Rome conquered the world with inferior forces; Frederick the Great with inferior forces withstood the allied armies of Europe.

Recent history shows us the victory of the numerically weaker Japanese army over a crushingly superior opponent.

We cannot count on seeing a great commander at our head; a second Frederick the Great will hardly appear.
Nor can we know beforehand whether our troops will prove superior to the hostile forces.

But we can try to learn what will be the decisive factors in the future war which will turn the scale in favour of victory or defeat.

If we know this, and prepare for war with a set purpose, and keep the essential points of view always before us, we might create a real source of superiority, and gain a start on our opponents which would be hard for them to make up in the course of the war.