"The possession of strategic points," says the Archduke Charles, "is
decisive in military operations; and the most efficacious means should,
therefore, be employed to defend points whose preservation is the
country's safeguard. This object is accomplished by fortifications,
inasmuch as they can resist, for a given time, with a small number of
troops, every effort of a much larger force; fortifications should,
therefore, be regarded as the basis of a good system of defence." "It
should be a maxim of state policy in every country, to fortify, in time
of peace, all such points, and to arrange them with great care, so that
they can be defended by a small number of troops. For the enemy, knowing
the difficulty of getting possession of these works, will look twice
before he involves himself in a war." "Establishments which can secure
strategic advantages are not the works of a moment; they require time
and labor. He who has the direction of the military forces of a state,
should, in time of peace, prepare for war." "The proper application or
neglect of these principles will decide the safety or the ruin of the
state." "Fortifications arrest the enemy in the pursuit of his object,
and direct his movements on less important points;--he must either force
these fortified lines, or else hazard enterprises upon lines which offer
only disadvantages. In fine, a country secured by a system of defences
truly strategic, has no cause to fear either the invasion or the yoke of
the enemy; for he can advance to the interior of the country only
through great trouble and ruinous efforts. Of course, lines of
fortifications thus arranged cannot shelter a state against all reverses;
but these reverses will not, in this case, be attended by total ruin;
for they cannot take from the state the means nor the time for
collecting new forces; nor can they ever reduce it to the cruel
alternative of submission or destruction."