--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While hitting one must guard ... In order…" description: "\"While hitting one must guard ... In order to hit with effect, the enemy must be taken off his guard.\" — B. H. Liddell Hart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/b-h-liddell-hart-9275_effects_while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to_2943168.png" --- # While hitting one must guard ... In order to hit with… ![“While hitting one must guard ... In order to hit with effect, the enemy must be taken off his guard.” quote by B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/b-h-liddell-hart-9275_effects_while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to_2943168.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/b-h-liddell-hart-9275_effects_while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to_2943168.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/b-h-liddell-hart-9275_effects_while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to_2943168.png) > “While hitting one must guard ... In order to hit with effect, the enemy must be taken off his guard.” [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective attack requires catching the opponent off guard; surprise is essential for success. **In simple terms:** Surprise is key to a successful attack. Key Takeaway Plan to surprise your opponent. Themes strategy surprise military tactics Mood tactical serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - battlefield - competitive sports - business negotiations Key Concepts psychology of conflict timing Questions to Reflect On - When is surprise more harmful than helpful? - How can you balance surprise with fairness? A Different Perspective Surprise can backfire if poorly timed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Effect Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effect-enemy-4397507/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Guard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guard/) [Hitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitting/) [Hitting Guard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitting-guard-4397505/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Taken Guard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken-guard-4397506/) ## Related quotes > [Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/surely-what-a-man-does-when-he-is-taken-off-his-guard-is-the-best/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Defensively, I think I'm very versatile, I can guard different positions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-knox/defensively-i-think-i-m-very-versatile-i-can-guard-different-positions/) [Kevin Knox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-knox/) > [I can always make trouble for who I guard and control the effort I bring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bledsoe/i-can-always-make-trouble-for-who-i-guard-and-control-the-effort-i/) [Eric Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bledsoe/) > [Who is to guard the guards themselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/who-is-to-guard-the-guards-themselves/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Who will guard the guards ? If we're the guards of society, then who will watch us and make sure that we're not dangerous?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/who-will-guard-the-guards-if-we-re-the-guards-of-society-then-who/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [I can't think of much higher praise to give a player than to say, 'This point guard reminds me of Jason Kidd.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-howland/i-can-t-think-of-much-higher-praise-to-give-a-player-than-to-say-this/) [Ben Howland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-howland/) > [I still say, to this day, I could not guard Nigel Lloyd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nurse/i-still-say-to-this-day-i-could-not-guard-nigel-lloyd/) [Nick Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nurse/) > [I don't know how many people have ever seen the National Guard break in somewhere, but they mean business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzie-smith/i-don-t-know-how-many-people-have-ever-seen-the-national-guard-break/) [Ozzie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzie-smith/) > [Well, for me, my favourite 'Indiana Jones' is 'The Last Crusade,' because you get tears in your eyes when you see the old guard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-winstone/well-for-me-my-favourite-indiana-jones-is-the-last-crusade-because/) [Ray Winstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-winstone/) > [“Some, in an effort to protect and preserve the gospel message, have become like the guards in that museum, fueled by fear that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-hipps/some-in-an-effort-to-protect-and-preserve-the-gospel-message-have/) [Shane Hipps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-hipps/) > [You don't have to run from baseline to baseline when you play guard. That helps me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-havlicek/you-don-t-have-to-run-from-baseline-to-baseline-when-you-play-guard/) [John Havlicek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-havlicek/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The coffers are full of money and equipment for the Ferguson Police and the Missouri National Guard to put down a potential uprising, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/the-coffers-are-full-of-money-and-equipment-for-the-ferguson-police/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [First at the outset, let me commend the great men and women of the United States Coast Guard for what they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vito-fossella/first-at-the-outset-let-me-commend-the-great-men-and-women-of-the/) [Vito Fossella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vito-fossella/) > [There's always a good point guard in this league.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bledsoe/there-s-always-a-good-point-guard-in-this-league/) [Eric Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bledsoe/) ## More by B. H. Liddell Hart > [The downfall of civilized states tends to come not from the direct assaults of foes, but from internal decay combined with the consequences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-downfall-of-civilized-states-tends-to-come-not-from-the-direct/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [The implied threat of using nuclear weapons to curb guerrillas was as absurd as to talk of using a sledge hammer to ward off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-implied-threat-of-using-nuclear-weapons-to-curb-guerrillas-was-as/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [In war the chief incalculable is the human will, which manifests itself in resistance, which in turn lies in the province of tactics. Strategy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/in-war-the-chief-incalculable-is-the-human-will-which-manifests/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [If you want peace, understand war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/if-you-want-peace-understand-war/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [In