more aware of it than they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/it-s-a-funny-thing-but-today-the-titanic-is-probably-much-more-that/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [“Overriding everything else, the Titanic also marked the end of a general feeling of confidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/overriding-everything-else-the-titanic-also-marked-the-end-of-a/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) > [There were exceptions, a couple of families that just plain didn't want to even think about it, although forty years had passed but mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lord/there-were-exceptions-a-couple-of-families-that-just-plain-didn-t/) [Walter Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) [Explore all 23 Walter Lord quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lord/) ## More Military police quotes > [“The second tunnel’s a Ministry of Defence tunnel...dug for a nuclear bomb shelter. The entrance is in the garden center at Woolworth’s in Great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/the-second-tunnel-s-a-ministry-of-defence-tunnel-dug-for-a-nuclear/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“The die was cast. It was a proud day for the Milligan family as I was taken from the house. "I'm too young to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-milligan/the-die-was-cast-it-was-a-proud-day-for-the-milligan-family-as-i-was/) [Spike Milligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-milligan/) > [The war was declared over - the end of major combat operations - in May 2003. Release procedures got under way immediately; reducing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-karpinski/the-war-was-declared-over-the-end-of-major-combat-operations-in-may/) [Janis Karpinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-karpinski/) > [“the hinder portion scalding-house good eating Curve B in addition to the usual baths and ablutions military police sumptuousness of the washhouse risking misstatements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/the-hinder-portion-scalding-house-good-eating-curve-b-in-addition-to/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [Democracy and dependence on the military and police are incompatible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/democracy-and-dependence-on-the-military-and-police-are-incompatible/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“Thirteen million Negroes in America have never known three of the “Four Freedoms” which America is supposedly spreading to the rest of the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-m-ward/thirteen-million-negroes-in-america-have-never-known-three-of-the/) [Stephen M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-m-ward/) > [There was a military police brigade with over 3,400 soldiers getting ready to go home because their mission - prisoner-of-war operations - was finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-karpinski/there-was-a-military-police-brigade-with-over-3-400-soldiers-getting/) [Janis Karpinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-karpinski/) > [That policy was abandoned very quickly, and the military police were tagged with the responsibility of conducting training, which they did. We were not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-karpinski/that-policy-was-abandoned-very-quickly-and-the-military-police-were/) [Janis Karpinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-karpinski/) > [Untrained minds have always been a nuisance to the military police of orthodoxy. God-intoxicated mystics and untidy saints with only a white blaze of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/untrained-minds-have-always-been-a-nuisance-to-the-military-police-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I don't think there's any reason on Earth why people should have access to automatic and semiautomatic weapons unless they're in the military or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-howard/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-reason-on-earth-why-people-should-have/) [John Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-howard/) > [Our military, police forces, fire fighters ... those are the real Hall of Famers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hanburger/our-military-police-forces-fire-fighters-those-are-the-real-hall-of/) [Chris Hanburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hanburger/) > [“On my next weekend without the kids I went to Nashville to visit her. We had a great weekend. On Monday morning she kissed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-galloway/on-my-next-weekend-without-the-kids-i-went-to-nashville-to-visit-her/) [Noah Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-galloway/) > [“People spoke to foreigners with an averted gaze, and everybody seemed to know somebody who had just vanished. The rumors of what had happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/people-spoke-to-foreigners-with-an-averted-gaze-and-everybody-seemed/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [We knew that if the photos of CIA officers conducting authorized EIT (enhanced interrogation techniques) ever got out, the difference between a legal, authorized,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-a-rodriguez-jr/we-knew-that-if-the-photos-of-cia-officers-conducting-authorized-eit/) [Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-a-rodriguez-jr/) > [Military police know what to do, they know the Geneva Conventions, and their objective is to provide a safe, secure, fair environment for prisoners…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-karpinski/military-police-know-what-to-do-they-know-the-geneva-conventions-and/) [Janis Karpinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-karpinski/) [Browse all 24 Military police quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-police/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As if this wasn’t enough, word spread of a new peril. Enemy troops masquerading as refugees were said to be infiltrating the lines. From now on, the orders ran, all women were to be challenged by rifle. What next? wondered Lance Bombardier Gentry; Germans in drag! Fear of Fifth Columnists spread like an epidemic. Everyone had his favorite story of German paratroopers dressed as priests and nuns. The men of one Royal Signals maintenance unit told how two “monks” visited their quarters just before a heavy bombing attack. Others warned of enemy agents, disguised as Military Police, deliberately misdirecting convoys. There were countless tales of talented “farmers” who cut signs in corn and wheat fields pointing to choice targets. Usually the device was an arrow; sometimes a heart; and in one instance the III Corps fig leaf emblem. 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