Who Dares Wins
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Who Dares, Wins (Latin: Qui audet adipiscitur; French: Qui ose gagne; Italian: Chi osa vince; Portuguese: Quem ousa, vence; German: Wer wagt, gewinnt) is a motto made popular by the British Special Air Service.[1] It is normally credited to the founder of the SAS, David Stirling.[2] Among the SAS themselves it is sometimes humorously corrupted to "Who cares [who] wins?".[3] May have a much earlier attribution from a medieval Arabic source recently translated:[4]
The catchphrase "He Who Dares, Wins" was commonly used by Del Boy in British sitcom Only Fools and Horses.
The motto has been used by twelve elite special forces units around the world that in some way have historical ties to the British SAS.[citation needed]
An early statement of the idea is 'τοῖς τολμῶσιν ἡ τύχη ξύμφορος' ("fortune favours the bold") from the Ancient Greek soldier and historian Thucydides.
| Nation | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
Special Air Service | |
 Australia |
Special Air Service Regiment | |
 New Zealand |
New Zealand Special Air Service | |
 Hong Kong |
Special Duties Unit | |
 Tunisia |
Unité Spéciale – Garde Nationale | |
 France |
1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment | French: 1er Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine, 1er RPIMa: Former WWII French SAS squadrons (the 3rd & the 4th) |
 Rhodesia |
Rhodesian Special Air Service | . 'C Squadron (Rhodesia) Special Air Service' Mil. Abbrev. 'C Sqn SAS'. Later 'Rhodesian Special Air Service Regiment' in Kabrit Barracks, Salisbury (now Harare) |
 Greece |
1st Raider/Paratrooper Brigade | Ο τολμών νικά (pronounced O tolmon nika) |
| Greece |
Mountain Raider Companies | Ο τολμών νικά (pronounced O tolmon nika) |
 Cyprus |
LOK | Ο τολμών νικά (pronounced O tolmon nika) |
 Israel |
Sayeret Matkal, Shachak Armored Battalion (196th Battalion/460th Armored Brigade) | Hebrew: המעז מנצח. HaMe'ez Menatzeakh |
 Belgium |
1st Parachutist Battalion | During the Second World War, many of its personnel were part of the British 5th Special Air Service and retained the SAS badge, motto and traditions. |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Tsouras, Peter G. (2005-10-24). The Book of Military Quotations. Zenith Imprint. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-7603-2340-3. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ Ferguson, Amanda (March 2003). SAS: British Special Air Service. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-8239-3810-0. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ Thompson, Leroy (1994). SAS: Great Britain's Elite Special Air Service. Zenith. p. 9. ISBN 0879389400.
- ^ al-hikayat al-‘ajiba wa’l-akhbar al-ghariba [Tales of the Marvellous and News of the Strange]. Translated by Malcolm C. Lyons. Penguin. 2014. p. 76. ISBN 9780141395036.
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