The worst of all conditions in which a belligerent can find himself is to be utterly defenseless. - Carl von Clausewitz

Principles and rules are intended to provide a thinking man with a frame of reference.

War is such a dangerous business that mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst.

The first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish by that test the kind of war on which they are embarking; neither mistaking it for, nor trying to turn it into, something that is alien to its nature.