fortunes of war

the fortunes of war

The course and outcomes of war, whether good or bad. The brilliant mathematician managed to decipher the enemy's code, turning the fortunes of war in favor of the allied forces.
See also: fortune, of, war
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fortunes of war

The results of combat or other competition (see also win some, lose some). This expression, at first meaning simply that the issue of battle is uncertain (as Cicero put it in Pro Milone, 52 b.c.), dates from the fifteenth century, when William Caxton used it in his version of one of Aesop’s fables (“fortune of warre”). Later it was transferred to other undertakings in which the outcome is not a certainty.
See also: fortune, of, war
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • the fortunes of war
  • declare war
  • declare war on
  • declare war on (someone or something)
  • press the button
  • the late unpleasantness
  • unpleasantness
  • late unpleasantness
  • dogs of war
  • take the King's/Queen's shilling
References in classic literature
I do not wish to utilize the fortunes of war to humiliate an honored monarch.
"Hush, friend Sancho," replied Don Quixote, "the fortunes of war more than any other are liable to frequent fluctuations; and moreover I think, and it is the truth, that that same sage Friston who carried off my study and books, has turned these giants into mills in order to rob me of the glory of vanquishing them, such is the enmity he bears me; but in the end his wicked arts will avail but little against my good sword."
When the fortunes of war turned against Hitler, both Bandera and Shukevych turned against the Germans, and then in turn resisted the Soviets.
Fortunes of war. From the outside world, nothing about Mamasapano; heavily armed trained attackers got killed?
The legendary German U-boat killer, largely responsible for winning the Battle of the Atlantic, and turning the fortunes of war to Allied advantage, is immortalised in crew sweater, holding a pair of binoculars and looking out to sea.
Nor does he mention the diversion of resources from Wehrmacht fighting power owing to Hitler's mad preoccupation with the extermination of Jews, even as the fortunes of war turned against his forces.
Seeing each battle expertly described by a team of historians, educators and re-enactors makes the reader keenly aware of just how precarious and elusive the fortunes of war were for all participants.
War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War, "The period between May 1942 and July 1943 witnessed a major shift in the fortunes of war" (303).
Chapter titles include, A House of Bad Fame, Bloomingdale, The Fortunes of War, and Murder Most Foul.
Titled Fortunes Of War: The West Midlands At The Time Of Waterloo, the book is co-edited by University of Birmingham academics Dr Andrew Watts and Dr Emma Tyler from the Department of Modern Languages.
Fortunes of War is available now from www.historywm.com priced PS11.99
Step inside the only surviving Boeing 707 cockpit, see the Scottish Concorde, learn about life on an su Sc airbase - and sample the Fortunes of War. TICKETS: Adults PS10, children (five-16) PS5.
Sam later moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and landed several roles in film and TV productions, including The Bonfire of the Vanities, Twenty Bucks, Andromeda, and Fortunes of War, to name a few, as well as recurring roles on Chicago Hope and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Although his wealth, and hence Tyneside's prosperity, derived in no small part from the fortunes of war, Armstrong seems to have been scrupulous in dealing with the government.
As David suggests, it is ironic that the series Fortunes of War would bring widespread fame seven years after her death, since it was the BBC that had rejected so many of her proposals for literary adaptations.