50 Battle Quotes for Courage and Strength

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published May 13, 2023

As the title shows, this article will offer you the best battle quotes.

Apart from our quotes section, we have also discussed the different aspects associated with battles.

So, without any delay, let’s dive in!

Some Words About Battle

Throughout human history, battles have played a significant role in shaping the history of different civilizations.

Some of the consequences of such battles were significant enough that we can still feel them in our culture, language, and living style.

Battles took place on sea, land, and in the air.

Initially, battles were fought with primitive weapons like swords and arrows.

Later on, with the development of weaponry, advanced weapons like guns, tanks, and fighter planes were introduced to the battles.

Historic Battles

A few of the most important battles that were fought in history include:

The Battle of Thermopylae
The Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Thermopylae

This battle was fought in 480 BC between the Persians and the Greeks.

The battle started with a small Greek force under the leadership of King Leonidas.

His army kept hold of the mighty Persian army for at least three days.

Hence, the Thermopylae battle is a sign of determination and a symbol of bravery.

The Battle of Waterloo

It was fought in 1815 and is called the final battle of the Napoleonic Wars.

In this battle, Napoleon Bonaparte faced a defeat at the hands of different European countries under the leadership of the Duke of Wellington.

The significance of this battle relates to the fact that it ended Napoleon’s rule.

As a result, the political landscape was reshaped forever.

The Battle of Stalingrad

This battle was fought between 1942-1943.

It served as a turning point for World War II and marked the defeat of the German army at the hands of the Soviet Union.

With over 2 million casualties, this battle of Stalingrad is considered one of the bloodiest battles in history.

Battles in the Modern Time

Modern battles involve the use of high-tech and advanced technologies like drones, missiles, and the latest weaponry.

In the modern era, battles are also fought between the forces and different terrorist organizations.

Battles like these involve:

Military operations
Intelligence gathering
Diplomatic efforts etc.

The Significance of Battles

Battles cast a historical and cultural impact on the nations.

A battle also serves as a symbol of sacrifice, courage, and resilience.

Besides, there is also a practical significance, which determines the course of history for the countries.

Top 10 Battle Quotes

Let’s start with the top 10 battle quotes.

1. “The battle of getting better is never ending.” — Antonio Brown

2. “Old age isn’t a battle; old age is a massacre.” — Philip Roth

3. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” — Philo

4. “Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country.” — Marquis de Lafayette

5. “Don’t fight a battle if you don’t gain anything by winning.” — Erwin Rommel

6. “In the game of life, survival is only part of the battle.” — Gad Saad

7. “France has lost the battle, but she has not lost the war.” — Charles de Gaulle

8. “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” — Margaret Thatcher

9. “The battle of Austerlitz is the grandest of all I have fought.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

10. “Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.” — Duke of Wellington

Thought-Provoking Battle Quotes

Let’s check out some battle quotes with wise and thought-provoking messages.

11. “In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

12. “Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle; love is a war; love is a growing up.” — James Baldwin

13. “In every battle, there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.” — Ulysses S. Grant

14. “He that fights and runs away, May turn and fight another day; But he that is in battle slain, Will never rise to fight again.” — Tacitus

15. “To become ‘unique,’ the challenge is to fight the hardest battle which anyone can imagine until you reach your destination.” — A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

16. “The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.” — Sun Tzu

17. “Happiness is dependent on self-discipline. We are the biggest obstacles to our own happiness. It is much easier to do battle with society and with others than to fight our own nature.” — Dennis Prager

18. “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.” — E.Cummings

19. “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.” — Vince Lombardi

20. “Men want a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue. That is what is written in their hearts. That is what little boys play at. That is what men’s movies are about. You just see it. It is undeniable.” — John Eldredge

Battle Quotes With Lessons

Below are the battle quotes with important life lessons.

