Quotes About Tactics

The parties with the most gain never show up on the battlefield.

In war, the moral is to the physical as ten to one.

I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of government lies in knowing when to be the one or the other.

The principles of war are the same as those of a siege. Fire must be concentrated on one point, and as soon as the breach is made, the equilibrium is broken and the rest is nothing.

To have ultimate victory, you must be ruthless.

You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.

I have destroyed the Austrian army by simply marching

Soldiers usually win the battles and generals get the credit for them.

Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them.

Nothing is so contrary to military rules as to make the strength of your army known, either in the orders of the day, in proclamations, or in the newspapers.

The secret of great battles consists in knowing how to deploy and concentrate at the right time.

Changing from the defensive to the offensive, is one of the most delicate operations in war.

In war, three quarters turns on personal character and relations; the balance of manpower and materials counts only for the remaining quarter.

My most splendid campaign was that of March 20; not a single shot was fired.

In war, luck is half in everything.

To plan to reserve cavalry for the finish of the battle, is to have no conception of the power of combined infantry and cavalry charges, either for attack or for defense.

In war, groping tactics, half-way measures, lose everything.

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

The art of war consists in being always able, even with an inferior army, to have stronger forces than the enemy at the point of attack or the point which is attacked.

There is only one favorable moment in war; talent consists in knowing how to seize it.

Never march by flank in front of an army in position. This principle is absolute.

Chief of the Army.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

Never tell your enemy he is doing the wrong thing.