War Is Not Merely A

The World Has A Way Of Undermining Complex Plans. This Is Particularly True In Fast Moving Environments. A Fast Moving Environment Can Evolve More Quickly Than A Complex Plan Can Be Adapted To It. By The Time You Have Adapted, The Target Has Changed.

A Prince Or General Can Best Demonstrate His Genius By Managing A Campaign Exactly To Suit His Objectives And His Resources, Doing Neither Too Much Nor Too Little.

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.

In The Whole Range Of Human Activities, War Most Closely Resembles A Game Of Cards.

Blind Aggressiveness Would Destroy The Attack Itself, Not The Defense.