The Germans may take Paris, but that will not prevent me from going on with the war. We will fight on the Loire, we will fight on the Garronne, we will fight even in the Pyrenees. And if at last we are driven off the Pyrenees, we will continue the war at sea.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Clemenceau declares that French resistance will continue regardless of territory lost, even moving to the sea.
- In plain terms
- No matter where we are pushed back, we will keep fighting.
- What can you take from it?
- Determination to resist outweighs territorial losses.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What is worth dying for?
- When do you stop fighting?
Another view
This stance ignores the practical costs of total war.
More from Georges Clemenceau
America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.
Permalink to quote #10 Mr. Wilson bores me with his Fourteen Points; why, God Almighty has only Ten!
Permalink to quote #12 My son is 22 years old. If he had not become a Communist at 22, I would have disowned him. If he is still a Communist at 30, I will do it then.
Permalink to quote #9
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