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.

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

The military weapon is but one of the means that serve the purposes of war: one out of the assortment which grand strategy can employ.

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.

The search for the truth for truth's sake is the mark of the historian.

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

The most dangerous error is failure to recognize our own tendency to error.