Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell: Regulation

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell was senior officer of the British Army. Explore interesting quotes on regulation.

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell: 14 quotes2 likes

“The higher commander who goes to Field Service Regulations for tactical guidance inspires about as much confidence as the doctor who turns to a medical dictionary for his diagnosis.”

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

III – The Soldier and the Statesman.
"Generals and Generalship" (1939)

“A bold general may be lucky, but no general can be lucky unless he is bold. The general who allows himself to be bound and hampered by regulations is unlikely to win a battle.”

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

I – The Good General.
"Generals and Generalship" (1939)

“The British have been a free people and are still a comparatively free people; and though we are not, thank Heaven, a military nation, this tradition of freedom gives to our junior leaders in war a priceless gift of initiative. So long as this initiative is not cramped by too many regulations, by too much formalism, we shall, I trust, continue to win our battles – sometimes in spite of our higher commanders.”

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

III – The Soldier and the Statesman.
"Generals and Generalship" (1939)