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The beginnings of any war by the British ('still as Saxon slow at starting, still as weirdly wont to win' [The Old Way - Adm Ronald Hopwood]) are always marked by improvidence, improvisations, and too often, alas, by impossibilities being asked of the troops.

— Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

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Notes from Wikiquote

Clarke D. (1948). Seven Assignments. Jonathan Cape. p. 7.

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No amount of study or learning will make a man a leader unless he has the natural qualities of one.

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It is in peace that regulations and routine become important and that the qualities of boldness and originality are cramped.

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A bold general may be lucky, but no general can be lucky unless he is bold. The general who allows himself to be bound and hampered by regulations is unlikely to win a battle.

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The higher commander who goes to Field Service Regulations for tactical guidance inspires about as much confidence as the doctor who turns to a medical dictionary for his diagnosis.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.