Although the history of war cannot replace acquired experience it can nevertheless prepare for it

‘Although the history of war cannot replace acquired experience, it can nevertheless prepare for it. In peace-time it becomes the true means of learning war and of determining the fixed principles of the art of war."’

Fuller, J. F. C. and Books Express Publishing. The Foundations of the Science of War. 2012, p. 24.

This goes hand-in-hand with visualization. You look to history to understand what has been done, and what has worked or failed before. You then extrapolate that to new and different situations. Why? What could this visualization possibly hope to achieve? If nothing else, this kind of visualization aims to desensitize the practitioner to the surprise of a situation that they may never have encountered. Shortening the OODA loop and increasing your likelihood of survival.