[...] To Introduce Into The Philosophy Of

We Must Evaluate The Political Sympathies Of Other States And The Effect War May Have On Them. To Assess These Things In All Their Ramifications And Diversity Is Plainly A Colossal Task. Rapid And Correct Appraisal Of Them Clearly Calls For The Intuition Of A Genius; To Master All This Complex Mass By Sheer Methodical Examination Is Obviously Impossible. Bonaparte Was Quite Right When He Said That Newton Himself Would Quail Before The Algebraic Problems It Could Pose.

[the Cause Of Inaction In War] ... Is The Imperfection Of Human Perception And Judgment Which Is More Pronounced In War Than Anywhere Else. We Hardly Know Accurately Our Own Situation At Any Particular Moment While The Enemy's, Which Is Concealed From Us, Must Be Deduced From Very Little Evidence.

The First And Most Important Rule To Observe...is To Use Our Entire Forces With The Utmost Energy. The Second Rule Is To Concentrate Our Power As Much As Possible Against That Section Where The Chief Blows Are To Be Delivered And To Incur Disadvantages Elsewhere, So That Our Chances Of Success May Increase At The Decisive Point. The Third Rule Is Never To Waste Time. Finally, The Fourth Rule Is To Follow Up Our Successes With The Utmost Energy. Only Pursuit Of The Beaten Enemy Gives The Fruits Of Victory.

No Other Human Activity Is So Continuously Or Universally Bound Up With Chance. And Through The Element Of Chance, Guesswork And Luck Come To Play A Great Part In War.

We Must, Therefore, Be Confident That The General Measures We Have Adopted Will Produce The Results We Expect. Most Important In This Connection Is The Trust Which We Must Have In Our Lieutenants. Consequently, It Is Important To Choose Men On Whom We Can Rely And To Put Aside All Other Considerations. If We Have Made Appropriate Preparations, Taking Into Account All Possible Misfortunes, So That We Shall Not Be Lost Immediately If They Occur, We Must Boldly Advance Into The Shadows Of Uncertainty.