Every age has its own kind of war, its own limiting conditions and its own peculiar preconceptions.

Politics is the womb in which war develops.

War is not an exercise of the will directed at an inanimate matter.

There is only one decisive victory: the last.

We repeat again: strength of character does not consist solely in having powerful feelings, but in maintaining one’s balance in spite of them. Even with the violence of emotion, judgment and principle must still function like a ship’s compass, which records the slightest variations however rough the sea.

What do we mean by the defeat of the enemy? Simply the destruction of his forces, whether by death, injury, or any other means-either completely or enough to make him stop fighting. . . . The complete or partial destruction of the enemy must be regarded as the sole object of all engagements. . . . Direct annihilation of the enemy's forces must always be the dominant consideration.

Criticism exists only to recognize the truth, not to act as judge.