Carl von Clausewitz Quotes

Quotes about:

• No campaign plan survives first contact with the enemy

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Enemy, Campaigns, Firsts

  16 Copy quote

• The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Dream, Perfect, Enemy

  132 Copy quote

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

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Mean, Independent

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.7, Princeton University Press

  131 Copy quote

• Tactics is the art of using troops in battle;
  strategy is the art of using battles to win the war

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Art, War, Winning

  103 Copy quote

• Kind-hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat an enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds; it is a fallacy that must be exposed: War is such a dangerous business that the mistakes which come from kindness are the very worst.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Art, Kindness, War

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.75, Princeton University Press

  133 Copy quote

• To secure peace is to prepare for war.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Preparation, Preparing For War

  117 Copy quote

• We repeat again: strength of character does not consist solely in having powerful feelings, but in maintaining one’s balance in spite of them. Even with the violence of emotion, judgment and principle must still function like a ship’s compass, which records the slightest variations however rough the sea.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Powerful, Character, Sea

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.107, Princeton University Press

  130 Copy quote

• The best strategy is always to be very strong.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Strong, Strategy, Very Strong

  Carl von Clausewitz, James John Graham (1873). “On War”, p.107, London, N. Trübner & Company

  21 Copy quote

• 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

  Inspirational, Courage, Light

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.102, Princeton University Press

  117 Copy quote

• The world has a way of undermining complex plans. This is particularly true in fast moving environments. A fast moving environment can evolve more quickly than a complex plan can be adapted to it. By the time you have adapted, the target has changed.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Art, War, Moving

  102 Copy quote

• 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

  War, Mind, Firsts

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.579, Princeton University Press

  122 Copy quote

• Savage peoples are ruled by passion, civilized peoples by the mind.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Passion, Mind, Savages

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.76, Princeton University Press

  23 Copy quote

• Knowledge must become capability.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Capability

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (2007). “On War”, p.97, Oxford University Press, USA

  47 Copy quote

• To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Enemy, Victory, Movement

  89 Copy quote

• Criticism exists only to recognize the truth, not to act as judge.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Judging, Criticism

  61 Copy quote

• Given the same amount of intelligence, timidity will do a thousand times more damage than audacity

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, Audacity, Damage

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.191, Princeton University Press

  24 Copy quote

• Be audacious and cunning in your plans, firm and persevering in their execution, determined to find a glorious end.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Perseverance, Execution, Determined

  Carl von Clausewitz (1987). “Roots of Strategy: 3 Military Classics”, p.373, Stackpole Books

  81 Copy quote

• War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Opponents, Violence

  Carl von Clausewitz (2016). “On War: Vom Kriege: fog of war”, p.7, Aegitas

  9 Copy quote

• It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Inspirational, Past, Achievement

  88 Copy quote

• Boldness governed by superior intellect is the mark of a hero.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Hero, Mark, Intellect

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.192, Princeton University Press

  6 Copy quote

• The first and most important rule to observe...is to use our entire forces with the utmost energy. The second rule is to concentrate our power as much as possible against that section where the chief blows are to be delivered and to incur disadvantages elsewhere, so that our chances of success may increase at the decisive point. The third rule is never to waste time. Finally, the fourth rule is to follow up our successes with the utmost energy. Only pursuit of the beaten enemy gives the fruits of victory.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Blow, Giving, Enemy

  93 Copy quote

• The best form of defense is attack.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, Defense, Form

  26 Copy quote

• Pursue one great decisive aim with force and determination.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Determination, Military, Persistence

  Carl von Clausewitz (1956). “On War”, p.1389, Library of Alexandria

  86 Copy quote

• 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.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Strong, War, Long

  11 Copy quote

• Knowing is different from doing and therefore theory must never be used as norms for a standard, but merely as aids to judgment.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Knowing, Different, Judgment

  40 Copy quote

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