NationStates Jolt Archive

I just finished watching "The 300 Spartans". A couple weeks ago, I watched "The Battle of the Bulge". Both are corny war movies about heroic warriors outnumbered by superior forces.

General McAuliffe, the commander of the U.S. troops, replied "Nuts!" when unconditional surrender was demanded. That translates roughly to "Go to Hell".

The commander of the Spartan troops, King Leonidas issued his famous reply, "Come and get them", when his weapons were demanded by the Persians.

Anyone know of any other short refusals that don't get covered in American public schools?

General McAuliffe, the commander of the U.S. troops, replied "Nuts!" when unconditional surrender was demanded. That translates roughly to "Go to Hell".


I've always loved that quote .. zing !

Heh. Only the coward surrenders.

*Has gun pointed at him*

I SURRENDER!

"Today is a good day to die" :p I think it's by Geronimo.

Lt.Worf says it best in Star Trek First Contact.

Oh yes I just remembered... I saw a film the other day where a guy called on some other guy to surrender. his reply was "Why should I surrender when I've already won?"

Before impailing him with the front of a truck.

"Today is a good day to die" :p I think it's by Geronimo.

Lt.Worf says it best in Star Trek First Contact.

"Assimilate this!"

"Vér mótmælum".
Icelandic Patriot, our greatest hero, Jón Sigurðsson said this to the tyrant danes in the 19th Century when they demanded that we stop all efforts to form a republic.
They were so afraid of us that the king of denmark actually sent danish soldiers to Iceland with the danish delegates to protect them.
They didn't come again.

"Vér mótmælum"..

What does that translates to?

"Vér mótmælum".
Icelandic Patriot, our greatest hero, Jón Sigurðsson said this to the tyrant danes in the 19th Century when they demanded that we stop all efforts to form a republic.
They were so afraid of us that the king of denmark actually sent danish soldiers to Iceland with the danish delegates to protect them.
They didn't come again.

How does that translate to English?

-- Added
One of the babblefish translators gives "We Protest" as a translation. I think it might be a little stronger than that. Or, Mr. Sigurðsson had quite an army backing him up. Either way, it certainly did the trick.

"I have not yet begun to fight" by John Paul Jones

"On September 23, 1779, Jones fought one of the bloodiest engagements in naval history. Jones struggled with the 44-gun Royal Navy frigate Serapis, and although his own vessel was burning and sinking, Jones would not accept the British demand for surrender, replying, “I have not yet begun to fight.” More than three hours later, Serapis surrendered and Jones took command."

Best way I know how!

I'd just say shoot 'em. That's a good way to refuse to surrender.

Or my favourite quote: "Surrender is not in my vocabulary but I'll put it in yours."

Or if I come back and beat the crap out of you, I'd play back the surrender demand, point a gun at him and go, "You were saying?"

Grab a nuke and wave it around in the air, shouting "no thanks, I think I'd rather throw a thermonuclear warhead at you", then drop it on your foot by accident and destroy both sides...

Hey, you never asked for sensible refusals :p.

General McAuliffe, the commander of the U.S. troops, replied "Nuts!" when unconditional surrender was demanded. That translates roughly to "Go to Hell".
Sure he wasn't just asking for some Planter's?

I just finished watching "The 300 Spartans". A couple weeks ago, I watched "The Battle of the Bulge". Both are corny war movies about heroic warriors outnumbered by superior forces.

General McAuliffe, the commander of the U.S. troops, replied "Nuts!" when unconditional surrender was demanded. That translates roughly to "Go to Hell".

The commander of the Spartan troops, King Leonidas issued his famous reply, "Come and get them", when his weapons were demanded by the Persians.

Anyone know of any other short refusals that don't get covered in American public schools?

At Waterloo, Cambronne replied "Merde!" (that would be "fuck off" in today's standards) to some englishman who said "Surrender, brave french!".
He fully applied the philosophy behind his other saying, "La garde meurt et ne se rend pas". (the guard dies but does not surrender)

What about in "A Bridge Too Far" when the Germans say "Our commander would like to discuss unconditional surrender with the British commander" (meaning the British surrender) and the British reply "No thanks, we'd like to, but I don't think we have the facilities to accept ALL of your troops surrendering. Sorry!"

I've always thought that sending piece of the messenger back was good. Also, complete silence right up until the moment you spring your ambush works pretty well too.

"Today is a good day to die" :p I think it's by Geronimo.

