What does Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes mean today?

Answer 1

"Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes" is an order given to the colonials during the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston. It's credited to William Prescott however it has not been determined if he or someone else said it.

Answer 2

In a general way it means you should not take action too early. You should wait until you know enough to be confident of what you are going to do.

Americans attribute the phrase to an order supposedly given by Colonel William Prescott during the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War, and meant his men should not begin shooting until the British solders were so close they could see the white of the enemy's eyes. This was because the troops were low on ammunition and he didn't want them to waste any.

However the first recorded use of the phrase was by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw, under the command of King George II, during the Battle of Dettingen.
This was said when William Prescott knew the colonists were low on ammo yet they were going to battle the British on Bunker and Breed's Hill. He said don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes. This means to make every shot count. However, they soon ran out of ammo and were forced to retreat. It was a moral victory for colonists because it showed them they could fight against the British basically without getting creamed! This event occurred June 1775

Answer 3

it is "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes". it is a quote from the Revolutionary war during the battle of bunker hill. Some say the person who said it was General Israel Putnam, others say it was colonel William Prescot. It means don't fire until they're very close. To see the white in someones eyes they need to be at most 30 yards away, which was a decent range to the musket gun used back then.

Answer 4

If the enemy was close enough so you could actually distinguish the whites of their eyes, they were also close enough to have a good chance of hitting them with a bullet.

Answer 5

Probably very little in a world with modern weapons and fire support that includes laser guided precision.

Answer 6

The Americans had little ammo, so a wise general once told the soldiers not to shoot until you see the whites of their eyes so that they would not miss and waste ammunition.

Answer 7

wait until the person is very close