Carl von Clausewitz

Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain. ”

Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity. ”

It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past. ”

Pursue one great decisive aim with force and determination. ”

The more a general is accustomed to place heavy demands on his soldiers, the more he can depend on their response. ”

War is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means. ”

War is regarded as nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means. ”

The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and the means can never be considered in isolation from their purposes. ”

If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles. ”

All action takes place, so to speak, in a kind of twilight, which like a fog or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than they really are. ”