Ciano, Galeazzo -- Diario, 9 Sep 1942 (1946)

Dave — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 18:03:18 +0000

As always, victory finds a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan.

[Come sempre, la victoria trova cento padri, e nessuno vuole riconoscere l’insuccesso.]

Galeazzo Ciano (1903-1944) Italian diplomat [Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari]
Diario, 9 Sep 1942 (1946)
(Source)

Alternate translation: "As always, victory will have a hundred fathers, but defeat will never be acknowledged by anyone at all."

An "old saying" quoted by John Kennedy after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Most likely gleaned from the movie The Desert Fox (1951), where Field Marshal von Rundstedt tells Erwin Rommel “You must never forget this, my dear fellow: Victory has a hundred fathers. Defeat is an orphan.” The movie was based on the book Desmond Young, Rommel, the Desert Fox (1951), which provides a citation for the quotation.

WIST Quotations

Ciano, Galeazzo -- Diario, 9 Sep 1942 (1946)