F Foch Quotes & Sayings

The laurels of victory are at the point of the enemy bayonets. They must be plucked there ; they must be carried by a hand-to-hand fight if one really means to conquer. — Ferdinand Foch

None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear. — Ferdinand Foch

A beaten general is disgraced forever. — Ferdinand Foch

Ferdinand Foch said, "The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire." What a tragedy to leave this life without a flicker of a legacy, without a flame of a witness. — James Poitras

To inform, and, therefore to reconnoitre , this is the first and constant duty of the advanced guard. — Ferdinand Foch

Foch never for a moment thought about the easy ways of bringing his name before the public and the political world, or even about acquiring a reputation for military insight among the chiefs of the French army. He never posed as a central figure at public functions; he was never interviewed by the press; he made no use of the professional reviews to bring his name before military readers. Ile never published a line until his chiefs suggested the publication of his lectures at the Staff College. From the day when he received his first commission he was a hard-working student of war, patiently preparing himself to do his duty when the opportunity came, and meanwhile content to put all his energies into the work assigned to him. Success in the career of arms is not always associated with high personal character or with this modest pursuit of duty for its own sake. — Andrew Hilliard Atteridge

One is defeated only when one accepts defeat. — Ferdinand Foch

Regulations are all very well for drill, but in the hour of danger they are no more use. You have to learn to think. — Ferdinand Foch

Don't drown yourself in details. Look at the whole. — Ferdinand Foch

Far from being a sum of distinct and partial results, victory is the consequence of efforts, some of which are victorious while others appear to be fruitless, which nevertheless all aim at a common goal, all drive at a common result: namely, at a decision, a conclusion which alone can provide victory. — Ferdinand Foch

Every manoeuvre must be the development of a scheme; it must aim at a goal. — Ferdinand Foch

The truth is, no study is possible on the battle-field; one does there simply what one can in order to apply what one knows . Therefore, in order to do even a little, one has already to know a great deal and to know it well. — Ferdinand Foch

A war not only arises, but derives its nature , from the political ideas, the moral sentiments, and the international relations obtaining at the moment when it breaks out. This amounts to saying:;: try and know why and with the help of what you are going to act; then you will find out how to act. — Ferdinand Foch

The unknown is the governing principle of war. — Ferdinand Foch

When Marshal Foch heard of the signing of the Peace Treaty of Versailles he observed with singular accuracy: This is not Peace. It is an Armistice for twenty years. — Winston S. Churchill

The fundamental qualities for good execution of a plan is first; intelligence; then discernment and judgment, which enable one to recognize the best method as to attain it; the singleness of purpose; and, lastly, ... stubborn will. — Ferdinand Foch

To think meant to give room for freedom of initiative, for the imponderable to win over the material, for will to demonstrate its power over circumstance. — Barbara W. Tuchman

The distribution of troops devoted to the defence of a place includes a garrison, an occupying force, numerically as weak as possible; a reserve as strong as possible, designed for counterattacking and for providing itself, at the moment it goes into action, with a security service which will guard it from any possible surprise. — Ferdinand Foch

The power to command has never meant the power to remain mysterious. — Ferdinand Foch

Airplanes are interesting toys, but of no military value. — Ferdinand Foch

No study is possible on the battlefield. — Ferdinand Foch

A battle won is a battle which we will not acknowledge to be lost. — Ferdinand Foch

Development," mind you - not just "advancement." For Foch is, and ever has been, the kind of man who would most abhor being advanced faster than he developed. He would infinitely rather be prepared for a promotion and fail to get it than get a promotion for which he was not thoroughly prepared. Nor is he the sort of individual who can comfortably deceive himself about his fitness. He sustains himself by no illusions of the variety: "If I had so-and-so to do, I'd probably get through as well as nine-tenths — Clara E. Laughlin

One does simply what one can in order to apply what one knows . — Ferdinand Foch

The will to conquer is the first condition of victory. — Ferdinand Foch

Aviation is fine as a sport. But as an instrument of war, it is worthless. — Ferdinand Foch

In whatever position you find yourself determine first your objective. — Ferdinand Foch

The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire. — Ferdinand Foch

Victory is a thing of the will. — Ferdinand Foch

In tactics, action is the governing rule of war. — Ferdinand Foch