It's said great adversity breeds great men
and women, and sometimes those great men and women have the perfect response to the most
overwhelming odds. Today we're going to take a look at some of
those great quips from throughout history in this episode of The Infographics Show-
Most Badass Quotes in History 5. “There seems to be something wrong with
our bloody ships today.” - British Royal Fleet Vice-Admiral David Beatty,
1916 The battle of Jutland in World War I was the
greatest naval battle of the conflict, and the only time that Germany and Britain's full
force of battleships would square off against one another in an all-out brawl for survival. Though Britain remained the world's preeminent
naval power, Germany was a close competitor- but even their newly minted fleet wasn't quite
enough to take on the British on equal footing, and the Germans knew it. Seeking to lure out Britain's fleet into a
surprise and decisive engagement, the Germans dispatched a portion of their High Seas fleet
into the North Sea, while keeping their main fleet in reserve. When the British discovered a group of German
battlecruisers they assumed were trying to break out of the North Sea to interdict allied
shipping in the Atlantic, the bulk of the British fleet gave pursuit. The German battlecruisers turned tail and
ran, seemingly fleeing from the engagement- only to run straight for the waiting covering
fire of the main German fleet. Despite an initial and overwhelming advantage,
two of Vice-Admiral David Beatty's battlecruisers were almost immediately struck, disabled,
and very quickly sunk, while the British fleet failed to land any significant hits on enemy
ships. Dismayed at the loss of over two thousand
men in a matter of minutes and the ineffectiveness of the rest of his fleet against the German
ships, Admiral Beatty nonetheless embodied the British spirit of keeping a stiff upper
lip in the face of disaster by simply commenting, “There seems to be something wrong with
our bloody ships today.” The Battle of Jutland would end up costing
the British nearly twice as many casualties as the Germans, but was nonetheless a tactical
victory which prevented the German fleet from breaking out of the North Sea and threatening
Britain's vulnerable and critical supply lines. For the rest of the war the German fleet would
see little action, mostly remaining at port for fear of destruction at the hands of the
superior British fleet. 4. “We will shoot twice and go home.” - Swiss militiaman, pre-WWI Prior to the outbreak of hostilities that
would lead to the first world war, the German Kaiser was invited by the Swiss government
for a diplomatic visit. During said visit the Swiss brought the Kaiser
to observe military maneuvers, because in the first half of the 20th century nothing
got a German more excited than watching a bunch of soldiers practice war. The Kaiser had a high respect for neutral
Switzerland- a neutrality enforced not just by the incredibly difficult terrain that any
invading army would face, but by the fact that every Swiss man was known to own a rifle
and receive military training. Though their standing military was small in
number, the Swiss could count on a huge civilian militia that featured very skilled sharpshooters. Invading Switzerland would be a costly affair
for even the most powerful armies in Europe- something that the Kaiser may have briefly
forgotten as during the maneuvers he commented on the fine performance of the men to a Swiss
militiaman, but then asked, “You are 500,000 and you shoot well, but if we attack with
1,000,000 men what will you do?” The Swiss militiaman shrugged his shoulders
and simply commented, “We will shoot twice and go home.” 3. “We have been looking for the enemy for
some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things.” - US Marine Corps Colonel Chesty Puller, 1950 With North Korean forces rocked back on their
heels by the brutal assault of UN forces led by the US, China's Mao Zedong quickly mobilized
the Chinese army and ordered it into North Korea to fight off the UN spearhead. Warned by military intelligence that the Chinese
had amassed a force of 120,000 and were staging for a counterattack, the US responded by sending
the US X (Tenth) Corps to scout out the Chinese force and engage it. Trapped and encircled by 120,000 Chinese infantry
in the Chosin Reservoir, US and UN Forces made up of South Korean and British soldiers
fought off the Chinese attempt to destroy the beleaguered defenders. Surrounded by overwhelming numbers US Marine
Corps Colonel Chesty Puller prepared his men for battle by telling them simply, “We have
been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things.” The UN forced would go on to successfully
break free of the Chinese encirclement, inflicting a staggering 19,000 casualties while suffering
1,000 themselves. However the commitment of hundreds of thousands
of Chinese troops to the conflict forced UN forces to retreat, and eventually broker a
cease fire that lasts to this day. 2. “We'll start the war from right here!” United States Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt
II The Roosevelt family has long had a monopoly
on American bad-assery, starting with American President Theodore Roosevelt, who was once
shot in the chest during a campaign rally and decided it would be rude to waste the
good people's time who had shown up to watch him speak, and so decided to simply continue. And when that's your father, you know from
birth that you have one hell of a legacy to live up to. Yet Theodore Roosevelt Jr., eldest son of
the late American president, proved in spades that he was equal to his legendary father. Wounded during World War I, and at the ripe
old age of 56 with a heart condition he kept a secret from the military and arthritis that
forced him to use a cane, Roosevelt was nonetheless adamant about being on the first wave of landings
at D-Day. He repeatedly asked to be allowed to join
the first assault wave, though his superiors continually shot his request down citing no
need for a General to be a part of the initial wave. After a handwritten petition to Major General
Raymond Barton, in which he said that he believed it would steady the men to see him with them,
his request was finally approved, though none expected he would come back alive. One of the first men off his landing craft
and equipped with nothing more than a pistol and a walking cane, Roosevelt was quickly
informed that his craft had drifted south of the objective by over a mile. Ordering his men to stay put, Roosevelt then
personally reconnoitered the area around him on foot, and returned to tell his men that
rather than try to fight their way to their assigned positions, instead, “We'll start
the war from right here!”. Roosevelt's impromptu plan worked with great
success, securing a beachhead for follow-on forces and pushing the Germans back far enough
to let incoming US and British forces safely land. Ignoring incoming enemy fire and personally
greeting each arriving landing craft, Roosevelt met the men being offloaded with anecdotes
about his famous father, poetry, and even jokes to steady their nerves and calm them. Immune to the machine gun fire and bombs of
the Nazis, and with a beachhead successfully established and Allied forces pouring in to
liberate Europe, Teddy Roosevelt Jr. decided his job was done, and allowed death to finally
take him by suffering a heart attack a month after the D-Day landings. Years after the war, General of the Army Omar
Nelson Bradley was asked what the most heroic action he had ever seen in combat was, to
which he replied, “Ted Roosevelt on Utah beach.” 1. “Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether
you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill
a bull moose.” US President Theodore Roosevelt, 1912. At number one spot is the original American
bad ass, US President Theodore Roosevelt. Campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October
14th, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was about to enter an auditorium when the mentally deranged
John Schrank shot him in the chest. The bullet slowed by Roosevelt's folded up
speech notes, it had still managed to lodge itself in his chest,-which was very inconveniently
ruining a fine new suit with blood, in Roosevelt's opinion. As the angry mob wrestled the shooter to the
ground, Roosevelt called out and ordered the mob not to hurt Schrank and allow the police
to arrest him, and then despite protests that he should rush to the hospital, Roosevelt
decided he'd simply give his speech as planned instead. Roosevelt began his speech by saying, “Friends,
I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand
that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a bull moose.” Then he went on to say that he would not be
able to make a very long speech, but that he would try his best. And Roosevelt's best apparently was an incredible
84 minute speech, during which he declared the need for America to stand up for the poor
working man, protect labor unions, and break up big monopolies. What's the most bad ass quote you've ever
heard of? Want to hear more of history's most bad ass
quotes? Also, make sure you check out our other video
Why Living On A Submarine Sucks. As always, don’t forget to like, share and
subscribe. See you next time!
