There Is But One Means To Extenuate

The Distribution Of Troops Devoted To The Defence Of A Place Includes A Garrison, An Occupying Force, Numerically As Weak As Possible; A Reserve As Strong As Possible, Designed For Counterattacking And For Providing Itself, At The Moment It Goes Into Action, With A Security Service Which Will Guard It From Any Possible Surprise.

Don't Drown Yourself In Details. Look At The Whole.

Every Manoeuvre Must Be The Development Of A Scheme; It Must Aim At A Goal.

In War There Are None But Particular Cases; Everything Has There An Individual Nature; Nothing Ever Repeats Itself. In The First Place, The Data Of A Military Problem Are But Seldom Certain; They Are Never Final . Everything Is In A Constant State Of Change And Reshaping.

Far From Being A Sum Of Distinct And Partial Results, Victory Is The Consequence Of Efforts, Some Of Which Are Victorious While Others Appear To Be Fruitless, Which Nevertheless All Aim At A Common Goal, All Drive At A Common Result: Namely, At A Decision, A Conclusion Which Alone Can Provide Victory.