Only The Element Of Chance Is Needed

If We Do Not Learn To Regard A War, And The Separate Campaigns Of Which It Is Composed, As A Chain Of Linked Engagements Each Leading To The Next, But Instead Succumb To The Idea That The Capture Of Certain Geographical Points Or The Seizure Of Undefended Provinces Are Of Value In Themselves, We Are Liable To Regard Them As Windfall Profits.

But The Main Point Is That Soldiers, After Fighting For Some Time, Are Apt To Be Like Burned-out Cinders. They Have Shot Off Their Ammunition, Their Numbers Have Been Diminished, Their Strength And Their Morale Are Drained, And Possibly Their Courage Has Vanished As Well. As An Organic Whole, Quite Apart From Their Loss In Numbers, They Are Far From Being What They Were Before The Action; And Thus The Amount Of Reserves Spent Is An Accurate Measure On The Loss Of Morale.

The More A Leader Is In The Habit Of Demanding From His Men, The Surer He Will Be That His Demands Will Be Answered.

To Secure Peace Is To Prepare For War.

If We Read History With An Open Mind, We Cannot Fail To Conclude That, Among All The Military Virtues, The Energetic Conduct Of War Has Always Contributed Most To Glory And Success.