"Perhaps if Hitler had had the wisdom to withdraw his troops and prepare for the defense of his own country, Germany, despite the loss of face this would entail in the losing of all Italy, then the course of the war, if not the outcome, would have been quite different."

“My recollection is that most of the crap coming out of the trial via the media had Meyer condemned even before the trial was over.”

“Command is often not what you do but the way you do it.”

“I wanted people who wouldn't become too worried about casualties. One always should be concerned about casualties, but the risk of incurring casualties can't be allowed to affect decisions, unless it's evident casualties will be prohibitively heavy. There may be no safe way to write this.”

“Among the mouldering bones there was the head of a flaxen haired girl. One side of her face was well preserved, almost mummified. She must have been a beauty. But the other side of her face was all bone and a horrifying sight, not the sort of thing one likes to think about after.”

“The meek are a hell of a long way from inheriting the earth.”

“No one's reputation is quite what he himself perceives it ought to be.”