Word.ws English Dictionary

no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy

no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy is the alternative form of no plan survives contact with the enemy.

Meaning of no plan survives contact with the enemy

Phrase

no plan survives contact with the enemy

  1. (idiomatic) After a plan against an enemy is drafted, there will be unexpected elements from the opposition that will call for improvisation.
  2. (broadly) Even with a preexisting plan, unexpected circumstances will require one to think on one's feet.
    • ‹"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." Or with a pretty girl in a sundress.›2015, Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content (webcomic), Number 2933: Game Over Man, Game Over

Questions about no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy

What is no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy the alternative form of?
No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy is the alternative form of no plan survives contact with the enemy.

Words near no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy in the dictionary

  1. no ball
  2. no balled
  3. no balling
  4. no balls
  5. no battle plan survives contact with the enemy
  6. no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy
  7. no because
  8. no better than one ought to be
  9. no big deal
  10. no big whoop
  11. no big woop

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy (page history and authors); no plan survives contact with the enemy (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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