B. H. Liddell Hart Quotes
Every action is seen to fall into one of three main categories, guarding, hitting, or moving. Here, then, are the elements of combat, whether in war or pugilism.
Hart, B. H. Liddell. Thoughts on War. Faber & Faber, 1944, p. 129.
This was the classic German method of invading a neutral country. First they claim that they have good information that their enemy, in this case France, is going to March through Belgium to attack Germany. Then they state that the Belgians are too weak to prevent this breach of their neutrality. Therefore, Germany as an act of “self defense” must send troops into Belgium to repel the French. The Belgians of course objected and stated that they would maintain their neutrality (see {613959} ) but the Germans then invaded the next day and could not understand why the world considered it aggression.
Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart, commonly known throughout most of his career as Captain B. H. Liddell Hart, was a British soldier, military historian and military theorist. He wrote a series of military histories that proved influential among strategists. He argued that frontal assault was a strategy that was bound to fail at great cost in lives, as happened in the First World War. He instead recommended the "indirect approach" and reliance on fast-moving armoured formations.
