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Alfred von Schlieffen
8 quotes
“Um zu siegen, müssen wir versuchen, an der Stelle des Zusammenstoßes die Stärkeren zu sein. Dazu haben wir aber nur Aussicht, wenn wir die Operation bestimmen, nicht wenn wir in passiver Aufstellung abwarten, was der Feind über uns beschlossen hat.”
Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Gerhard Ritter, Der Schlieffenplan: Kritik eines Mythos (Munich: Rudolf Oldenbourg, 1956) p. 36. Translated by Andrew and Eva Wilson, The Schlieffen Plan: Critique of a Myth (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1958) pt.…
“Der Angriff gegen die Flanke ist der wesentlichste Inhalt der ganzen Kriegsgeschichte.”
Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Gerhard Ritter, Der Schlieffenplan (1956) p. 49. Translated by Andrew and Eva Wilson, The Schlieffen Plan (1958) pt. 2, sec. 3, p. 50
“A man is born, and not made, a strategist.”
Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Herman Foertsch, The Art of Modern Warfare (New York: Oskar Piest, 1940) ch. 4, p. 23
“The principles of strategy remain unchanged. The enemy's front is not the objective. The essential thing is to crush the enemy’s flanks...and complete the extermination by attack upon his rear.”
Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August (New York: The Macmillan Co, 1962) ch. 2, p. 20
“When you march into France, let the last man on the right brush the Channel with his sleeve.”
Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August (1962) ch. 2, p. 41
“A victory on the battlefield is of little account if it has not resulted either in breakthrough or encirclement. Though pushed back the enemy will appear again on different ground to renew the resistance he momentarily gave up. The campaign will go on.”
Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August (1962) ch. 21, p. 396
“It must come to a fight. Only make the right wing strong.”
Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Dying words, in B. H. Liddell Hart, "Reputations: Ten Years After—I. Joffre", The Atlantic Monthly, vol. 140 (July–December 1927) p. 83
“The modern commander-in-chief is no Napoleon who stands with his brilliant suite on a hill. Even with the best binoculars he would be unlikely to see much, and his white horse would be an easy target for innumerable batteries. The commander is farther to the rear in a house with roomy offices, where telegraph and wireless, telephone and signalling instruments are at hand, while a fleet of automobiles and motorcycles, ready for the longest trips, wait for orders. Here, in a comfortable chair before a large table, the modern Alexander overlooks the whole battlefield on a map. From here he telephones inspiring words, and here he receives the reports from army and corps commanders and from balloons and dirigibles which observe the enemy's movements and detect his positions.”
Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In Hajo Holborn, "8. Moltke and Schlieffen: The Prussian-German School", Makers of Modern Strategy: Military Thought from Machiavelli to Hitler, ed. Edward Mead Earle (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1943) p.…