War Is An Act Of Violence Pushed

The Heart Of France Lies Between Brussels And Paris.

In War The Will Is Directed At An Animate Object That Reacts.

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.

War Is The Realm Of Uncertainty; Three-quarters Of The Factors On Which Action In War Is Based Are Wrapped In A Fog Of Greater Or Lesser Uncertainty. ... War Is The Realm Of Chance. No Other Human Activity Gives It Greater Scope; No Other Has Such Incessant And Varied Dealings With This Intruder. Chance Makes Everything More Uncertain And Interferes With The Whole Course Of Events.

The General Unreliability Of All Information Presents A Special Problem In War: All Action Takes Place, So To Speak, In The Twilight, Which, Like Fog Or Moonlight, Often Tends To Make Things Seem Grotesque And Larger Than They Really Are. Whatever Is Hidden From Full View In This Feeble Light Has To Be Guessed At By Talent, Or Simply Left To Chance. So Once Again For The Lack Of Objective Knowledge, One Has To Trust To Talent Or To Luck.