Running a war seems to consist in making plans and then ensuring that all those destined to carry it out don’t quarrel with each other instead of the enemy.

—FIELD MARSHAL LORD ALANBROOKE

War Diaries 1939–1945

Yet the experiences of these masses will have taught the United States for the future that the business of war cannot be learnt in a few months, and that in a crisis lack of this experience costs streams of blood.

—FIELD MARSHAL VON HINDENBURG

The Great War

War, moreover, displays as do few other undertakings the grim and the great in human nature. It produces death and destruction while generating innovation in organization, technology, ethics, and law. It unleashes cruelty and exposes cowardice while inspiring camaraderie and courage. It produces regimentation, obedience, and a concentration on self-preservation even as it cultivates leadership, instills a sense of duty, and honors principles worth dying for.

—PETER BERKOWITZ

The Wall Street Journal