Quotes About Tactics

Force and fraud are in war the two cardinal virtues.

There are plenty of cases of war being begun before it is declared.

War is an art and as such is not susceptible of explanation by fixed formula

All wars will be settled by sea power.

Thus the skilful general conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand.

One mark of a great soldier is that he fight on his own terms or fights not at all.

Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.

The forces of adversaries are more diminished by the loss of those who flee than of those who are killed.

So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.

Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain

In war one must lean on an obstacle in order to overcome it.

In war, discipline can do more than fury.

If I wish to engage, then the enemy, for all his high ramparts and deep moat, cannot avoid engagement; I attack that which he is obliged to rescue.

Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men.

Nowadays wars are not declared. They simply start.

One should never allow chaos to develop in order to avoid going to war, because one does not avoid a war but instead puts it off to his disadvantage

If the enemy leaves a door open, you must rush in.

By push of bayonets, no firing until you see the whites in their eyes!

Too frequent rewards indicate that the general is at the end of his resources; too frequent punishments that he is in acute distress.

So the important thing in a military operation is victory, not persistence.

What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.

On both difficult and easy terrain, you must know the 'tenable' and 'fatal' ground. Occupy tenable ground and attack on fatal ground.

Carefully compare the opposing army with your own, so that you may know where strength is superabundant and where it is deficient.

Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.