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

In War more than anywhere else in the world things happen differently to what we had expected, and look differently when near, to what they did at a distance.

War is an act of force, and to the application of that force there is no limit. Each of the adversaries forces the hand of the other, and a reciprocal action results which in theory can have no limit.

If the enemy is to be coerced, you must put him in a situation that is even more unpleasant than the sacrifice you call on him to make. The hardships of the situation must not be merely transient - at least not in appearance. Otherwise, the enemy would not give in, but would wait for things to improve.

Everything in strategy is very simple, but that does not mean everything is very easy.

War is the province of chance. In no sphere of human activity is such a margin to be left for this intruder. It increases the uncertainty of every circumstance, and deranges the course of events.

In the whole range of human activities, war most closely resembles a game of cards.