#WednesdayWisdom
Hard-won wisdom

"You have to inspire them when they are hungry and exhausted and desperately uncomfortable and in great danger;

and only a man of positivie characteristics of leadership, with the physical stamina that goes with it, can function under those conditions." Testimony before Senate Military Affairs Committee April 8, 1940

"The rainfall was unusually heavy and the ground became soaked like a wet sponge.
When we were not cursed with mud, we were frozen with the cold."

"The ground was frequently deep in snow and a chill wind seemed to blow continuously down the valley in which the division was located.
The country was covered ·with snow and ice.
All will remember the extreme severity of this particular winter."

"The suffering of the men at this time exceeded any previous or subsequent experience. They frequently stood up to their knees in mud, snow, and ice water for hours at a time."

"The officers labored to reduce the discomforts and hardships of their men, but many of them lacked the experience which is necessary to overcome such great difficulties."

#WWI photos from the new Irwin Patton Graham, Sr., Collection. Graham was one of the original Signal Corps photographers.
#WWI quotes from Marshall's memoir, Memoirs of my Services in the World War: https://www.marshallfoundation.org/marshall/memoirs-of-my-services-in-the-world-war-1917-1918/

#MarshallFoundationLibrary