Lt.Worf says it best in Star Trek First Contact.
I prefer the Dwarven quote:
"Today is a good day to make somebody else die!"
Or, how about:
"Nay, you shall not buy our loyalty for one sack of gold, we shall require two, three, nay, MANY sacks of gold before you join you."
Not really a surrender quote, more of a bribery quote :P

Yes, the one from "A Bridge Too Far" is brilliant! Had me in stitches, especially when the man waving the flag walks back over the bridge into divisions of Panzer tanks and thousands of men. Excellent.

"Bite my shiny metal ass"

The three hundred spartans kicked ass. Except for the end where they all just got slaughtered like bitches. They should have rushed those persian archers and cut them to ribbons.

Now I forget since I haven't seen it for like 10 or 12 years but is that the movie where they kill the Persian messsenger who demands their surrender? In any event back in the days when they had human messengers, chopping off the enemy messengers head and catapulting it back into their camp or something is a good way to piss off your foe who graciously offfers to allow you to surrender.

Of course nobody has a better way of refusing surrender than the Predator with his nuclear bomb attached to his wrist. beep boop kaboom!

I just finished watching "The 300 Spartans". A couple weeks ago, I watched "The Battle of the Bulge". Both are corny war movies about heroic warriors outnumbered by superior forces.

General McAuliffe, the commander of the U.S. troops, replied "Nuts!" when unconditional surrender was demanded. That translates roughly to "Go to Hell".

The commander of the Spartan troops, King Leonidas issued his famous reply, "Come and get them", when his weapons were demanded by the Persians.

Anyone know of any other short refusals that don't get covered in American public schools?
Captain Corelli's (sp?) Mandolin (sp?)... the way the Greeks dealt with the Italians was superb.

December 22, 1944

BASTOGNE (Reuters) A generous German offer of surrender terms was crudely rebuffed by an American general in this besieged Belgian town today, reinforcing the growing image of America as a brutish cowboy in the OK Corral, and almost certainly dooming it and its inhabitants.

The town has been under attack by German artillery almost since the beginning of the latest successful German offensive six days ago, and has been surrounded by German troops for the past two days. Its only defense has been the US 101st Airborne Division, under the command of General Anthony C. McAuliffe.

At 11:30 AM this morning, the German commander, General Heinrich von Luettwitz of the XLVIIth Armored Corps, sent negotiators in to arrange for the peaceful handover of the town. There are varying stories about what occurred next.

Some say that General McAuliffe's response was a single word--"Nuts!"--a word that the German officer sent to negotiate had trouble translating back to his superiors. Other firsthand reports suggest, however, that the General actually issued a two-word reply, one in the imperative case suggesting that the unfortunate officer have someone engage him unwillingly in activity of a sexual nature, but one that was also more readily and universally understood.

In either case, the negotiations were ended, and with them any prospects for saving the town. As a result of the general's needlessly insulting recalcitrance, the destruction of the town is now all but certain, and the lives of its terrified residents and defenders likely forfeit.

Surprisingly, some have defended the general, pointing out that the value of German surrender offers had been severely debased after the "massacre" of American POWs at Malmedy just five days earlier.

However, back in Washington, many were privately appalled. One State Department official noted that this could only diminish Americans in the eyes of the world as a heartless and base people, who don't understand the exigencies and nuance of war. "General von Luettwitz is a noble aristocrat--not the SS troops at Malmedy, and anyway, we still don't have all the facts on that. That town could have been spared," he went on, "but General McAuliffe put his own ego and stubbornness ahead of the lives of the townspeople and his own men. But then, what do you expect from a hick who went to the University of West Virginia?"

Some at the Pentagon were dismayed as well. "Now we're going to have to risk many more men to go in and save his sorry ass," groaned an undersecretary. "Maybe Patton can do it, in between slapping enlisted men."

The White House had no official comment, but staffers indicated that the general was perfectly justified in light of the Malmedy incident. It was clear that despite his incompetence and rashness, the general continues to have the president's full support, and that the war effort would continue, despite its seeming hopelessness, as the tide of world opinion continues to turn against the nation.

December 22, 1944

BASTOGNE (Reuters) A generous German offer of surrender terms was crudely rebuffed by an American general in this besieged Belgian town today, reinforcing the growing image of America as a brutish cowboy in the OK Corral, and almost certainly dooming it and its inhabitants.

The town has been under attack by German artillery almost since the beginning of the latest successful German offensive six days ago, and has been surrounded by German troops for the past two days. Its only defense has been the US 101st Airborne Division, under the command of General Anthony C. McAuliffe.

At 11:30 AM this morning, the German commander, General Heinrich von Luettwitz of the XLVIIth Armored Corps, sent negotiators in to arrange for the peaceful handover of the town. There are varying stories about what occurred next.

