Sweat saves blood, blood saves lives, but brains saves both.”
― Erwin Rommel
“Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning. ”
― Erwin Rommel, Rommel: In His Own Words
“In a man-to-man fight, the winner is he who has one more round in his magazine.”
― Erwin Rommel
“Be an example to your men, in your duty and in private life. Never spare yourself, and let the troops see that you don't in your endurance of fatigue and privation. Always be tactful and well-mannered and teach your subordinates to do the same. Avoid excessive sharpness or harshness of voice, which usually indicates the man who has shortcomings of his own to hide.”
― Erwin Rommel
“No plan survives contact with the enemy”
― Erwin Rommel
“I would rather be the hammer than the anvil”
― Erwin Rommel
“Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas.”
― Erwin Rommel
"When there's no clear option, it's better to do nothing.”
― Erwin Rommel
“Winning the men's confidence requires much of a commander. He must exercise care and caution, look after his men, live under the same hardships, and—above all— apply self discipline. But once he has their confidence, his men will follow him through hell and high water.”
― Erwin Rommel, Attacks
“But courage which goes against military expediency is stupidity, or, if it is insisted upon by a commander, irresponsibility.”
― Erwin Rommel, The Rommel Papers
“Loose lips sink ships.”
― Erwin Rommel, Rommel and His Art of War
“It is my experience that bold decisions give the best promise of success. But one must differentiate between [strategic] and tactical boldness and a military gamble. A bold operation is one in which success is not a certainty but which in case of failure leaves one with sufficient forces in hand to cope with whatever situation may arise. A gamble, on the other hand, is an operation which can lead either to victory or to the complete destruction of one's force. Situations can arise where even gamble may be justified - as, for instance, when in the normal course of events defeat is merely a matter of time, when the gaining of time is therefore pointless and the only chance lies in an operation of great risk.”
― Erwin Rommel
“Sturm, Swung, Wucht”
― Erwin Rommel
“The organization of supplies, the command of men, anything in any way constructive requires more than intellect; it requires energy and drive and an unrelenting will to serve the cause, regardless of one's personal interests.”
― Erwin Rommel, The Rommel Papers
“It is often possible to decide the issue of a battle merely by making an unexpected shift of one's main weight.”
― Erwin Rommel, The Rommel Papers
“Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning”
― Erwin Rommel
隆美尔只是生在那个时代，那个体制下，如果生在当时的盟国方或生在现在，也是人杰。在那个罪恶的体制下，要么同流合污，要么被那个体制吞没，他是后者。他一直没有参加纳粹党，他不是纳粹党员。纳粹德国后来实际上面对整个世界的抵抗，所以，个人再杰出，也不可能力挽狂澜。他后来一直试图劝希特勒“有限投降”，打开西线，和英法和解，因为他担心communist的苏联会入侵德国。他的担心是完全正确的，他死后半年，德国就被瓜分，直到1989，代价非常大。
隆美尔最让我感动的是，无论在任何时候任何事情上，他都没有失去人性的光辉。
他刚到北非的时候，虽然绝对不敢自比腓特烈二世，却的确曾经很有汉尼拔的豪情，而汉尼拔，腓特烈二世，都是君主论的粉丝。
这是维基给的名人对该书的“review”：
这本书曾被视为世界上最具影响力与畅销的十大名著之一，与《圣经》、《资本论》等书并列。本书是西方许多君主、领袖学习统治术的经典。相传本书是
“英王查理一世爱不释手；
英国护国公克伦威尔珍藏着它的手稿影本；
法王亨利四世被刺杀时，人们发现他贴身带的，竟然是一部染血的《君主论》；
普鲁士腓特烈大帝----就是腓特烈二世，把它作为自己决策的依据；
路易十四，这位赫赫有名的法国君主，每晚必温习此书，并说：“不读此书不能高枕而眠”；
拿破仑对《君主论》也百读不厌，胜利的联军在清扫滑铁卢战场时，从缴获的拿破仑的御车中，发现了一本他写满批注的《君主论》；
希特勒放在床边经常从中汲取力量；
墨索里尼称之为政治家的指南……”。
墨索里尼就算了，希特勒的猪队友......哦，对了，过去人个子都不高，希特勒最多174吧，丘吉尔只有160，罗斯福坐在轮椅上，只有戴高乐是大个子，出奇得高，而法国人平均是不高的。
