War Is Merely A Continuation Of Politics.

But The Main Point Is That Soldiers, After Fighting For Some Time, Are Apt To Be Like Burned-out Cinders. They Have Shot Off Their Ammunition, Their Numbers Have Been Diminished, Their Strength And Their Morale Are Drained, And Possibly Their Courage Has Vanished As Well. As An Organic Whole, Quite Apart From Their Loss In Numbers, They Are Far From Being What They Were Before The Action; And Thus The Amount Of Reserves Spent Is An Accurate Measure On The Loss Of Morale.

After We Have Thought Out Everything Carefully In Advance And Have Sought And Found Without Prejudice The Most Plausible Plan, We Must Not Be Ready To Abandon It At The Slightest Provocation. Should This Certainty Be Lacking, We Must Tell Ourselves That Nothing Is Accomplished In Warfare Without Daring; That The Nature Of War Certainly Does Not Let Us See At All Times Where We Are Going; That What Is Probable Will Always Be Probable Though At The Moment It May Not Seem So; And Finally, That We Cannot Be Readily Ruined By A Single Error, If We Have Made Reasonable Preparations.

Pursue One Great Decisive Aim With Force And Determination.

War Should Never Be Thought Of As Something Autonomous, But Always As An Instrument Of Policy.

Self-reliance Is The Best Defence Against The Pressures Of The Moment.