No one starts a war — or rather, no one in his sense ought to do so — without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war an… - Carl von Clausewitz

A conqueror is always a lover of peace (as Bonaparte always asserted of himself); he would like to make his entry into our state unopposed; in order to prevent this, we must choose war, and therefore also make preparations, that is in other words, it is just the weak, or that side which must defend itself, which should be always armed in order not to be taken by surprise; so it is willed by the art of war. (Original German: "Der Eroberer ist immer friedliebend (wie Bonaparte auch stets behauptet hat), er zöge ganz gern ruhig in unseren Staat ein; damit er dies aber nicht könne, darum müssen wir den Krieg wollen und also auch vorbereiten, d. h. mit anderen Worten: es sollen gerade die Schwachen, der Verteidigung Unterworfenen, immer gerüstet sein und nicht überfallen werden; so will es die Kriegskunst.")

A people can value nothing more highly than the dignity and liberty of its existence, that it must defend these to the last drop of its blood, so there is no higher duty to fulfil, no higher law to obey, that the shameful blood of cowardly submission can never be erased, that this drop of poisoning in the blood of a nation is passed on to posterity, crippling and eroding the strength of future generations.

The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.