black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

The theory of the indirect approach operates on the line of least expectation.

B. H. Liddell Hart

Related Topics

Indirect Line

I used to think that the causes of war were predominantly economic. I came to think that they were more psychological. I am now coming to think that they are decisively “personal,” arising from the defects and ambitions of those who have the power to influence the currents of nations.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

I used to think that the causes of war were predominantly economic. I came to think that they were more psychological. I am now coming to think that they are decisively “personal,” arising from the defects and ambitions of those who have the power to influence the currents of nations.
B. H. LIDDELL HART
The practical value of history is to throw the film of the past through the material projector of the present on to the screen of the future.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

The practical value of history is to throw the film of the past through the material projector of the present on to the screen of the future.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Materials
To foster the people’s willing spirit is often as important as to possess the more concrete forms of power.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

To foster the people’s willing spirit is often as important as to possess the more concrete forms of power.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Military
The only thing harder than getting a new idea into the military mind is to get an old one out.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

The only thing harder than getting a new idea into the military mind is to get an old one out.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Military
The effect to be sought is the dislocation of the opponent’s mind and dispositions – such an effect is the true gauge of an indirect approach.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

The effect to be sought is the dislocation of the opponent’s mind and dispositions – such an effect is the true gauge of an indirect approach.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Gauges Military
War is always a matter of doing evil in the hope that good may come of it.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

War is always a matter of doing evil in the hope that good may come of it.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Military
A modern state is such a complex and interdependent fabric that it offers a target highly sensitive to a sudden and overwhelming blow from the air.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

A modern state is such a complex and interdependent fabric that it offers a target highly sensitive to a sudden and overwhelming blow from the air.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Target
A complacent satisfaction with present knowledge is the chief bar to the pursuit of knowledge.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

A complacent satisfaction with present knowledge is the chief bar to the pursuit of knowledge.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Bars
If you find your opponent in a strong position costly to force, you should leave him a line of retreat as the quickest way of loosening his resistance. It should, equally, be a principle of policy, especially in war, to provide your opponent with a ladder by which he can climb down.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

If you find your opponent in a strong position costly to force, you should leave him a line of retreat as the quickest way of loosening his resistance. It should, equally, be a principle of policy, especially in war, to provide your opponent with a ladder by which he can climb down.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Military
In the case of a state that is seeking not conquest but the maintenance of its security, the aim is fulfilled if the threat is removed – if the enemy is led to abandon his purpose.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

In the case of a state that is seeking not conquest but the maintenance of its security, the aim is fulfilled if the threat is removed – if the enemy is led to abandon his purpose.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Military
With growing experience, all skillful commanders sought to profit by the power of the defensive, even when on the offensive.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Growing Military Offensive
The urge to gain release from tension by action is a precipitating cause of war.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

The urge to gain release from tension by action is a precipitating cause of war.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Causes Gains
Inflict the least possible permanent injury, for the enemy of to-day is the customer of the morrow and the ally of the future

B. H. LIDDELL HART

Inflict the least possible permanent injury, for the enemy of to-day is the customer of the morrow and the ally of the future
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Allies Military
The downfall of civilized states tends to come not from the direct assaults of foes, but from internal decay combined with the consequences of exhaustion in war.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

The downfall of civilized states tends to come not from the direct assaults of foes, but from internal decay combined with the consequences of exhaustion in war.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Decay Military
The most dangerous error is failure to recognize our own tendency to error.

B. H. LIDDELL HART

The most dangerous error is failure to recognize our own tendency to error.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Dangerous Errors Tendencies
The easiest and quickest path into the esteem of traditional military authorities is by the appeal to the eye, rather than to the mind. ‘The polish and pipeclay’ school is not yet extinct, and it is easier for the mediocre intelligence to become an authority on buttons, than on tactics.
B. H. LIDDELL HART

Eye Military

The theory of the indirect approach operates on the line of least expectation.

Related Topics

More B. H. Liddell Hart Quotes