Spirit of the Offensive." There are some very good reasons for this, which we shall review elsewhere. As with many other ideas which have a sound basis in reason, constant and fervent reiteration has created distortions, like the attitude, for example, which regards a healthy respect for enemy capabilities as defenseminded and hence ignoble." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
Pg. 43
“

Military doctrine is universally, and has been since the time of Napoleon, imbued with the "Spirit of the Offensive." There are some very good reasons for this, which we shall review elsewhere. As with many other ideas which have a sound basis in reason, constant and fervent reiteration has created distortions, like the attitude, for example, which regards a healthy respect for enemy capabilities as defenseminded and hence ignoble.

— Bernard Brodie (military strategist)

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Military doctrine is universally, and has been since the time of Napoleon, imbued with the "Spirit of the Offensive." There are some very good reasons for this, which we shall review elsewhere. As with many other ideas which have a sound basis in reason, constant and fervent reiteration has created distortions, like the attitude, for example, which regards a healthy respect for enemy capabilities as defenseminded and hence ignoble." in the context of "Pg. 43" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Bernard Brodie (military strategist)" (Quotes, Strategy in the Missile Age: Pdf of the original document http://www.rand.org/pubs/commercial_books/CB137-1.html) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Bernard Brodie (military strategist)#defenseminded#capabilities#universally#reiteration#distortions#offensive#elsewhere#military#doctrine#napoleon#constant
Bernard Brodie (military strategist)

About Bernard Brodie (military strategist)

Bernard Brodie (May 20, 1910 – November 24, 1978) was an American military strategist well known for establishing the basics of nuclear strategy. Known as "the American Clausewitz," and "the original nuclear strategist," he was an initial architect of nuclear deterrence strategy and tried to ascertain the role and value of nuclear weapons after their creation.