Strategy Quote by Rick Atkinson

“No plan survives first contact with the enemy.”

— Andy Weir

“No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.”

— Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

“First, no plan survives contact with the enemy. Second, the enemy also makes plans.”

— Craig Alanson

“No plan survives first contact with the enemy. What matters is how quickly the leader is able to adapt.”

— Tim Harford

No plan survives contact with the enemy

— Erwin Rommel

“[A]s military history reveals, a bad plan is often better than no plan, especially if the people on the other side think it’s a…

— Adam Gopnik

No campaign plan survives first contact with the enemy

— Carl von Clausewitz

“The Department of Defense is structured to plan and prepare for war but not to fight one.”

— Robert M. Gates

Every battle is going to surprise you. No plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

— Dwight D. Eisenhower

No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. Not when the enemy is me.

— Lois McMaster Bujold

No plan ever survives its first encounter with the enemy.

— Douglas MacArthur

“There is no avoiding war, it can only be postponed to the advantage of your enemy.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli