Victory or death
Encyclopedia
Victory or death and its equivalents, is used as a motto or battle cry :
- It is given as the translation of the heraldic motto of several Scottish clanScottish clanScottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...
s :- Clan MacDougallClan MacDougallClan MacDougall is a Highland Scottish clan consisting of the descendants of Dubgall mac Somairle, son of Somerled, who ruled Lorne and the Isle of Mull in Argyll in the 13th century...
- BUAIDH NO BAS ("Victory or death") - Clan MacNeilClan MacNeilClan MacNeil, also known in Scotland as Clan Niall, is a highland Scottish clan, particularly associated with the Outer Hebridean island of Barra. The early history of Clan MacNeil is obscure, however despite this the clan claims to descend from the legendary Niall of the nine hostages...
- BUAIDH NO BAS ("Victory or death") - Clan MacdowallClan MacDowallClan Macdowall is a Scottish clan. The clan claims to descend from the senior descendants in the male line of the princely house of Fergus, first of the ancient Lords of Galloway...
- VINCERE VEL MORI ("To conquer or die") - Clan Maclaine of LochbuieClan MacLaine of LochbuieClan Maclaine of Lochbuie is a Scottish Clan that inhabited lands on the southern end of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of the western Scottish Highlands. "Maclaine" is an alternate spelling for "MacLean." Clan Maclaine of Lochbuie and Clan MacLean of Duart are two separate clans...
- VINCERE VEL MORI ("To conquer or die")
- Clan MacDougall
- And also the Irish clan :
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- Clan Murphy of Wexford and Cork - VINCERE VEL MORI ("To conquer or die")
- The Bedford FlagBedford FlagThe Bedford Flag is the oldest known flag in the United States. It was supposedly borne by the Bedford Minuteman Company and might have flown at the North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. Its history is controversial...
, possibly the oldest extant battle flag of the American Revolution, bears the motto VINCE AUT MORIRE (Conquer or Die)
- Before Washington's crossing of the Delaware River at the Battle of Trenton in 1776, "Victory" was the password and "Or Death" was the response
- The ManiotsManiotsThe Maniots or Maniates are the Greek inhabitants of the Mani Peninsula located in the southern Peloponnese in the Greek prefecture of Laconia and prefecture of Messinia. They were also formerly known as Mainotes and the peninsula as Maina. The Maniots are the direct descendants of the Spartans...
used "Victory or Death" as their motto when they joined the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire in 1821
- The letter written "To the People of Texas & All Americans in the WorldTo the People of Texas & All Americans in the WorldTo the People of Texas & All Americans in the World is an open letter written on February 24, 1836, by William B. Travis, commander of the Texian forces at the Battle of the Alamo, to settlers in Mexican Texas...
" during the Battle of the Alamo (1836), ends with "Victory or Death!"
- Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
gave the order "Victory or Death" twice :- to Erwin Rommel at the Second Battle of El AlameinSecond Battle of El AlameinThe Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
(1942) - to Friedrich Paulus at the Battle of StalingradBattle of StalingradThe Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
(1942-3)
- to Erwin Rommel at the Second Battle of El Alamein
- The 32nd Armor Regiment32nd Armor Regiment (United States)The 32nd Armor Regiment was an armored regiment of the United States Army until 2000 at which time it was deactivated. It was redesignated and reactivated as the 32nd Cavalry Regiment serving in the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division in 2005.-History:...
of the United States Army has the motto "Victory or Death"- The 1960 film G.I. BluesG.I. BluesG.I. Blues is a 1960 Elvis Presley musical motion picture played as a romantic comedy. It was filmed at Paramount's Hollywood studios, with some pre-production scenery shot on location in Germany before Presley's release from the army. The movie reached #2 on the Variety weekly national box office...
features the regimental emblem as Elvis Presley had served with them in 1958-60. - The 1986 film Ferris Buellers Day Off features a black beret bearing the regiment's emblem
- Axl RoseAxl RoseW. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
of Guns N' Roses has the regiment's emblem and motto tattooed on his left arm.
- The 1960 film G.I. Blues
- The 442 Field Artillery Battalion of the US Army have the motto VICTORIA LAETA AUT MORS ("Glorious victory or death")
- The Chilean NavyChilean Navy-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...
has the motto Vencer o Morir ("Conquer or Die")
- Also used as a battle cry in medieval Muslim battles and conquests.
In fiction
- In the 1984 film The Last StarfighterThe Last StarfighterThe Last Starfighter is a 1984 science fiction adventure film directed by Nick Castle. The film tells the story of Alex Rogan , an average teenage boy recruited by an alien defense force to fight in an interstellar war. It also featured Dan O'Herlihy, Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Preston, Norman...
, the phrase is chanted by the starfighters. - In the Warcraft universeWarcraft UniverseWarcraft is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media originally created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of Four core games: Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and World of Warcraft...
, "Lok'tar ogar!" (Victory or Death!) is the battlecry of the Horde. - In Guild WarsGuild WarsGuild Wars is an episodic series of online 3D fantasy role-playing games developed by ArenaNet and published by NCsoft. Although often defined as an MMORPG the developers define it as a CORPG due to significant differences from the MMORPG genre. It provides two main modes of gameplay—a cooperative...
, "Victory or Death" was the name of a skill in Guild versus Guild battles. - In Warhammer 40,000, "Victorus aut Mortis" is the war cry of the Raven Guard chapter of Space Marines.