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.

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

War is a conflict of great interests which is settled by bloodshed, and only in that is it different from others.

The deduction of effect from cause is often blocked by some insuperable extrinsic obstacle: the true causes may be quite unknown. Nowhere in life is this so common as in war, where the facts are seldom fully known and the underlying motives even less so.

Great things alone can make a great mind, and petty things will make a petty mind unless a man rejects them as completely alien.

A prince or general can best demonstrate his genius by managing a campaign exactly to suit his objectives and his resources, doing neither too much nor too little.

Only great and general battles can produce great results