The Practical Value Of History Is To

The Easiest And Quickest Path Into The Esteem Of Traditional Military Authorities Is By The Appeal To The Eye, Rather Than To The Mind. The `polish And Pipeclay' School Is Not Yet Extinct, And It Is Easier For The Mediocre Intelligence To Become An Authority On Buttons, Than On Tactics.

In Strategy The Longest Way Round Is Often The Shortest Way There- A Direct Approach To The Object Exhausts The Attacker And Hardens The Resistance By Compression, Whereas An Indirect Approach Loosens The Defender's Hold By Upsetting His Balance.

For Even The Best Of Peace Training Is More Theoretical Than Practical Experience ... Indirect Practical Experience May Be The More Valuable Because Infinitely Wider.

As Has Happened So Often In History, Victory Had Bred A Complacency And Fostered An Orthodoxy Which Led To Defeat In The Next War.

While The Nominal Strength Of A Country Is Represented By Its Numbers And Resources, This Muscular Development Is Dependent On The State Of Its Internal Organs And Nerve-system - Upon Its Stability Of Control, Morale, And Supply.