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
war ideas campaigns
If we do not learn to regard a war, and the separate campaigns of which it is composed, as a chain of linked engagements each leading to the next, but instead succumb to the idea that the capture of certain geographical points or the seizure of undefended provinces are of value in themselves, we are liable to regard them as windfall profits.
enemy campaigns firsts
No campaign plan survives first contact with the enemy
war lines campaigns
There is nothing more common than to find considerations of supply affecting the strategic lines of a campaign and a war.
politics war
War is the continuation of politics by other means.
art powerful war
Surprise becomes effective when we suddenly face the enemy at one point with far more troops than he expected. This type of numerical superiority is quite distinct from numerical superiority in general: it is the most powerful medium in the art of war.
defense blind aggressiveness
Blind aggressiveness would destroy the attack itself, not the defense.
war military good-luck
In short, absolute, so-called mathematical, factors never find a firm basis in military calculations. From the very start, there is an interplay of possibilities, probabilities, good luck and bad, that weaves its way throughout the length and breadth of the tapestry. In the whole range of human activities, war most closely resembles a game of cards.
judging criticism
Criticism exists only to recognize the truth, not to act as judge.
war military son
The bloody solution of the crisis, the effort for the destruction of the enemy's forces, is the first-born son of war.
battle
Battles decide everything.
military blood victory
Blood is the price of victory
military battle produce
Only great and general battles can produce great results
military war objects
In war the will is directed at an animate object that reacts.
war turns
In war more than anywhere else, things do not turn out as we expect.