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Sermon Illustrations: Warfare

A man was asked this question in training for Vietnam. "Are you prepared to kill?" When he got there he realised the question should have been, "Are you prepared to die?"

In WW2 when there was meat rationing, they used to say that you had to be careful when you wrapped your meat in the bus ticket lest it fall through the hole.

A good general will penetrate the brain of his enemy. Victor Hugo

In ancient warfare, the enemy would often shoot flaming missiles into a city to distract the inhabitants.

In over 3000 years of recorded history, the world has been at peace in only 8% of that time.¹ Between 1945 and 1988, about 20 million people died in 91 wars.¹

As one Austrian military expert remarked in his analysis of Helmuth von Moltke's three short and victorious wars, "Prussia has conclusively demonstrated that the strength of an armed force derives from its readiness ... A ready army is twice as powerful as a half-ready one.²

Napoleon had observed that the most important characteristic of a great commander is calm ... But this tranquillity must be accurately transmitted to his subordinate commanders, so that it is not mistaken for denial, inertia, or incomprehension.³

1 Llewellyn, Tony If God Is A God Of Love p34
2 Mosier, John Grant p77 citing Field Marshall Heinrich Hess as quoted in The Franco-Prussian War by Geoffrey Wawro
3 Mosier, John Grant p95