13+ J. F. C. Fuller Quotes (Military Strategist)

J. F. C. Fuller was a British soldier and military historian. He is considered one of the most influential military strategists of the 20th century, and is known for his writings on armoured warfare. Fuller was a major proponent of mechanised warfare and the use of tanks in battle.

The governments of the Western nations, whether monarchical or republican, had passed into the invisible hands of a plutocracy, international in power and grasp. It was, I venture to suggest, this semi-occult power which....pushed the mass of the American people into the cauldron of World War I. — J. F. C. Fuller

Artillery conquers and infantry occupies. — J. F. C. Fuller

Adherence to dogmas has destroyed more armies and cost more battles than anything in war. — J. F. C. Fuller

As the aeroplane is the most mobile weapon we possess, it is destined to become the dominant offensive arm of the future. — J. F. C. Fuller

To me our bombing policy appears to be suicidal. Not because it does not do vast damage to our enemy, it does; but because, simultaneously, it does vast damage to our peace aim, unless that aim is mutual economic and social annihilation. — J. F. C. Fuller

Air warfare is a shot through the brain, not a hacking to pieces of the enemy's body. — J. F. C. Fuller

The strongest army in the world [the French] facing no more than twenty-six [German] divisions, sitting still and sheltering behind steel and concrete while a quixotically valiant ally was being exterminated! — J. F. C. Fuller

National armies fight nations, royal armies fight their like, the first obey a mob, always demented and the second a king, generally sane. — J. F. C. Fuller

It is absolutely true in war, were other things equal, that numbers, whether men, shells, bombs, etc., would be supreme. Yet it is also absolutely true that other things are never equal and can never be equal. — J. F. C. Fuller

What thrust us into war were not Hitler's political teachings: the cause, this time, was his successful attempt to establish a new economy. The causes of the war were: envy, greed, and fear. — J. F. C. Fuller

Jackson possessed the brutality essential in war; Lee did not. He could clasp the hand of a wounded enemy, whilst Jackson ground his teeth and murmured, 'No quarter to the violators of our homes and firesides', and when someone deplored the necessity of destroying so many brave men, he exclaimed: 'No, shoot them all, I do not wish them to be brave.' — J. F. C. Fuller

An Army is still a crowd, though a highly organized one. It is governed by the same laws, and under the stress of war is ever tending to revert to its crowd form. Our object in peace is so to train it that the reversion will become very slow. — J. F. C. Fuller

In the World War nothing was more dreadful to witness than a chain of men starting with a battalion commander and ending with an army commander sitting in telephone boxes, improvised or actual, talking, talking, talking, in place of leading, leading, leading. — J. F. C. Fuller

Life Lessons by J. F. C. Fuller

1. J. F. C. Fuller's work as a British soldier taught the importance of understanding the enemy, adapting to the changing nature of warfare, and recognizing the importance of the psychological component of battle.
2. Fuller's theories of mechanized warfare and the use of tanks in battle revolutionized the way wars were fought, and his ideas are still relevant today.
3. He also emphasized the importance of having a clear strategy and understanding the political and economic implications of war, which is still a valuable lesson for modern military leaders.