Alfred Thayer Mahan

There has been a constant struggle on the part of the military element to keep the end- fighting, or readiness to fight-superior…

— Alfred Thayer Mahan

Free supplies and open retreat are two essentials to the safety of an army or a fleet.

— Alfred Thayer Mahan

Whether they will or not, Americans must now begin to look outward. The growing production of the country demands it.

— Alfred Thayer Mahan

Organized force alone enables the quiet and the weak to go about their business and to sleep securely in their beds, safe…

— Alfred Thayer Mahan

Force is never more operative than when it is known to exist but is not brandished.

— Alfred Thayer Mahan

The study of history lies at the foundation of all sound military conclusions and practice.

— Alfred Thayer Mahan

Having therefore no foreign establishments, either colonial or military, the ships of war of the United States, in war, will be like…

— Alfred Thayer Mahan

War, once declared, must be waged offensively, aggressively. The enemy must not be fended off; but smitten down. You may then spare…

— Alfred Thayer Mahan

“The history of sea power is largely, though by no means solely, a narrative of contests between nations, of mutual rivalries, of…

— Alfred Thayer Mahan

The surer of himself an admiral is, the finer the tactical development of his fleet, the better his captains, the more reluctant…

— Alfred Thayer Mahan

Those far distant, storm-beaten ships, upon which the Grand Army never looked, stood between it and the dominion of the world.

— Alfred Thayer Mahan