Carl von Clausewitz Short Quotes

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War is an act of violence pushed to its utmost bounds.

Carl von Clausewitz
Timidity is the root of prudence in the majority of men.

Carl von Clausewitz
All war presupposes human weakness and seeks to exploit it.

Carl von Clausewitz
In war the will is directed at an animate object that reacts.

Carl von Clausewitz
Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.

Carl von Clausewitz
Boldness governed by superior intellect is the mark of a hero.

Carl von Clausewitz
There are times when the utmost daring is the height of wisdom.

Carl von Clausewitz
War is not an exercise of the will directed at an inanimate matter.

Carl von Clausewitz
In war more than anywhere else, things do not turn out as we expect.

Carl von Clausewitz
There are cases in which the greatest daring is the greatest wisdom.

Carl von Clausewitz
Blind aggressiveness would destroy the attack itself, not the defense.

Carl von Clausewitz
... self-reliance is the best defence against the pressures of the moment.

Carl von Clausewitz
Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.

Carl von Clausewitz
The state of crisis is the real war; the equilibrium is nothing but its reflex.

Carl von Clausewitz
War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.

Carl von Clausewitz
War is regarded as nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means.

Carl von Clausewitz
To be practical, any plan must take account of the enemy's power to frustrate it.

Carl von Clausewitz
Four elements make up the climate of war: danger, exertion, uncertainty and chance.

Carl von Clausewitz
A certain grasp of military affairs is vital for those in charge of general policy.

Carl von Clausewitz
... talent and genius operate outside the rules, and theory conflicts with practice.

Carl von Clausewitz
Everything in strategy is very simple, but that does not mean everything is very easy.

Carl von Clausewitz
Principles and rules are intended to provide a thinking man with a frame of reference.

Carl von Clausewitz
... in the whole range of human activities, war most closely resembles a game of cards.

Carl von Clausewitz
... the side that feels the lesser urge for peace will naturally get the better bargain.

Carl von Clausewitz
War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.

Carl von Clausewitz
War should never be thought of as something autonomous, but always as an instrument of policy.

Carl von Clausewitz
To introduce into the philosophy of War itself a principle of moderation would be an absurdity.

Carl von Clausewitz
Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain.

Carl von Clausewitz
... only the element of chance is needed to make war a gamble, and that element is never absent.

Carl von Clausewitz
The worst of all conditions in which a belligerent can find himself is to be utterly defenseless.

Carl von Clausewitz