Carl von Clausewitz Quotes About War

Quotes about: War

• 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

• Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Inspirational, Strength, Courage

  Carl von Clausewitz (2016). “On War: Vom Kriege: fog of war”, p.35, Aegitas

• 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

• 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

• The general unreliability of all information presents a special problem in war: all action takes place, so to speak, in the twilight, which, like fog or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than they really are. Whatever is hidden from full view in this feeble light has to be guessed at by talent, or simply left to chance. So once again for the lack of objective knowledge, one has to trust to talent or to luck.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Twilight, Fog

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.140, Princeton University Press

• Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Simple, Friction

  "On War (Book 1)". Book by Carl von Clausewitz, 1832.

• 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.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, War, Good Luck

  On War Chapter 1, 21 (p. 86)

• To secure peace is to prepare for war.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Preparation, Preparing For War

• The art of war in its highest point of view is policy.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Art, War, Views

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

• War is nothing but a duel on a larger scale.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Scales, Total War

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

• After we have thought out everything carefully in advance and have sought and found without prejudice the most plausible plan, we must not be ready to abandon it at the slightest provocation. should this certainty be lacking, we must tell ourselves that nothing is accomplished in warfare without daring; that the nature of war certainly does not let us see at all times where we are going; that what is probable will always be probable though at the moment it may not seem so; and finally, that we cannot be readily ruined by a single error, if we have made reasonable preparations.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, War, Errors

• Close combat, man to man, is plainly to be regarded as the real basis of combat.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Real, War, Men

  Carl von Clausewitz (2016). “On War: Vom Kriege: fog of war”, p.222, Aegitas

• The first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish ... the kind of war on which they are embarking.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, War, Firsts

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.88, Princeton University Press

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

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Turns

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.193, Princeton University Press

• Desperate affairs require desperate remedies.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Affair, Desperate

• Lastly, the great uncertainty of all data in War is a peculiar difficulty, because all action must, to a certain extent, be planned in a mere twilight, which in addition not unfrequently — like the effect of a fog or moonshine — gives to things exaggerated dimensions and an unnatural appearance.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Twilight, Data

  "On War".

• 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

• Politics is the womb in which war develops.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Peace, War, Womb

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.149, Princeton University Press

• Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Courage, Military, War

  Carl von Clausewitz (2012). “Principles of War”, p.14, Courier Corporation

• 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

• War is politics by other means.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Mean

  "The Bible of Western War, Now Featuring Cartoon Animals" by Spencer Ackerman, www.wired.com. July 18, 2011.

• 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.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, War, Simple

• The more a leader is in the habit of demanding from his men, the surer he will be that his demands will be answered.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Men, Leader

• The heart of France lies between Brussels and Paris.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Lying, Heart

• The bloody solution of the crisis, the effort for the destruction of the enemy's forces, is the first-born son of war.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, War, Son

  Carl von Clausewitz (2006). “Selections from On war”

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