Quotes about strategy

[Regarding the 'Advance to Contact'] The simple truth about war is that if you are on the attack, you can't do a damned thing until you find your enemy, and the only way to do that is to push on, at whatever speed seems prudent, until you see or hear him, or he makes his presence known by letting fly at you.

It is the enemy you underestimate who kills you.

Only a fool thinks his enemies stand still when he isn't looking, my Lord Dragon.

Resolution and a plan are better than a sword, because a man whets his own edges on them.

...it is better to go on striking in the same direction than to move one's forces this way and that.

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.

Every suspension of offensive action, either from erroneous views, from fear or from indolence, is in favor of the side acting defensively.

If defense is the stronger form of war, yet has a negative object, it follows that it should be used only so long as weakness compels, and be abandoned as soon as we are strong enough to pursue a positive object.

...in war, the advantages and disadvantages of a single action could only be determined by the final balance.

What is the object of defense? To preserve. To preserve is easier than to acquire.

A prince or general can best demonstrate his genius by managing a campaign exactly to suit his objectives and his resources, doing neither too much nor too little.

If a segment of one's force is located where it is not sufficiently busy with the enemy, or if the troops are on the march - that is, idle - while the enemy is fighting, then these forces are being managed uneconomically. In this sense they are being wasted, which is even worse than using them inappropriately.