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Quote by B. H. Liddell Hart

“[The] aim is not so much to seek battle as to seek a strategic situation so advantageous that if it does not of itself produce the decision, its continuation by a battle is sure to achieve this. In other words, dislocation is the aim of strategy.”

Quote by B. H. Liddell Hart

Author

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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“For if we merely take what obviously appears the line of least resistance, its obviousness will appeal to the opponent also; and this line may no longer be that of least resistance. In studying the physical aspect, we must never lose sight of the psychological, and only when both are combined is the strategy truly an indirect approach, calculated to dislocate the opponent's balance.”

Ifs May Loses Lines Study Military Balance Approach Aspect Sight Strategy Resistance Psychological Appeals Opponents Indirect Obviousness

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“An army should always be so distributed that its parts can aid each other and combine to produce the maximum possible concentration of force at one place, while the minimum force necessary is used elsewhere to prepare the success of the concentration.”

Should Used Force Military Produce Army Aids Concentration Elsewhere Minimum Maximum

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“While hitting one must guard ... In order to hit with effect, the enemy must be taken off his guard.”

Order Enemy Taken Effects Military Hitting

Book:Foch - The Man Of Orleans

Source: Foch - The Man Of Orleans

“In any problem where an opposing force exists and cannot be regulated, one must foresee and provide for alternative courses. Adaptability is the law which governs survival in war as in life ... To be practical, any plan must take account of the enemy's power to frustrate it; the best chance of overcoming such obstruction is to have a plan that can be easily varied to fit the circumstances met.”

War Problem Law Courses Force Chance Enemy Plans Military Fit Circumstances Mets Survival Overcoming Accounts Practicals Alternatives Opposing Adaptability Obstruction

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“The unexpected cannot guarantee success, but it guarantees the best chance of success.”

Chance Military Guarantees Unexpected

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“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.”

Firsts Mean Ends Might Force Moral Enemy Air Economic Achieve Military Possibility Direct Destruction Opposition Centre Battlefields Air Force Indirect Air Power Hopping

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“Inflict the least possible permanent injury, for the enemy of to-day is the customer of the morrow and the ally of the future”

Enemy Military Customers Permanent Injury Allies Morrow

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“If you find your opponent in a strong position costly to force, you should leave him a line of retreat as the quickest way of loosening his resistance. It should, equally, be a principle of policy, especially in war, to provide your opponent with a ladder by which he can climb down.”

Ifs Way Should War Strong Force Lines Principles Military Policy Position Resistance Opponents Climbs Retreat Ladders

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“It is only to clear from history that states rarely keep faith with each other, save in so far (and so long) as their promises seem to them to combine with their interests.”

Long States Seems Interest Clear Military Promise Keep The Faith

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart

“It is folly to imagine that the aggressive types, whether individuals or nations, can be bought off ... since the payment of danegeld stimulates a demand for more danegeld. But they can be curbed. Their very belief in force makes them more susceptible to the deterrent effect of a formidable opposing force.”

Individual Belief Force Nations Imagine Effects Military Type Demand Folly Aggressive Imagine That Payment Opposing Formidable Susceptible Deterrent

Author:B. H. Liddell Hart