“No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy’s main strength,” he wrote. That statement was refined and repeated over the decades and today soldiers know it as “no plan survives contact with the enemy.” That’s much snappier. But notice that Moltke’s original was more nuanced, which is typical of his thinking. “It is impossible to lay down binding rules” that apply in all circumstances, he wrote. In war, “two cases never will be exactly the same.” Improvisation is essential.
