Historians are sometimes misled by the ‘wisdom of
hindsight’ (ภูมิปัญญาแห่งการหยั่งรู้) and see battles as
foregone conclusions. Most commanders are aware that
battles rarely proceed as planned; chance can always play
a decisive role, and victory can never be taken for
granted until the last minutes.
• The role of chance, luck or fortune is seen not only in
particular incidents.., but also in the whole concatenation
of events, where a slight alternation in time or place or
order of occurrence can be decisive of quite a different
result.