Skip to content
quotesby

I don't want to get any messages saying, 'I am holding my position.' We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time. Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose; like shit through a tin horn!

George S. Patton#25

MilitaryOffenseMovementPerseverancePressureProgress

About this quote

What does it mean?
Advance constantly and never hold a position; only the enemy should be held.
In plain terms
Never stop advancing; keep pushing forward.
What can you take from it?
Maintain constant momentum and advance.

Where it applies

  • military campaigns
  • business growth
  • negotiations

Putting it to work

  • avoid stagnation
  • focus on enemy
  • drive forward

Questions to consider

  • Where have I stopped advancing?
  • What is stopping my momentum?

Another view

Holding ground is sometimes necessary to consolidate gains.

More from George S. Patton

  1. When a man is lying in a shell hole, if he just stays there all day, a German will get to him eventually. The hell with that idea. The hell with taking it. My …

    Permalink to quote #24
  2. From time to time there will be some complaints that we are pushing our people too hard. I don't give a good Goddamn about such complaints. I believe in the ol…

    Permalink to quote #26
  3. Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipp…

    Permalink to quote #23

Related quotes

  1. Give a soldier an anvil, just a hunk of metal, and drive him out into the desert and leave him. In two weeks - when you go to get him, the anvil will be broken.

    Creighton AbramsCreighton Abrams quote #2
  2. The modern proletarian class doesn't carry out its struggle according to a plan set out in some book or theory; the modern workers' struggle is a part of histo…

    Rosa LuxemburgRosa Luxemburg quote #2
  3. Some men a forward motion love, But I by backward steps would move.

    Henry VaughanHenry Vaughan quote #5