Close Combat, Man To Man, Is Plainly

To Be Practical, Any Plan Must Take Account Of The Enemy's Power To Frustrate It.

War Is Merely A Continuation Of Politics.

We Must, Therefore, Be Confident That The General Measures We Have Adopted Will Produce The Results We Expect. Most Important In This Connection Is The Trust Which We Must Have In Our Lieutenants. Consequently, It Is Important To Choose Men On Whom We Can Rely And To Put Aside All Other Considerations. If We Have Made Appropriate Preparations, Taking Into Account All Possible Misfortunes, So That We Shall Not Be Lost Immediately If They Occur, We Must Boldly Advance Into The Shadows Of Uncertainty.

It Is Paltry Philosophy If In The Old-fashioned Way One Lays Down Rules And Principles In Total Disregard Of Moral Values . As Soon As These Appear One Regards Them As Exceptions, Which Gives Them A Certain Scientific Status, And Thus Makes Them Into Rules. Or Again One May Appeal To Genius , Which Is Above All Rules; Which Amounts To Admitting That Rules Are Not Only Made For Idiots , But Are Idiotic In Themselves.

Kind-hearted People Might Of Course Think There Was Some Ingenious Way To Disarm Or Defeat An Enemy Without Too Much Bloodshed, And Might Imagine This Is The True Goal Of The Art Of War. Pleasant As It Sounds; It Is A Fallacy That Must Be Exposed: War Is Such A Dangerous Business That The Mistakes Which Come From Kindness Are The Very Worst.