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Quote by B. H. Liddell Hart

“It is thus more potent, as well as more economical, to disarm the enemy than to attempt his destruction by hard fighting ... A strategist should think in terms of paralysing, not of killing.”

Quote by B. H. Liddell Hart

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B. H. Liddell Hart

B.H. Liddell Hart was a British military theorist known for his profound understanding of strategy and tactics, whose works have had a profound impact on modern military thought. more

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“While the nominal strength of a country is represented by its numbers and resources, this muscular development is dependent on the state of its internal organs and nerve-system - upon its stability of control, morale, and supply.”

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Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“Direct pressure always tends to harden and consolidate the resistance of an opponent.”

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“To ensure attaining an objective, one should have alternate objectives. An attack that converges on one point should threaten, and be able to diverge against another. Only by this flexibility of aim can strategy be attuned to the uncertainty of war.”

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“The higher level of grand strategy [is] that of conducting war with a far-sighted regard to the state of the peace that will follow.”

War States Levels Military Higher Regard Strategy Higher Level Conducting

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“The more closely [the German army] converged on [Stalingrad], the narrower became their scope for tactical manoeuvre as a lever in loosening resistance. By contrast, the narrowing of the frontage made it easier for the defender to switch his local reserves to any threatened point on the defensive arc.”

Made Military Easier Army Locals Resistance Made It Contrast Reserves Threatened Scope Arcs Defenders Levers Tactical Stalingrad

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“With growing experience, all skillful commanders sought to profit by the power of the defensive, even when on the offensive.”

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Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“The blurring of the line between policy and strategy] encouraged soldiers to make the preposterous claim that policy should be subservient to their conduct of operations, and (especially in democratic countries) it drew the statesman on to overstep the definite border of his sphere and interfere with his military employees in the actual use of their tools.”

Should Country Use Lines Military Policy Tools Claims Strategy Democratic Soldier Operations Borders Employee Spheres Interfere Definite Statesmen Subservient Democratic Country

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“The more usual reason for adopting a strategy of limited aim is that of awaiting a change in the balance of force ... The essential condition of such a strategy is that the drain on him should be disproportionately greater than on oneself.”

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Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“It's like learning a language; you can't speak a language fluently until you find out who you are in that language, and that has as much to do with your body as it does with vocabulary and grammar.”

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“To foster the people's willing spirit is often as important as to possess the more concrete forms of power.”

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Author:B. H. Liddell Hart