“I don't underrate the value of military knowledge, but if men make war in slavish obedience to rules, they will fail.”

As quoted in A History of Militarism: Romance and Realities of a Profession (1937) by Alfred Vagts, p. 27.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I don't underrate the value of military knowledge, but if men make war in slavish obedience to rules, they will fail." by Ulysses S. Grant?
Ulysses S. Grant photo
Ulysses S. Grant 177
18th President of the United States 1822–1885

Related quotes

Douglas Bader photo

“Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools.”

Douglas Bader (1910–1982) British World War II flying ace

Brickhill 1954, p. 44. Note: (also quoted as "...for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men.") In Reach for the Sky, this quote is attributed to Harry Day, the Royal Flying Corps First World War fighter ace.

Brig. Gen. Eran Ortal photo
C. Wright Mills photo
Napoleon I of France photo

“In civil war it is not given to every man to know how to conduct himself. There is something more than military prudence necessary; there is need of sagacity and the knowledge of men.”

Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French

Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)

Mohammad Javad Zarif photo

“Beautiful military equipment don't rule the world, People rule the world. People.”

Mohammad Javad Zarif (1960) Iranian politician

Interview to CNN, January 7, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyH6QmFmeZE
Interview to CNN

Henry David Thoreau photo

“Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a truth.”

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) 1817-1862 American poet, essayist, naturalist, and abolitionist

"Natural History of Massachusetts" , The Dial (1842) https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/thoreau/nathist.html

Georges Clemenceau photo

“War is too serious a matter to entrust to military men.”

Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929) French politician

La guerre! C’est une chose trop grave pour la confier à des militaires.
Variant translation: War is too important a matter to be left to the military.
As quoted in Soixante Anneés d'Histoire Française (1932) by Georges Suarez
War is too serious a matter to leave to soldiers.
As quoted in Clemenceau and the Third Republic (1946) by John Hampden Jackson, p. 228; this has also become commonly paraphrased as: War is too important to be left to the generals.
Post-Prime Ministerial

Oswald Chambers photo
Anne Lamott photo

“Rule 1: When all else fails, follow instructions. And Rule 2: Don't be an asshole.”

Anne Lamott (1954) Novelist, essayist, memoirist, activist

Source: Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith

Thomas Carlyle photo

Related topics