"Rule 1, on page 1 of the book of war, is: "Do not march on Moscow". Various people have tried it, Napoleon and Hitler, and it is no good. That is the first rule. I do not know whether your Lordships will know Rule 2 of war. It is: "Do not go fighting with your land armies in China". It is a vast country, with no clearly defined objectives."

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Added on April 10, 2026
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English

Sources

In the House of Lords, 30 May 1962 (Hansard, Col. 227)

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bernard_Montgomery%2C_1st_Viscount_Montgomery_of_Alamein