Carl von Clausewitz - On War

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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.

Carl von Clausewitz
Politics is the womb in which war develops—where its outlines already exist in their hidden rudimentary form, like the characteristics of living creatures in their embryos.

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

Carl von Clausewitz
Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.

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

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

Carl von Clausewitz
... in war, the advantages and disadvantages of a single action could only be determined by the final balance.

Carl von Clausewitz
... an intellectual instinct which extracts the essence from the phenomena of life, as a bee sucks honey from a flower. In addition to study and reflections, life itself serves as a source.

Carl von Clausewitz
Our discussion has shown that while in war many different roads can lead to the goal, to the attainment of the political object, fighting is the only possible means.

Carl von Clausewitz
Anyone who feels the urge to undertake such a task must dedicate himself for his labors as he would prepare for a pilgrimage to distant lands. He must spare no time or effort, fear no earthly power or rank, and rise above his own vanity or false modesty in order to tell, in accordance with the expression of the Code Napoléon, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Carl von Clausewitz
... it is better to go on striking in the same direction than to move one's forces this way and that.

Carl von Clausewitz
The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing practical to alter or deflect the impulse to destroy the enemy, which is central to the very idea of war.

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

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

Carl von Clausewitz
No one starts a war—or rather, no one in his sense ought to do so—without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by the war and how he intends to conduct it.

Carl von Clausewitz
Men are always more inclined to pitch their estimate of the enemy's strength too high than too low, such is human nature.

Carl von Clausewitz
It is clear that war is not a mere act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political activity by other means

Carl von Clausewitz
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.

Carl von Clausewitz
Where execution is dominant, as it is in the individual events of a war whether great or small, then intellectual factors are reduced to a minimum.

Carl von Clausewitz
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.

Carl von Clausewitz
The more physical the activity, the less the difficulties will be. The more the activity becomes intellectual and turns into motives which exercise a determining influence on the commander's will, the more the difficulties will increase.

Carl von Clausewitz
Thus it has come about that our theoretical and critical literature, instead of giving plain, straightforward arguments in which the author at least always knows what he is saying and the reader what he is reading, is crammed with jargon, ending at obscure crossroads where the author loses its readers. Sometimes these books are even worse: they are just hollow shells. The author himself no longer knows just what he is thinking and soothes himself with obscure ideas which would not satisfy him if expressed in plain speech.

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

Carl von Clausewitz
If the mind is to emerge unscathed from this relentless struggle with the unforeseen, two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead.

Carl von Clausewitz
... the role of determination is to limit the agonies of doubt and the perils of hesitation when the motives for action are inadequate.

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

Carl von Clausewitz
If the enemy is to be coerced, you must put him in a situation that is even more unpleasant than the sacrifice you call on him to make. The hardships of the situation must not be merely transient - at least not in appearance. Otherwise, the enemy would not give in, but would wait for things to improve.

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

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

Carl von Clausewitz
Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult. These difficulties accumulate and produce a friction which no man can imagine exactly who has not seen war.

Carl von Clausewitz