Napoleon/// on War quotes
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I used to say of Napoleon, that his presence on the field made
the difference of forty thousand men...The Duke of Wellington.
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There have been generals in the past. There will be generals in the future. And then there is Napoleon.
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Napoleon Bonaparte* * *
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Peruse again and again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus Adolphus, Turenne, Engene, and Frederick. Model yourself upon them. This is the only means of becoming a great captain, and of acquiring the secret of the art of war. Your own genius will be enlightened and improved by this study, and you will learn to reject all maxiums foreign to the principles of these great commanders.
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How many things apparently impossible have nevertheless been
performed by resolute men who had no alternative but death.
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The secret of war lies in the communications.
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To have good soldiers, a nation must always be at war.
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In war there is but one favorable moment; the great art
is to seize it!
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Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them.
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There are certain things in war of which the commander alone
comprehends the importance. Nothing but his superior firmness
and ability can subdue and surmount all difficulties.
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He that makes war without many mistakes has not
made war very long.
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God is on the side with the best artillery.
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An army's effectiveness depends on its size, training, experience,
and morale. Morale is worth more than any of the other factors
combined.
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If you had seen one day of war, you would pray to God
that you would never see another.
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Strategy is the art of making use of time and space. I am less
concerned about the later than the former. Space we can recover,
lost time never.
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It would be a joke if the conduct of the victor had to be justified to
the vanquished.
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If you wage war, do it energetically and with severity. This is the
only way to make it shorter and consequently less inhuman.
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You do not get peace by shouting: Peace. Peace is a meaningless
word; what we need is a glorious peace.
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What my enemies call a general peace is my destruction. What
I call peace is merely the disarmament of my enemies. Am I not
more moderate than they?
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If the art of war were nothing but the art of avoiding risks, success
would become the prey of mediocre minds. I have made all the
calculations, fate will do the rest.
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An Emperor confides in national soldiers, not in mercenaries.
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An army ought to only have one line of operation. This should be
preserved with care, and never abandoned except in the last
extremity. When circumstances render this a necessity, an army
which changes, skillfully, its line of operation deceives the enemy,
who becomes ignorant where to look for its rear or its weak points.
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The transition from the defensive to the offensive is one of the most
delicate operations in war.
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A general-in-chief should ask himself several times in the day,
'What if the enemy were to appear now in my front, or on my right,
or my left?"If he have any difficulty in answering these questions,
his position is bad, and he should seek to remedy it.
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We should always go before our enemies with confidence, otherwise
our apparent uneasiness inspires them with greater boldness.
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The whole art of war consists of a well-reasoned and extremely
circumspect defense followed by rapid and audacious attack.
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The first quality for a commander-in-chief is a cool head, which
enables him to receive a correct impression of things. He should not
allow himself to be confused by either good or bad news.
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At the commencement of a campaign, to advance or not to advance
is a matter for grave consideration; but when once the offensive has
been assumed, it must be sustained to the last extremity.
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An army should be ready every day, every night and at all times
of the day and night, to oppose all the resistance of which it is capable.
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The strength of an army, like the power in mechanics, is estimated by
multiplying the mass by rapidity. Press on!
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When an army is inferior in number, this deficiency should be supplied
by rapidity of movement.
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Even in offensive warfare in the open field, the great secret consists in
defensive combats, and in obliging the enemy to attack.
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The first consideration with a general who offers battle should be the
glory and honor of his arms; the safety and preservation of his men is
only the second; it is in the courage resulting from the former that the
latter will most assuredly be found.
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It is an approved maxim in war, never to do what the enemy wishes you
to do. A field of battle, therefore, which he has previously studied and
reconnoitered, should be avoided.
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There is no security for any sovereign, nor any nation, in withdrawing from
danger, and thereby involving ones comrades to greater peril. It is the
heighth of cowardice. He who gives the order and those who obey are
alike traitors, and deserve capital punishment.
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When you are occupying a position which the enemy threatens to surround,
collect all your force immediately, and menace him with an offensive
movement.
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When you have resolved to fight a battle, collect your whole force. Dispense
with nothing. A single battalion sometimes decides the day.
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When a nation is without a firmly established military system, it is very
difficult to organize an effective army.
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Every means should be taken to attach the soldier to his colors. This is best
accomplished by showing consideration and respect to the old soldier.
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It is not lengthy speeches, at the moment of battle, that render soldiers brave.
The veteran scarcely listens to them, and the recruit forgets them at
the first discharge.
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All the information obtained from prisoners should be received with caution,
and estimated at its real value. A soldier seldom sees anything beyond his
company.
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Nothing is so important in war as an undivided command.
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Long discussions and councils of war will terminate in the adoption,of the
worst course, which in war is always the most timid, or, if you will, the most
prudent. The only true wisdom is determined courage.
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Authorizing generals or other officers to lay down their arms in virtue of a
particular capitulation, affords a dangerous latitude. It is destructive of all
military character in a nation, to open such a door to the cowardly, the weak,
or even to the misdirected brave.
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There is but one honorable mode of becoming prisioner of war. Being cut off
entirely. In this case, we yield to an irresistible necessity.
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Every general is culpable who undertakes the execution of a plan which he
considers faulty. In short, he should give in his resignation rather than allow
himself to be made the instrument of his army's ruin. Blind obedience is due
only to a military command given by a superior present on the spot at the
moment of action.
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Some men are so constituted as to see everything through a highly colored
medium. They give to every trivial occurrence a dramatic interest. Nature has
not formed them for the command of military operations.
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The leading qualifications which should distinguish an officer selected for the head of the staff are, to lay down the most complicated movements intelligibly, but in a few words, and with simplicity.
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Tactics, evolutions, and duties may be learned in treatises, but the science of strategy is only to be acquired by experience, and by studying the lessons of the campaigns, of the great captains. These lessons have been*to keep ones forces united; to leave no weak part unguarded, seize with rapidity on important points and to inspire terror at the reputation of your arms, which will at once maintain fidelity and secure subjection.
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There is no rule in war without exception.
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