Admiral Nelson, of course, was largely concerned with the bold, immediate tactics designed to ensure victory in a campaign or a battle that was already under way. He typically said little about the wider game, so I’m not entirely sure how quoting him adds to the debate over how to respond to the latest move by the Iranian dictatorship in its long offensive against the West.

That noted Neville Chamberlain, Otto von Bismarck, on the other hand, had plenty to say on wider geopolitical topics. The Iron Chancellor, like any realist, understood that force, and the threat of force, were essential elements in the armory of any great power (and he was right to do so), but he also had this to say:

“A little caution outflanks a large cavalry.”

Words worth remembering.