I won’t surrender my position I won’t step back. Behind me is my own personal Stalingrad. And my mother’s grave.

—Soviet WWII Poem

Four brave men who do not know each other will not dare to attack a lion. Four less brave, but knowing each other well, sure of their reliability and, consequently, of mutual aid, will attack resolutely.

—Ardant du Picq

The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet, notwithstanding, go out to meet it.

—Thucydides

Military spirit is one of the most important moral elements in war. Where this element is absent it must be replaced by…the commanders superior ability or popular enthusiasm, or else the results will fall short of the efforts expended.

—Clausewitz, On War

Combat motivation—the force that propels a warrior into danger—is a matter of central importance to the profession of arms. How to get men to act against their instincts of self-preservation in service of a higher goal is a challenge for commanders at all levels. High end motives can include belief in ideology, just cause, and/or patriotism. Some historians have argued that these higher-level goals can serve to get a person to join the cause, but lower level motives keep the warrior in the fight. Fighting for one’s fellow soldiers—not letting one’s comrades down—is widely viewed as a powerful motivator, arguably the most powerful one.