Discworld QOTD, from Jingo “It is a long-cherished tradition among a certain type of military thinker that huge casualties are the main thing. If they are on the other side then this is a valuable bonus.”
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"Deduct your losses from your enemy's losses, and if the result is a positive sum, it was a glorious victory."
aug 27, 2025, 8:21 pm • 3 0 • view
That was the actual UN strategy in the Korean War. After a certain point the goal stopped being "take/hold X" and became "cause more casualties than you take until the enemy decides it's no longer worth it to continue". The troops on the frontlines didn't like that one bit.
aug 28, 2025, 6:43 pm • 1 0 • view
I recently read a book on the first world war, and that was quite clearly presented as the actual thinking among the military. Sir Terry knew his stuff.
aug 27, 2025, 8:24 pm • 3 0 • view
I miss the world that had Terry in it :(
aug 27, 2025, 6:28 pm • 7 0 • view
It's disturbing how accurately this applies to the early Cold War
aug 28, 2025, 6:39 pm • 0 0 • view
oof
aug 27, 2025, 8:26 pm • 0 0 • view
"Over the top, one more time."
aug 27, 2025, 6:36 pm • 2 0 • view
Me playing an RTS be like
aug 28, 2025, 6:40 pm • 0 0 • view
Never underestimate what you can accomplish with a few more seconds being alive.
aug 27, 2025, 6:19 pm • 9 0 • view
Not to get in too deep here, but still the best advice i ever got back when not being alive seemed like the better option.
aug 27, 2025, 6:23 pm • 13 0 • view
Glad you’re here.
aug 27, 2025, 6:26 pm • 7 0 • view
You too. :)
aug 27, 2025, 6:49 pm • 5 0 • view
Gods too. Which is why Lavaelous "Rincer of Winds" got the shaft for avoiding it. The Gods hate a clever man.
aug 27, 2025, 6:21 pm • 4 0 • view
Even though it's not certain that this story is true, I still want to believe it: www.warhistoryonline.com/history/liec...
aug 28, 2025, 6:31 am • 9 0 • view
more wartime experiences should just be hanging out in the alps and making friends
aug 29, 2025, 1:20 am • 5 0 • view
I know that Sir Terry wrote this and more against war in general, but I can't not think of the russian HQ when reading it now😓
aug 27, 2025, 6:20 pm • 5 0 • view
It might not surprise you their attitude towards the conscripts isn't new
aug 27, 2025, 9:13 pm • 3 0 • view
I'm not surprised in the least 😓. The russian military doctrine, dating back to tsardom, was always "they're peasants (serfs), there's always more where they came from". The last few years it's been pretty hard to forget. Also, nice strategy when you're already in a demographic crisis 🤦🏻.
aug 28, 2025, 5:39 am • 1 0 • view
never trust anyone commander who talks too much about glory in the words of Rincewind: “When you hear a man shouting “Forward, brave comrades!” you’ll see he’s the one behind the bloody big rock and wearing the only really arrow-proof helmet!’”
aug 27, 2025, 6:20 pm • 214 14 • view
Also, "Winners never talk about glorious victories. That’s because they’re the ones who see what the battlefield looks like afterward." (Small Gods)
aug 27, 2025, 7:37 pm • 37 2 • view
Let me tell you about Luigi Cordona and the Twelve Battles of Isonzo.
aug 28, 2025, 4:00 am • 1 0 • view
Pink Floyd's "Us and Them" has a similar sentiment: "Forward", he cried from the rear And the front rank died
aug 27, 2025, 7:08 pm • 5 0 • view
Pratchett totally nailing thousands of years of military history in two sentences.
aug 28, 2025, 3:59 am • 7 0 • view