Though it is worthy of complaint that Patton is too often quoted, I still enjoy his ostentatious style and absolute mastery of logistics. Here are some favorites:
“Audacity, audacity, always audacity.”
“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”
“A piece of spaghetti or a military unit can only be led from the front end.”
“All very successful commanders are prima donnas and must be so treated.”
“I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.”
“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.”
“The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.”
“Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.”
On instructions to reconnaissance troops, “Just drive down the road, until you get blown up.”
Patton in WWI
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The audacity quote originally comes from the French revolutionary Danton. Lenin referred to it in the context of preparing and training the Bolsheviks in the art of insurrection.
Thank you for the clarification.