Quotessence
Home / Authors / B. H. Liddell Hart
B. H. Liddell Hart

B. H. Liddell Hart Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllMilitaryWarIndirectStrategyShouldEnemyForceApproachDirectIfsResistanceStatesHumansLyingAimOpponentsOpposingEffectsFormMay

Famous B. H. Liddell Hart Quotes

“Air forces offered the possibility of striking a the enemy's economic and moral centres without having first to achieve 'the destruction of the enemy's main forces on the battlefield'. Air-power might attain a direct end by indirect means - hopping over opposition instead of overthrowing it.”

FirstsMeanEndsMightForceMoralEnemyAirEconomicAchieveMilitaryPossibilityDirectDestructionOppositionCentreBattlefieldsAir ForceIndirectAir PowerHopping
Author:B. H. Liddell Hart
Create image

“The art of the indirect approach can only be mastered, and its full scope appreciated, by study of and reflection upon the whole history of war. But we can at least crystallize the lessons into two simple maxims- one negative, the other positive. The first is that, in face of the overwhelming evidence of history, no general is justified in launching his troops to a direct attack upon an enemy firmly in position. The second, that instead of seeking to upset the enemy's equilibrium by one's attack, it must be upset before a real attack is, or can be successfully launched”

FirstsArtTwoWarRealWholeFacesSimpleEnemyStudyPositionLessonsApproachReflectionEvidenceNegativeDirectSeekingUpsetOverwhelmingTroopsJustifiedMaximsAppreciatedScopeEquilibriumIndirectLaunching
Author:B. H. Liddell Hart
Create image

“Direct experience is inherently too limited to form an adequate foundation either for theory or for application. At the best it produces an atmosphere that is of value in drying and hardening the structure of thought. The greater value of indirect experience lies in its greater variety and extent. History is universal experience, the experience not of another, but of many others under manifold conditions.”

FormLyingValuesGreaterConditionsProduceTheoryDirectUniversalFoundationStructureVarietyAtmosphereApplicationAdequateIndirectManifold
Book:Why Don't We Learn from History?
Create image