One of the things that has always stuck in my mind from the movie Patton is the bit of the opening speech where George C. Scott, as Patton, tells his soldiers “We're going to hold onto him by the nose, and we're gonna kick him in the ass.” This is very much what Ukraine is doing at this time both strategically, in tying Russian troops down around Kherson while executing the Kharkiv counteroffensive, and tactically, by fixing Lyman’s occupiers in place while cutting their supply lines.
What is the full context of the quote? (at 4:25 in the following clip)
Now, there's another thing I want you to remember. I don't want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We're not holding anything. Let the Hun do that. We are advancing constantly and we're not interested in holding onto anything -- except the enemy. We're going to hold onto him by the nose, and we're gonna kick him in the ass. We're gonna kick the hell out of him all the time, and we're gonna go through him like crap through a goose!
Did Patton ever say anything like that? Yes and no. In his “Letter of Instruction” dated April 3, 1944, he advises: “Catch the enemy by the nose with fire and kick him in the pants with fire emplaced through movement.”
The opening speech of the movie is based upon an actual address to the soldiers in his command on May 31, 1944, which was edited for both for length, and to remove the most colorful language. en.wikipedia.org/... The corresponding part of Patton’s actual speech was:
“I don't want any messages saying 'I'm holding my position.' We're not holding a goddamned thing. We're advancing constantly and we're not interested in holding anything except the enemy's balls. We're going to hold him by his balls and we're going to kick him in the ass; twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all the time. Our plan of operation is to advance and keep on advancing. We're going to go through the enemy like shit through a tinhorn.”
Keep on Twisting, Ukraine. . .