Excerpt from: Waterloo, Chapter I Hilaire Belloc The prime military object of a general is to “annihilate” the armed force of hi
s opponents. He may do this by breaking up their organisation and dispersing them, or by compelling the surrender of their arms. He may achieve success in this purely military object in any degree. But if, as an end and consequence of his military success, the political object be not achieved—if, for instance, in the particular case we are considering, the neighbouring community does not in the future obey laws dictated to it by the conqueror, but remains autonomous—then the campaign has failed. What, according to Belloc, is the primary purpose of a military campaign? A) A conquering force should be more interested in compelling surrender in its opponent than in winning battles.
B) Military campaigns are commonly misunderstood, but are inevitably successful.
C) Would-be conquerors in truth have no right to impose their ways upon neighboring states.
Eliminate
D) War campaigns are often bloody and fraught with heartbreak
