Combat Tactics Quotes

Though fraud in all other actions be odious, yet in matters of war it is laudable and glorious, and he who overcomes his enemies by stratagem is as much to be praised as he who overcomes them by force.

The enemy advances, we retreat. The enemy camps, we harass. Th enemy tires, we attack. The enemy retreats, we pursue.

Strength lies not in defence but in attack.

Artillery is the god of war.

If the enemy has occupied them before you, do not follow him, but retreat and try to entice him away.

What we have to remember is we want to utilize the tremendous intellect that we have in the military to win wars. I've talked to a lot of the generals, a lot of our advanced people. And believe me, if we gave them the mission, which is what the commander-in-chief does, they would be able to carry it out.

Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult. The difficulties accumulate and end by producing a kind of friction that is inconceivable unless one has experienced war. ... Countless minor incidents - the kind you can never really foresee - combine to lower the general level of performance, so that one always falls short of the intended goal.

Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

A tactical retreat is not a bad response to a surprise assault, you know. First you survive. Then you choose your own ground. Then you counterattack.

When the enemy starts to collapse you must pursue him without the chance of letting go. If you fail to take advantage of your enemies collapse, they may recover.

The amir of the army has the option of fighting them (non Moslems) in one of two ways, that is in accordance with what he judges to be in the best of interests of the Muslims and most harmful to the non-: believers the first, to harry them in their houses and to inflict damage on them day and night, by fighting and burning, or else to declare war and combat them in ranks;

Victory in war depends on the morale of the masses which are shedding their blood on the battlefield.

Victory usually goes to the army who has better trained officers and men.

War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost bounds.

In war, men are nothing, one man is everything.

There are so many variables that go into a fight, you shouldn't waste your time worrying about the other fighters.

It is with artillery that war is made.

The biggest problem was the politicians knew nothing about fighting a war.

Before they deploy, they train for the specific operations, but there is a danger that the Army is not retaining the core of its full capabilities.

So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.

The worse the troops the greater the need of artillery.

A fatal mistake in war is to underrate the strength, feeling and resources of an enemy.

Indiscriminate massacre was not their intention, after they obtained foothold, and was resorted to in the first instance to strike terror and alarm. Women and children would afterwards have been spared, and men also who ceased to resist

An army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness.