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War is merely a continuation of politics.
War is politics by other means.
I shall proceed from the simple to the complex. But in war more than in any other subject we must begin by looking at the nature of the whole; for here more than elsewhere the part and the whole must always be thought of together.
Any complex activity, if it is to be carried on with any degree of virtuosity, calls for appropriate gifts of intellect and temperament. If they are outstanding and reveal themselves in exceptional achievements, their possessor is called a 'genius'.
The more a general is accustomed to place heavy demands on his soldiers, the more he can depend on their response.
No campaign plan survives first contact with the enemy
A conqueror is always a lover of peace.
War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.
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.
Modern wars are seldom fought without hatred between nations; this serves more or less as a substitute for hatred between individuals.
What do we mean by the defeat of the enemy? Simply the destruction of his forces, whether by death, injury, or any other means-either completely or enough to make him stop fighting. . . . The complete or partial destruction of the enemy must be regarded as the sole object of all engagements. . . . Direct annihilation of the enemy's forces must always be the dominant consideration.
Great things alone can make a great mind, and petty things will make a petty mind unless a man rejects them as completely alien.
Boldness governed by superior intellect is the mark of a hero.
It should be noted that the seeds of wisdom that are to bear fruit in the intellect are sown less by critical studies and learned monographs than by insights, broad impressions, and flashes of intuition.
In war, while everything is simple, even the simplest thing is difficult. Difficulties accumulate and produce frictions which no one can comprehend who has not seen war.
War is not an exercise of the will directed at an inanimate matter.
Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.
War is the domain of physical exertion and suffering.
War is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means.
Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult.
The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and the means can never be considered in isolation form their purposes.
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