Carl von Clausewitz
Carl von Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottfriedvon Clausewitz was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral"and political aspects of war. His most notable work, Vom Kriege, was unfinished at his death. Clausewitz was a realist in many different senses and, while in some respects a romantic, also drew heavily on the rationalist ideas of the European Enlightenment...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionSoldier
Date of Birth1 June 1780
CountryGermany
men enemy human-nature
Men are always more inclined to pitch their estimate of the enemy's strength too high than too low, such is human nature.
war opponents violence
War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.
soldier demand heavy
The more a general is accustomed to place heavy demands on his soldiers, the more he can depend on their response.
war danger provinces
War is the province of danger.
strong war long
The object of defense is preservation; and since it is easier to hold ground than to take it, defense is easier than attack. But defense has a passive purpose: preservation; and attack a positive one: conquest.... If defense is the stronger form of war, yet has a negative object, it follows that it should be used only so long as weakness compels, and be abandoned as soon as we are strong enough to pursue a positive object.
war simple together
I shall proceed from the simple to the complex. But in war more than in any other subject we must begin by looking at the nature of the whole; for here more than elsewhere the part and the whole must always be thought of together.
lovers conqueror
A conqueror is always a lover of peace.
men roots majority
Timidity is the root of prudence in the majority of men.