A Certain Grasp Of Military Affairs Is

Where Execution Is Dominant, As It Is In The Individual Events Of A War Whether Great Or Small, Then Intellectual Factors Are Reduced To A Minimum.

Whenever Armed Forces . . . Are Used, The Idea Of Combat Must Be Present. . . . The End For Which A Soldier Is Recruited, Clothed, Armed, And Trained, The Whole Object Of His Sleeping, Eating, Drinking, And Marching Is Simply That He Should Fight At The Right Place And The Right Time.

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.

In Short, Absolute, So-called Mathematical, Factors Never Find A Firm Basis In Military Calculations. From The Very Start, There Is An Interplay Of Possibilities, Probabilities, Good Luck And Bad, That Weaves Its Way Throughout The Length And Breadth Of The Tapestry. In The Whole Range Of Human Activities, War Most Closely Resembles A Game Of Cards.

Surprise Becomes Effective When We Suddenly Face The Enemy At One Point With Far More Troops Than He Expected. This Type Of Numerical Superiority Is Quite Distinct From Numerical Superiority In General: It Is The Most Powerful Medium In The Art Of War.