--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: General, your tank is a powerful vehicle…" description: "\"General, your tank is a powerful vehicle It smashes down forests and crushes a hundred men. But it has one defect: It needs a driver. General, your bom..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/bertolt-brecht-1065_bombers_general-your-tank-is-a-powerful-vehicle_2636471.jpg" --- # General, your tank is a powerful vehicle It smashes down… ![“General, your tank is a powerful vehicle It smashes down forests and crushes a hundred men. But it has one defect: It needs a driver. General, your bomber is powerful. It flies faster than a storm and carries more than an elephant. But it has one defect: It needs a mechanic. General, man is very…” quote by Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/bertolt-brecht-1065_bombers_general-your-tank-is-a-powerful-vehicle_2636471.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/bertolt-brecht-1065_bombers_general-your-tank-is-a-powerful-vehicle_2636471.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/bertolt-brecht-1065_bombers_general-your-tank-is-a-powerful-vehicle_2636471.jpg) > “General, your tank is a powerful vehicle It smashes down forests and crushes a hundred men. But it has one defect: It needs a driver. General, your bomber is powerful. It flies faster than a storm and carries more than an elephant. But it has one defect: It needs a mechanic. General, man is very useful. He can fly and he can kill. But he has one defect: He can think.” [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human tools are powerful, but their greatest strength and limitation lies in the human mind that operates them. **In simple terms:** People are the weakest link in powerful machines. Key Takeaway Recognize the responsibility of thought. Themes humanity technology responsibility Mood cautionary reflective Type philosophical strategic When to use this quote - military strategy - technology design - leadership training Key Concepts agency limitations critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What thoughts guide your actions? - How can we balance power with wisdom? A Different Perspective Overreliance on technology can obscure human error. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bomber Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bomber-powerful-2233072/) [Bombers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bombers/) [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Defects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defects/) [Driver General](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driver-general-2233073/) [Drivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drivers/) [Elephants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephants/) [Faster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [General Bomber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-bomber-2233070/) [General Tank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-tank-2233071/) [Hundred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hundred/) [Mechanic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanic/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storm/) [Tank Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tank-powerful-580565/) [Tanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tanks/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Vehicle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vehicle/) ## Related quotes > [General, your tank is a powerful vehicle it smashes down forests and crushes a hundred men. but it has one defect: it needs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/general-your-tank-is-a-powerful-vehicle-it-smashes-down-forests-and/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [The Navy can lose us the war, but only the Air Force can win it. Therefore our supreme effort must be to gain overwhelming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-navy-can-lose-us-the-war-but-only-the-air-force-can-win-it/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Why does the Air Force need expensive new bombers? Have the people we've been bombing over the years been complaining?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wallace/why-does-the-air-force-need-expensive-new-bombers-have-the-people-we/) [George C. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wallace/) > [I know of no wars started by anyone to impose lack of religion on someone else. We have lethal Sunni v Shia, Catholic against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-hoggart/i-know-of-no-wars-started-by-anyone-to-impose-lack-of-religion-on/) [Simon Hoggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-hoggart/) > [The Navy can lose us the war, but only the Air Force can win it. 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All of them must live with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-suicide-bombers-who-struck-london-on-7-july-2005-killed-52/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's a bit scary to see my book come true: the recent (if minor) LA earthquakes, Hurricane Sandy, the Boston bomber, and so on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edan-lepucki/it-s-a-bit-scary-to-see-my-book-come-true-the-recent-if-minor-la/) [Edan Lepucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edan-lepucki/) > [. . . when I look round to see how we can win the war I see that there is only one sure path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-i-look-round-to-see-how-we-can-win-the-war-i-see-that-there-is/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Move in to fire at the mainstream of bombers. Let off a sharp burst and then turn away. 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I denounce those governments which use indiscriminate slaughter to advance their foreign policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/i-don-t-just-denounce-suicide-bombers-i-denounce-those-governments/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) ## More by Bertolt Brecht > [Their peace and their war Are like wind and storm. War grows from their peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/their-peace-and-their-war-are-like-wind-and-storm-war-grows-from/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Boy Meets Girl, So What?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/boy-meets-girl-so-what/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Some party hack decreed that the people had lost the government's confidence and could only regain it with redoubled effort. 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It makes for a better division of labour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/there-are-some-with-brains-and-some-without-it-makes-for-a-better/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“When the sharks the sharks devour Little fishes have their hour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/when-the-sharks-the-sharks-devour-little-fishes-have-their-hour/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“In my poetry a rhyme Would seem to me almost insolent. 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To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [I don't just denounce suicide bombers. I denounce those governments which use indiscriminate slaughter to advance their foreign policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/i-don-t-just-denounce-suicide-bombers-i-denounce-those-governments/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) > [What happened in Kosovo was the exact reversal of what happened in 'Fortress Europe' in 1943-45. Let me explain. Air Marshall 'Bomber' Harris used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/what-happened-in-kosovo-was-the-exact-reversal-of-what-happened-in/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [We read our mail and counted up our missions In bombers named for girls, we burned The cities we had learned about in school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/we-read-our-mail-and-counted-up-our-missions-in-bombers-named-for/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [Move in to fire at the mainstream of bombers. Let off a sharp burst and then turn away. Roll over, spin round and come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iron-maiden/move-in-to-fire-at-the-mainstream-of-bombers-let-off-a-sharp-burst/) [Iron Maiden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iron-maiden/) > [. . . when I look round to see how we can win the war I see that there is only one sure path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-i-look-round-to-see-how-we-can-win-the-war-i-see-that-there-is/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [It's a bit scary to see my book come true: the recent (if minor) LA earthquakes, Hurricane Sandy, the Boston bomber, and so on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edan-lepucki/it-s-a-bit-scary-to-see-my-book-come-true-the-recent-if-minor-la/) [Edan Lepucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edan-lepucki/) > [The suicide bombers who struck London on 7 July 2005 killed 52 innocent people and wounded hundreds more. All of them must live with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-suicide-bombers-who-struck-london-on-7-july-2005-killed-52/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I did a study of soldiers returning from Iraq, and their levels of PTSD were much higher if they had had to shoot a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-bloom/i-did-a-study-of-soldiers-returning-from-iraq-and-their-levels-of/) [Mia Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-bloom/) > [The majority of terrorist attacks that have been disrupted in the United States have been disrupted due to things like the Time Square bomber,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/the-majority-of-terrorist-attacks-that-have-been-disrupted-in-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [The Navy can lose us the war, but only the Air Force can win it. 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