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There is no point in hiding that before the war we mostly learned to attack, and did not pay enough attention to such an important manoeuvre as retreat. Now we have paid for this. It turned out that the commanders and the staff were not sufficiently prepared to prepare and execute the retreat manoeuvre. Now, in the second week of war, we had in fact to learn from the beginning the most difficult art - the art of the execution of retreat.

Hovhannes Bagramyan#3

WarFailureLearningStrategyTactics

About this quote

What does it mean?
The army failed to learn retreat skills before the war, and now they are paying the price by learning it under fire.
In plain terms
Soldiers learned to attack but not retreat, and now they suffer because of it.
What can you take from it?
Ignoring defensive tactics can lead to severe consequences.

Where it applies

  • military training
  • strategic planning
  • organizational change

Putting it to work

  • reviewing training gaps
  • planning strategic flexibility

Questions to consider

  • What skills were overlooked?
  • How do you fix a tactical gap?

Another view

It blames past failures without accounting for evolving threats.

More from Hovhannes Bagramyan

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  3. What do you want to have me shot for, Semyon Mikhailovich? If you don't find me suitable as chief of the operations department, then give me a combat division.…

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