Is it to be supposed that all this could have been done without producing great friction in the machine?  Can the mind of a Commander elaborate such movements with the same ease as the hand of a land surveyor uses the astrolabe?  Does not the sight of the sufferings of their hungry, thirsty comrades pierce the hearts of the Commander and his Generals a thousand times?  Must not the murmurs and doubts which these cause reach his ear?  Has an ordinary man the courage to demand such sacrifices, and would not such efforts most certainly demoralise the Army, break up the bands of discipline, and, in short, undermine its military virtue, if firm reliance on the greatness and infallibility of the Commander did not compensate for all?  Here, therefore, it is that we should pay respect; it is these miracles of execution which we should admire.  But it is impossible to realise all this in its full force without a foretaste of it by experience.  He who only knows War from books or the drill-ground cannot realise the whole effect of this counterpoise in action; we beg him, therefore, to accept from us on faith and trust all that he is unable to supply from any personal experiences of his own.

This illustration is intended to give more clearness to the course of our ideas, and in closing this chapter we will only briefly observe that in our exposition of Strategy we shall describe those separate subjects which appear to us the most important, whether of a moral or material nature; then proceed from the simple to the complex, and conclude with the inner connection of the whole act of War, in other words, with the plan for a War or campaign.

OBSERVATION.

In an earlier manuscript of the second book are the following passages endorsed by the author himself to be used for the first Chapter of the second Book:  the projected revision of that chapter not having been made, the passages referred to are introduced here in full.

By the mere assemblage of armed forces at a particular point, a battle there becomes possible, but does not always take place.  Is that possibility now to be regarded as a reality and therefore an effective thing?  Certainly, it is so by its results, and these effects, whatever they may be, can never fail.

1.  Possible combats are on account of their results to be looked upon as real ones.

If a detachment is sent away to cut off the retreat of a flying enemy, and the enemy surrenders in consequence without further resistance, still it is through the combat which is offered to him by this detachment sent after him that he is brought to his decision.