blood and iron
Military action as opposed to non-violent methods. The term "blood and iron" is usually linked to an 1862 speech by German statesman Otto von Bismarck. If the military brass keep calling for blood and iron, we're going to find ourselves in the a war soon enough.
blood and iron
military force rather than diplomacy. Blood and iron is a translation of German Blut und Eisen, a phrase particularly associated with a speech made by the German statesman Bismarck ( 1815–98 ) in the Prussian House of Deputies in 1886 .