Having lost my two sons and so many officers and men while gaining victory, I am deeply ashamed before His Majesty.
山川草木転荒涼、十里風腥新戦場。征馬不前人不語、金州城外立斜陽。
Military Strategists
Nogi Maresuke
The Japanese general whose siege of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War became synonymous with both the terrible cost of modern warfare and the samurai ideal of duty unto death (1849-1912). Nogi Maresuke's willingness to sacrifice his own sons alongside his soldiers, and his ritual suicide upon the Meiji Emperor's death, made him Japan's most controversial military hero.
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Nogi Maresuke's Other Quotes
Related Quotes
I fight my enemies with swords, not with salt.
-- Uesugi Kenshin
The Empire's fate depends on this battle. Let every man do his utmost duty.
-- Tōgō Heihachirō
Then we shall fight in the shade.
-- Leonidas I
Let the boy win his spurs.
-- Edward, the Black Prince
Audacity, audacity, always audacity!
-- Frederick II of Prussia
If my soldiers were to begin to think, not one of them would remain in the ranks.
-- Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden