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
philosophy war would-be
[...] to introduce into the philosophy of war itself a principle of moderation would be an absurdity
peace war limits
War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost limits.
war mean politics
War is nothing but a continuation of politics with the admixture of other means.
determination war military
Pursue one great decisive aim with force and determination. The bloody solution of the crisis, the effort for the destruction of the enemy's forces, is the first-born son of war. Only great and general battles can produce great results. Blood is the price of victory.
war military mind
If we read history with an open mind, we cannot fail to conclude that, among all the military virtues, the energetic conduct of war has always contributed most to glory and success.
war men leader
The more a leader is in the habit of demanding from his men, the surer he will be that his demands will be answered.
war affair desperate
Desperate affairs require desperate remedies.
men giving intellectual
...as man under pressure tends to give in to physical and intellectual weakness, only great strength of will can lead to the objective.
war distance looks
In war, more than anywhere else in the world, things happen differently from what we had expected, and look differently when near from what they did at a distance.
military war simple
In war, while everything is simple, even the simplest thing is difficult. Difficulties accumulate and produce frictions which no one can comprehend who has not seen war.
war suffering domain
War is the domain of physical exertion and suffering.
twilight fog action
All action takes place, so to speak, in a kind of twilight, which like a fog or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than they really are.
peace war mean
The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and the means can never be considered in isolation form their purposes.
wisdom intuition fruit
It should be noted that the seeds of wisdom that are to bear fruit in the intellect are sown less by critical studies and learned monographs than by insights, broad impressions, and flashes of intuition.