Some say that General McAuliffe's response was a single word--"Nuts!"--a word that the German officer sent to negotiate had trouble translating back to his superiors. Other firsthand reports suggest, however, that the General actually issued a two-word reply, one in the imperative case suggesting that the unfortunate officer have someone engage him unwillingly in activity of a sexual nature, but one that was also more readily and universally understood.

In either case, the negotiations were ended, and with them any prospects for saving the town. As a result of the general's needlessly insulting recalcitrance, the destruction of the town is now all but certain, and the lives of its terrified residents and defenders likely forfeit.

Surprisingly, some have defended the general, pointing out that the value of German surrender offers had been severely debased after the "massacre" of American POWs at Malmedy just five days earlier.

However, back in Washington, many were privately appalled. One State Department official noted that this could only diminish Americans in the eyes of the world as a heartless and base people, who don't understand the exigencies and nuance of war. "General von Luettwitz is a noble aristocrat--not the SS troops at Malmedy, and anyway, we still don't have all the facts on that. That town could have been spared," he went on, "but General McAuliffe put his own ego and stubbornness ahead of the lives of the townspeople and his own men. But then, what do you expect from a hick who went to the University of West Virginia?"

Some at the Pentagon were dismayed as well. "Now we're going to have to risk many more men to go in and save his sorry ass," groaned an undersecretary. "Maybe Patton can do it, in between slapping enlisted men."

The White House had no official comment, but staffers indicated that the general was perfectly justified in light of the Malmedy incident. It was clear that despite his incompetence and rashness, the general continues to have the president's full support, and that the war effort would continue, despite its seeming hopelessness, as the tide of world opinion continues to turn against the nation.

Yea long Post to quote but then I loved it. Besides, Patton did save him by disengaging from one major battle, marched his troops with no hot food or sleep and fought another in 24 hours and won that. :)

I just finished watching "The 300 Spartans". A couple weeks ago, I watched "The Battle of the Bulge". Both are corny war movies about heroic warriors outnumbered by superior forces.

General McAuliffe, the commander of the U.S. troops, replied "Nuts!" when unconditional surrender was demanded. That translates roughly to "Go to Hell".

The commander of the Spartan troops, King Leonidas issued his famous reply, "Come and get them", when his weapons were demanded by the Persians.

Anyone know of any other short refusals that don't get covered in American public schools?
I guess putting your fingers in your ears and yelling "La la la la, I can't hear you!" wouldn't exactly be a classic way of refusing surrender that would go down in the History books.

General McAuliffe, the commander of the U.S. troops, replied "Nuts!" when unconditional surrender was demanded. That translates roughly to "Go to Hell".

Rumor has it that what McAuliffe really said was "go f*ck yourself". "Nuts" is the PC version.

I like Leonidas's reply to "Our archers are are so numerous that their arrows hide the sun"... "Good, then we shall fight in the shade".

Just raise your middle finger. :)

December 22, 1944

BASTOGNE (Reuters) A generous German offer of surrender terms was crudely rebuffed by an American general in this besieged Belgian town today, reinforcing the growing image of America as a brutish cowboy in the OK Corral, and almost certainly dooming it and its inhabitants.

...remainder deleted


Nice to see that things haven't changed much in 60 years.

Some say that General McAuliffe's response was a single word--"Nuts!"--a word that the German officer sent to negotiate had trouble translating back to his superiors. Other firsthand reports suggest, however, that the General actually issued a two-word reply, one in the imperative case suggesting that the unfortunate officer have someone engage him unwillingly in activity of a sexual nature, but one that was also more readily and universally understood.
.


I was thinking I had read something of that nature years(20+) ago. Although, I'm surprised that the Germans would have had trouble translating it.

I just finished watching "The 300 Spartans". A couple weeks ago, I watched "The Battle of the Bulge". Both are corny war movies about heroic warriors outnumbered by superior forces.

General McAuliffe, the commander of the U.S. troops, replied "Nuts!" when unconditional surrender was demanded. That translates roughly to "Go to Hell".

The commander of the Spartan troops, King Leonidas issued his famous reply, "Come and get them", when his weapons were demanded by the Persians.

Anyone know of any other short refusals that don't get covered in American public schools?
Negative; surrender is futile.

General McAuliffe, the commander of the U.S. troops, replied "Nuts!" when unconditional surrender was demanded. That translates roughly to "Go to Hell".


What's even better is Patton's response when he heard it. He was on his way to save them at the time and upon hearing it, he laughed ad commented; "A man that eloquent has to be saved."

What's even better is Patton's response when he heard it. He was on his way to save them at the time and upon hearing it, he laughed ad commented; "A man that eloquent has to be saved."

Yep! :)