Excerpt from Elements of Strategy The Austro - Prussian war of 1866 waged for the pur pose Of determining which of the belligerent states should be supreme in Germany was terminated shortly after the first decisive battle; the civil war in America and the British - Boer, in war which questions of independence were involved, were prosecuted until the lesser powers were absolutely exhausted. Objects of Defensive Wan - The objects of a purely defensive war are to neutralize the armed strength of the invader and thus render him incapable of prosecuting the war offensively; to cause a change of sentiment in the authorities and the people of the invading nation so that they will accept peace terms acceptable to the defender; and to enlist the sympathies of neutral nations and cause them to secure peace through active participation or through diplomatic influence. To secure these objects, the war must be prolonged: the war strength of the defender preserved in a state of efficiency as long as possible; the invasion of the territory resisted vigorously; and the war-like Spirit of the people SO aroused that they will be willing to make any sacrifice rather than accept peace on the terms of the invader. A defensive war does not preclude offensive operations; in well-conducted defensive war, the invader is attacked whenever this can be done without compromising the armed strength upon which the nation must rely for a continuance of the struggle. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.