21. “It’s a never-ending battle of making your cars better and also trying to be better yourself.” — Dale Earnhardt

22. “A leader who doesn’t hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.” — Golda Meir

23. “The only thing that makes battle psychologically tolerable is the brotherhood among soldiers. You need each other to get by.” — Sebastian Junger

24. “Being mentally tough is having to battle those demons and push yourself out of your comfort zone and force yourself to be the person that your mind is telling you you aren’t.” — Michael Chiesa

25. “Money is my military, each dollar a soldier. I never send my money into battle unprepared and undefended. I send it to conquer and take currency prisoner and bring it back to me.” — Kevin O’Leary

26. “Every soldier must know, before he goes into battle, how the little battle he is to fight fits into the larger picture, and how the success of his fighting will influence the battle as a whole.” — Bernard Law Montgomery

27. “I cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice, but I can do something else – I can give my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.” — Queen Elizabeth II

28. “The whole course of human history may depend on a change of heart in one solitary and even humble individual – for it is in the solitary mind and soul of the individual that the battle between good and evil is waged and ultimately won or lost.” — M. Scott Peck

29. “The battle of life is, in most cases, fought uphill, and to win it without a struggle was perhaps to win it without honor. If there were no difficulties, there would be no success; if there were nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved.” — Samuel Smiles

30. “I think history repeats itself. There’s a constant conversation between the oppressed and the oppressor. No matter what your field is, whether it’s gender equality, the Time’s Up movement, or diversity casting, it’s always going to be a back-and-forth battle.” — Michael B. Jordan

Sad Battle Quotes

Feel the heartache of war with these emotional battle quotes that show the human side of fighting.

31. “Life – the way it really is – is a battle not between Bad and Good but between Bad and Worse.” — Joseph Brodsky

32. “The whole life of an American is passed like a game of chance, a revolutionary crisis, or a battle.” — Alexis de Tocqueville

33. “For, in the end, freedom is a personal and lonely battle; and one faces down fears of today so that those of tomorrow might be engaged.” — Alice Walker

34. “No one has been barred on account of his race from fighting or dying for America; there are no white or colored signs on the foxholes or graveyards of battle.” — John F. Kennedy

35. “Most of us aren’t defeated in one decisive battle. We are defeated one tiny, seemingly insignificant surrender at a time that chips away at who we should really be.” — Jocko Willink

36. “When a battle for suffrage is conducted, it should only be conducted according to socialist principles, and therefore with the demand of universal suffrage for women and men.” — Clara Zetkin

37. “We view ourselves on the eve of battle. We are nervous about the conquest and must conquer or perish. It is vain to look for present aid: None is at hand. We must now act or abandon all hope!” — Sam Houston

38. “When I was a boy, the Sioux owned the world. The sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to battle. Where are the warriors today? Who slew them? Where are our lands? Who owns them?” — Sitting Bull

39. “It requires greater courage to preserve inner freedom, to move on in one’s inward journey into new realms than to stand defiantly for outer freedom. It is often easier to play the martyr as it is to be rash in battle.” — Rollo May

40. “Classical tragedy was the war between good and evil. We wanted evil to be defeated and good to be victorious. But the battle in modern tragedy is between good and good. And no matter which side wins, we’ll still be heartbroken.” — Asghar Farhadi

More Battle Quotes

Here are some more great battle quotes that inspire and motivate you to fight with courage and determination.

41. “Courage in danger is half the battle.” — Plautus

42. “A battle won is a battle which we will not acknowledge to be lost.” — Ferdinand Foch

43. “I would be willing, yes glad, to see a battle every day during my life.” — George Armstrong Custer

44. “War is a quarrel between two thieves too cowardly to fight their own battle.” — Thomas Carlyle

45. “Whenever in future wars the battle is fought, armored troops will play the decisive role.” — Heinz Guderian

46. “Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein

47. “I have won many trophies in my time, but nothing will ever top helping win the battle for peace in my country.” — Didier Drogba

48. “An election is a moral horror, as bad as a battle except for the blood; a mud bath for every soul concerned in it.” — George Bernard Shaw

49. “A critic is someone who never actually goes to the battle, yet who afterward comes out shooting the wounded.” — Tyne Daly

50. “What is at a peak is certain to decline. He who shows his hand will surely be defeated. He who can prevail in battle by taking advantage of his enemy’s doubts is invincible.” — Cao Cao