a campaign against more than one state or army, it is more fruitful to concentrate first against the weaker partner than to attempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/in-a-campaign-against-more-than-one-state-or-army-it-is-more-fruitful/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [I used to think that the causes of war were predominantly economic. I came to think that they were more psychological. I am now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/i-used-to-think-that-the-causes-of-war-were-predominantly-economic-i/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [While the nominal strength of a country is represented by its numbers and resources, this muscular development is dependent on the state of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/while-the-nominal-strength-of-a-country-is-represented-by-its-numbers/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [If we clear the air of the fog of catchwords which surround the conduct of war, and grasp that in the human will lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/if-we-clear-the-air-of-the-fog-of-catchwords-which-surround-the/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [The unexpected cannot guarantee success, but it guarantees the best chance of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-unexpected-cannot-guarantee-success-but-it-guarantees-the-best/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [Guerrilla war is a kind of war waged by the few but dependent on the support of many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/guerrilla-war-is-a-kind-of-war-waged-by-the-few-but-dependent-on-the/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [The art of the indirect approach can only be mastered, and its full scope appreciated, by study of and reflection upon the whole history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-art-of-the-indirect-approach-can-only-be-mastered-and-its-full/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [It is only to clear from history that states rarely keep faith with each other, save in so far (and so long) as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/it-is-only-to-clear-from-history-that-states-rarely-keep-faith-with/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [The most dangerous error is failure to recognize our own tendency to error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-most-dangerous-error-is-failure-to-recognize-our-own-tendency-to/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [The effect to be sought is the dislocation of the opponent's mind and dispositions - such an effect is the true gauge of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-effect-to-be-sought-is-the-dislocation-of-the-opponent-s-mind-and/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [Helplessness induces hopelessness, and history attests that loss of hope and not loss of lives is what decides the issue of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/helplessness-induces-hopelessness-and-history-attests-that-loss-of/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) [Explore all 74 B. H. Liddell Hart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) ## More Effects quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [I think it's actually kind of sweet how there is a reciprocal effect that our stories can have on each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-manning/i-think-it-s-actually-kind-of-sweet-how-there-is-a-reciprocal-effect/) [Chelsea Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-manning/) > [The Germans are the most philosophic people in the world, and the greatest smokers: now I trace their philosophy to their smoking. Smoking has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-borrow/the-germans-are-the-most-philosophic-people-in-the-world-and-the/) [George Henry Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-borrow/) > [What Cicero said of men-that they are like wines, age souring the bad, and bettering the good-we can say of misfortune, that it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/what-cicero-said-of-men-that-they-are-like-wines-age-souring-the-bad/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [The internet is very democratizing in some ways, but it also has other effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/the-internet-is-very-democratizing-in-some-ways-but-it-also-has-other/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [The beautiful image today means nothing. It's worthshit. In fact, it's almost as if it has the opposite effect, becauseyou're just like everything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/the-beautiful-image-today-means-nothing-it-s-worthshit-in-fact-it-s/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [Antidepressants are the biggest fraud in the world. Number one, Prozac gives you a royal soft-on like you wouldn't believe, and number two you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-evans/antidepressants-are-the-biggest-fraud-in-the-world-number-one-prozac/) [Robert Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-evans/) > [If the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labour, entertainment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-the-idea-of-having-to-change-ourselves-makes-us-uncomfortable-we/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [The explosion was good. It sent a message to the rest of the world that the time of the big star getting all this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-redstone/the-explosion-was-good-it-sent-a-message-to-the-rest-of-the-world/) [Sumner Redstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-redstone/) [Browse all 4,169 Effects quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "While hitting one must guard ... In order to hit with effect, the enemy must be taken off his guard.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "B. H. Liddell Hart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to-hit-with-effect-the-enemy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Effects" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to-hit-with-effect-the-enemy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/b-h-liddell-hart-9275_effects_while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to_2943168.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/b-h-liddell-hart-9275_effects_while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to_2943168.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13a/b-h-liddell-hart-9275_effects_while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to_2943168.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“While hitting one must guard ... In order to hit with effect, the enemy must be taken off his guard.” — B. H. Liddell Hart", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "B. H. Liddell Hart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "While hitting one must guard ......", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to-hit-with-effect-the-enemy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/while-hitting-one-must-guard-in-order-to-hit-with-effect-the-enemy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```