“To be defeated is pardonable; to be surprised – never!” Napoleon Bonaparte (Maxims of War, 1831)
Defeated versus Surprised
Truth: Presumptions & Assumptions
“The most rigid barrier to truth is the assumption you already have it.” Unknown Also presented as: “The only true barrier to truth is the presumption that you already have it.” “The only certain barrier to truth is the presumption that you already have it.”
Surprise & Conquer…
“Whoever can surprise well must conquer.” John Paul Jones (1747 to 1792) in a letter to the American commissioners to France, 10 February 1778. Papers of Benjamin Franklin, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This appears as “Who can surprise well must conquer” in John Paul Jones, Fighter for Freedom and Glory by Lincoln Lorenz, p.… Read More
Battlefield Realities: The Aftermath of the Fight
Research Paper Title Ancestral Custom: War Dead in Ancient Greece. Abstract In the aftermath of battle, those who survived were left to contemplate an eerie spectacle. What confronted them was a scene of distorted humanity: a field of broken bodies, abandoned weapons and the mournful cries of the wounded and dying. Birds circled expectantly overhead, whilst dogs scavenged… Read More
Manpower & Position Warfare vs Material & Mobile Warfare
“In this assault we lost more than 1,200 men killed, wounded and missing. This shows sharply how the curve of casualties rises when one reverts from mobile to position warfare. In mobile action, what counts is material, as the essential complement to the soldier. The finest fighting man has no value in mobile warfare without… Read More
A Commander’s Battlefield Knowledge: Leading from the Front or In the Rear with the Gear?
“It is of the utmost importance to the commander to have a good knowledge of the battlefield and of his own and his enemy’s positions on the ground. It is often not a question of which of the opposing commanders is the higher qualified mentally, or which has the greater experience, but which of them… Read More
Military Strategy: Exploiting Success
“When a commander has won a decisive victory – and Wavell’s victory over the Italians was devastating – it is generally wrong for him to be satisfied with too narrow a strategic aim. For that is the time to exploit success. It is during pursuit, when the beaten enemy is still dispirited and disorganised, that… Read More
Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute 