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Waterloo 1815
- La Garde meurt, mais ne se rend pas.The Guards die but do not surrender.attributed to Cambronne when called upon to surrender at Waterloo, 1815, but later denied by himMerde! [Shit!]’, known in French as the ‘mot de Cambronne’1770–1842 French general: H. Houssaye La Garde meurt et ne se rend pas (1907); an alternative version is that he replied, ‘
- Probably the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton, but the opening battles of all subsequent wars have been lost there.Wellington1903–50 English novelist: The Lion and the Unicorn (1941) pt. 1 ‘England Your England’; see
- Up Guards and at them!1769–1852 British soldier and statesman: letter from an officer in the Guards, 22 June 1815, in The Battle of Waterloo by a Near Observer [J. Booth] (1815); later denied by Wellington
- Hard pounding this, gentlemen; let's see who will pound longest.at the Battle of Waterloo, 18151769–1852 British soldier and statesman: Sir Walter Scott Paul's Letters (1816) Letter 8
- The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.Orwell1769–1852 British soldier and statesman: oral tradition, but probably apocryphal; the earliest reference is a remark said to have been made when revisiting Eton; see