--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the French high command had got wind…" description: "\"“When the French high command had got wind of the German Schlieffen Plan prior to World War I, their reaction had been, “So much the better for us!” Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/tom-clancy-1751_world-war_when-the-french-high-command-had-got-win_1052428.jpg" --- # When the French high command had got wind of the German… ![“When the French high command had got wind of the German Schlieffen Plan prior to World War I, their reaction had been, “So much the better for us!” That assault had barely ground to a halt outside Paris. In 1940, the same high command had greeted initial news of another German attack with…” quote by Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/tom-clancy-1751_world-war_when-the-french-high-command-had-got-win_1052428.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/tom-clancy-1751_world-war_when-the-french-high-command-had-got-win_1052428.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5f/tom-clancy-1751_world-war_when-the-french-high-command-had-got-win_1052428.jpg) > ““When the French high command had got wind of the German Schlieffen Plan prior to World War I, their reaction had been, “So much the better for us!” That assault had barely ground to a halt outside Paris. In 1940, the same high command had greeted initial news of another German attack with smiles—and that attack had ended at the Spanish border. The problem was that people tended to wed their ideas more faithfully than their spouses, and the tendency was universal. It”” [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People cling to ideas more tightly than relationships, leading to strategic blunders. **In simple terms:** Ideas often outweigh personal bonds. Key Takeaway Question loyalty to ideas over people. Themes loyalty strategy human nature politics Mood analytical cautionary Type political philosophical When to use this quote - military planning - corporate strategy - personal relationships Key Concepts cognitive bias groupthink Questions to Reflect On - Why do we prioritize ideology over relationships? - How can we mitigate idea‑driven bias? A Different Perspective Ideas can blind judgment and cause costly errors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [German Schlieffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/german-schlieffen-2524451/) [Paris 1940](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paris-1940-2524452/) [Schlieffen Plan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schlieffen-plan-1768203/) [War Reaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-reaction-2524450/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) ## Related quotes > [“it was the horror of the two world wars—Verdun, the Somme, Hiroshima—that led to our own era’s questioning of the tragic view of war.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-davis-hanson/it-was-the-horror-of-the-two-world-wars-verdun-the-somme-hiroshima/) [Victor Davis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-davis-hanson/) > [“The Battle of the Marne was the end of the Schlieffen Plan, the end of the era of short wars, and the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-stokesbury/the-battle-of-the-marne-was-the-end-of-the-schlieffen-plan-the-end-of/) [James L. Stokesbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-stokesbury/) > [“Moltke began to tamper with Schlieffen’s plan. Instead of investing 90 percent of the German Army in the French campaign, as required, he began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/moltke-began-to-tamper-with-schlieffen-s-plan-instead-of-investing-90/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“Is it too imaginative to say that if the Schlieffen Plan had worked, Adolf Hitler might have remained a private in the List Regiment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-stokesbury/is-it-too-imaginative-to-say-that-if-the-schlieffen-plan-had-worked/) [James L. Stokesbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-stokesbury/) > [I grew up in a family full of strong women. A great aunt on my mother's side had been a matron on a hospital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-earls/i-grew-up-in-a-family-full-of-strong-women-a-great-aunt-on-my-mother/) [Nick Earls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-earls/) > [“Did you know that at one time trick-or-treating was stopped? It's true. During World War II children were not allowed to trick or treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-bozzo/did-you-know-that-at-one-time-trick-or-treating-was-stopped-it-s-true/) [Linda Bozzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-bozzo/) > [“But even if they could go home it would be difficult for me to tell you what the moral of the story is. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/but-even-if-they-could-go-home-it-would-be-difficult-for-me-to-tell/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [My fascination with war is because my dad was in World War II, and my brother was in Vietnam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hanneman/my-fascination-with-war-is-because-my-dad-was-in-world-war-ii-and-my/) [Jeff Hanneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hanneman/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [My father was an air officer in the Second World War. My brother was a marine in Vietnam. When I was given this opportunity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-plame/my-father-was-an-air-officer-in-the-second-world-war-my-brother-was-a/) [Valerie Plame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-plame/) > [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/) [Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [There will be no veterans of World War III.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-f-mondale/there-will-be-no-veterans-of-world-war-iii/) [Walter F. Mondale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-f-mondale/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Tom Clancy > [“The most important lesson that came out of Vietnam for me was that Marines take care of Marines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-most-important-lesson-that-came-out-of-vietnam-for-me-was-that/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [I understand why we do that now. It’s a help, not a threat. It’s something to remind you how important words are. Ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/i-understand-why-we-do-that-now-it-s-a-help-not-a-threat-it-s/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [People, I am actually fairly smart. Why has this not occurred to anyone? The information is all out there, if you go looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/people-i-am-actually-fairly-smart-why-has-this-not-occurred-to-anyone/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Sunday was the normal day for the political awareness session at sea. Ordinarily Putin would have officiated, reading some Pravada editorials, followed by selected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/sunday-was-the-normal-day-for-the-political-awareness-session-at-sea/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Fix your eyes forward on what you can do, not back on what you cannot change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/fix-your-eyes-forward-on-what-you-can-do-not-back-on-what-you-cannot/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Speak your dialogue out loud. If it sounds like the way people talk, then write it down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/speak-your-dialogue-out-loud-if-it-sounds-like-the-way-people-talk/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Two questions form the foundation of all novels: "What if?" and "What next?" (A third question, "What now?", is one the author asks himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/two-questions-form-the-foundation-of-all-novels-what-if-and-what-next/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [The smaller the mind, the greater the ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-smaller-the-mind-the-greater-the-ego/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not... Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/nothing-is-as-real-as-a-dream-the-world-can-change-around-you-but/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [An overnight success is ten years in the making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/an-overnight-success-is-ten-years-in-the-making/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [Bill Clinton is a man who thinks international affairs means dating a girl from out of town.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/bill-clinton-is-a-man-who-thinks-international-affairs-means-dating-a/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [The objective of a terrorist is to create political change in the society he targets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-objective-of-a-terrorist-is-to-create-political-change-in-the/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [“The Good of the People was a laudable enough goal, but in denying a man's soul, an enduring part of his being, Marxism stripped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-good-of-the-people-was-a-laudable-enough-goal-but-in-denying-a/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [(Stereotyping) is only for those without the imagination to see people as they are instead of being like someone else they understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/stereotyping-is-only-for-those-without-the-imagination-to-see-people/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [“The dead were gone and didn't know or care what they left behind.. If the dead still lived on the surface of this earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-dead-were-gone-and-didn-t-know-or-care-what-they-left-behind-if/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) [Explore all 209 Tom Clancy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) ## More World war quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [There will be no veterans of World War III.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-f-mondale/there-will-be-no-veterans-of-world-war-iii/) [Walter F. Mondale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-f-mondale/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/) [Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/) > [My father was an air officer in the Second World War. My brother was a marine in Vietnam. When I was given this opportunity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-plame/my-father-was-an-air-officer-in-the-second-world-war-my-brother-was-a/) [Valerie Plame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-plame/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [My fascination with war is because my dad was in World War II, and my brother was in Vietnam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hanneman/my-fascination-with-war-is-because-my-dad-was-in-world-war-ii-and-my/) [Jeff Hanneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hanneman/) > [“But even if they could go home it would be difficult for me to tell you what the moral of the story is. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/but-even-if-they-could-go-home-it-would-be-difficult-for-me-to-tell/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [“Did you know that at one time trick-or-treating was stopped? It's true. During World War II children were not allowed to trick or treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-bozzo/did-you-know-that-at-one-time-trick-or-treating-was-stopped-it-s-true/) [Linda Bozzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-bozzo/) > [I grew up in a family full of strong women. A great aunt on my mother's side had been a matron on a hospital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-earls/i-grew-up-in-a-family-full-of-strong-women-a-great-aunt-on-my-mother/) [Nick Earls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-earls/) > [“Putin has positioned himself as the leader of an authoritarian, xenophobic international movement that wants to expel immigrants, break up the European Union, weaken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/putin-has-positioned-himself-as-the-leader-of-an-authoritarian/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) [Homer Bone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-bone/) > [There is no direct evidence that nuclear weapons prevented a world war. Conversely, it is known that they nearly caused one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-rotblat/there-is-no-direct-evidence-that-nuclear-weapons-prevented-a-world/) [Joseph Rotblat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-rotblat/) > [“the democracies that arose after the First World War (and the Second) often collapsed when a single party seized power in some combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-democracies-that-arose-after-the-first-world-war-and-the-second/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) [Browse all 2,057 World war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When the French high command had got wind of the German Schlieffen Plan prior to World War I, their reaction had been, “So much the better for us!” That assault had barely ground to a halt outside Paris. 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