--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it is almost impossible to…" description: "\"But it is almost impossible to communicate with them [one's spies in the enemy camp] and receive the information they possess ... Even when the general..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/antoine-henri-jomini-41243_camps_but-it-is-almost-impossible-to-communica_1838617.png" --- # But it is almost impossible to communicate with them… ![“But it is almost impossible to communicate with them [one's spies in the enemy camp] and receive the information they possess ... Even when the general receives from his spies information of movements, he still knows nothing of those which may since have taken place, nor of what the enemy is going…” quote by Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/antoine-henri-jomini-41243_camps_but-it-is-almost-impossible-to-communica_1838617.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/antoine-henri-jomini-41243_camps_but-it-is-almost-impossible-to-communica_1838617.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/antoine-henri-jomini-41243_camps_but-it-is-almost-impossible-to-communica_1838617.png) > “But it is almost impossible to communicate with them \[one's spies in the enemy camp\] and receive the information they possess ... Even when the general receives from his spies information of movements, he still knows nothing of those which may since have taken place, nor of what the enemy is going finally to attempt.” [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even with spy reports, a commander cannot fully grasp enemy intentions or hidden actions. **In simple terms:** Spies give incomplete pictures. Key Takeaway Rely on multiple sources and analysis. Themes military strategy information uncertainty Mood cautious analytical Type strategic military When to use this quote - battle planning - enemy assessment - strategic forecasting Key Concepts intelligence gathering decision making Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders mitigate blind spots? - What alternative intel can complement spies? A Different Perspective Spies may be deceived or limited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Spies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spies/) [Spy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spy/) ## Related quotes > [The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-enemy-s-spies-who-have-come-to-spy-on-us-must-be-sought-out/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [There will always be spies. We have to have them. Without them we wouldn't have got Osama bin Laden - it took us years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/there-will-always-be-spies-we-have-to-have-them-without-them-we/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [Do not touch anything unnecessarily. Beware of pretty girls in dance halls and parks who may be spies, as well as bicycles, revolvers, uniforms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/do-not-touch-anything-unnecessarily-beware-of-pretty-girls-in-dance/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [“I'm a holy man minus the holiness. Hand that on to your three spies, and tell them to put it in their pipes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-a-holy-man-minus-the-holiness-hand-that-on-to-your-three-spies/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Generally speaking, espionage offers each spy an opportunity to go crazy in a way he finds irresistible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/generally-speaking-espionage-offers-each-spy-an-opportunity-to-go/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [You pretend to be a visitor, but are really a spy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/you-pretend-to-be-a-visitor-but-are-really-a-spy/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Spies go to bars for the same reason people go to libraries: full of information if you know where to ask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-weston/spies-go-to-bars-for-the-same-reason-people-go-to-libraries-full-of/) Michael Weston > [Mr. Snowden did not start out as a spy, and calling him one bends the term past recognition. Spies don't give their secrets to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/mr-snowden-did-not-start-out-as-a-spy-and-calling-him-one-bends-the/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [The ultimate in disposing one's troops is to be without ascertainable shape. Then the most penetrating spies cannot pry in nor can the wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-ultimate-in-disposing-one-s-troops-is-to-be-without-ascertainable/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [It's about these people who are inextricably together for whatever reasons, and they happen to be in the spy world. It's about relationships, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-garber/it-s-about-these-people-who-are-inextricably-together-for-whatever/) [Victor Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-garber/) > [For decades to come the spy world will continue to be the collective couch where the subconscious of each nation is confessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/for-decades-to-come-the-spy-world-will-continue-to-be-the-collective/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [ They \[spies\] cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straightforwardness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/they-spies-cannot-be-properly-managed-without-benevolence-and/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [The trouble is, when professional spies go out of their way to make a definitive statement about one of their own, the public tends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/the-trouble-is-when-professional-spies-go-out-of-their-way-to-make-a/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Spies are the ears and eyes of Princes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/spies-are-the-ears-and-eyes-of-princes/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/spies-cannot-be-usefully-employed-without-a-certain-intuitive-sagacity/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) ## More by Antoine-Henri Jomini > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [ This \[a surprise attack\] is an operation by no means to be despised in war, although it is rare, and less brilliant than a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/this-a-surprise-attack-is-an-operation-by-no-means-to-be-despised-in/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [It is certainly of great importance for a general to keep his plans secret; and Frederick the Great was right when he said that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/it-is-certainly-of-great-importance-for-a-general-to-keep-his-plans/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [A state attacked by another which renews an old claim rarely yields it without a war: it prefers to defend its territory, as is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/a-state-attacked-by-another-which-renews-an-old-claim-rarely-yields/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [Logistics comprises the means and arrangements which work out the plans of strategy and tactics. Strategy decides where to act; logistics brings the troops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/logistics-comprises-the-means-and-arrangements-which-work-out-the/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [A cherished cause and a general who inspires confidence by previous success are powerful means of electrifying an army.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/a-cherished-cause-and-a-general-who-inspires-confidence-by-previous/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [“The celebrated maxim of the Romans, not to undertake two great wars at the same time, is so well known and so well appreciated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-celebrated-maxim-of-the-romans-not-to-undertake-two-great-wars-at/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [As the excited passions of hostile people are of themselves a powerful enemy, both the general and his government should use their best efforts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/as-the-excited-passions-of-hostile-people-are-of-themselves-a/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [One of the surest ways of forming good combinations in war would be to order movements only after obtaining perfect information of the enemy's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/one-of-the-surest-ways-of-forming-good-combinations-in-war-would-be/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) [Explore all 10 Antoine-Henri Jomini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) ## More Camps quotes > [Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/humanitarian-goods-and-people-must-flow-in-both-directions-gaza/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [In high school, I was performing "forensics." You take a section of a play and portray all the characters. I even went to camp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-silverman/in-high-school-i-was-performing-forensics-you-take-a-section-of-a/) [Allison Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-silverman/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's often frustrating when you're a war reporter and you're covering these places that far away. You're frustrated by making stories that people can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-rowley/it-s-often-frustrating-when-you-re-a-war-reporter-and-you-re-covering/) [Rick Rowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-rowley/) > [A man in a cave or in a camp, a nomad, will die with no more estate than the wolf or the horse leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-in-a-cave-or-in-a-camp-a-nomad-will-die-with-no-more-estate/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The troops were occasionally occupied in pursuing scattered bands going north or south, and on three occasions the large camp of Sitting Bull ventured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-a-miles/the-troops-were-occasionally-occupied-in-pursuing-scattered-bands/) [Nelson A. Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-a-miles/) > [I try to leave my work at the door when I leave the set. It's almost like summer camp. You go in hard, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/i-try-to-leave-my-work-at-the-door-when-i-leave-the-set-it-s-almost/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [When I was seventeen, I worked as a counsellor at a co-ed sleep-away camp for eight weeks. I loved it but it could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/when-i-was-seventeen-i-worked-as-a-counsellor-at-a-co-ed-sleep-away/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [When we criticize in Iran the actions of the government, the fundamentalists say that we and the Bush Administration are in the same camp.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/when-we-criticize-in-iran-the-actions-of-the-government-the/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [If writing with a goal - whether it be evangelistic, apologetic, or didactic - implies propaganda, then all recorded history is propaganda. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/if-writing-with-a-goal-whether-it-be-evangelistic-apologetic-or/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [ \[10 Things I Hate About You\] was the most fun I ever had making a movie. Everyone got along really, really well from day… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krumholtz/10-things-i-hate-about-you-was-the-most-fun-i-ever-had-making-a-movie/) [David Krumholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krumholtz/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [Wouldn't that be funny, if the oil rebels were playing U2 in their jungle camps, and the government soldiers were playing U2 in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/wouldn-t-that-be-funny-if-the-oil-rebels-were-playing-u2-in-their/) [Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/) Browse all 918 Camps quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But it is almost impossible to communicate with them [one's spies in the enemy camp] and receive the information they possess ... 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