Carl von Clausewitz Quotes - Page 3

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• To discover how much of our resources must be mobilized for war, we must first examine our political aim and that of the enemy. We must gauge the strength and situation of the opposite state. We must gauge the character and abilities of its government and people and do the same in regard to our own. Finally, we must evaluate the political sympathies of other states and the effect the war may have on them.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Character, Government

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• A general in time of war is constantly bombarded by reports both true and false; by errors arising from fear or negligence or hastiness; by disobedience born of right or wrong interpretations, of ill will; of a proper or mistaken sense of duty; of laziness; or of exhaustion; and by accident that nobody could have foreseen. In short, he is exposed to countless impressions, most of them disturbing, few of them encouraging. ... If a man were to yield to these pressures, he would never complete an operation.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Men, Errors

  Carl von Clausewitz (1989). “On War”, p.193, Princeton University Press

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• 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.

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• The side that feels the lesser urge for peace will naturally get the better bargain.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Sides, Feels, Bargains

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.92, Princeton University Press

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• 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

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• Principles and rules are intended to provide a thinking man with a frame of reference.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Men, Thinking, Principles

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.141, Princeton University Press

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• There is only one decisive victory: the last.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, Victory, Lasts

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• There are cases in which the greatest daring is the greatest wisdom.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Cases, Daring, Greatest Wisdom

  Sun Tzu, Julius Caesar, Einhard, Niccolò Machiavelli, Carl von Clausewitz (2016). “Strategy Six Pack”, p.300, Lulu.com

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• The only situation a commander can know fully is his own: his opponent's he can know only from unreliable intelligence.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Opponents, Situation, Knows

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.84, Princeton University Press

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• Whoever does great things with small means has successfully reached the goal.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Mean, Goal, Doe

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• War is...a trinity of violence, chance, and reason.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Violence, Chance

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• War is the realm of uncertainty; three quarters of the factors on which action is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or lesser uncertainty.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Fog, Three

  On War bk. 1, ch. 3 (1832 - 1834).

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• The very nature of interactions is bound to make it unpredictable.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Unpredictable, Interaction, Bounds

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• Blind aggressiveness would destroy the attack itself, not the defense.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Defense, Blind, Aggressiveness

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.97, Princeton University Press

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• The majority of people are timid by nature, and that is why they constantly exaggerate danger. all influences on the military leader, therefore, combine to give him a false impression of his opponent's strength, and from this arises a new source of indecision.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, People, Giving

  Carl von Clausewitz (2012). “Principles of War”, p.62, Courier Corporation

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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.

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• Every combat is the bloody and destructive measuring of the strength of forces, physical and moral; whoever at the close has the greatest amount of both left is the conqueror.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Moral, Force, Combat

  Carl von Clausewitz (2016). “On War: Vom Kriege: fog of war”, p.169, Aegitas

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• The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and the means can never be considered in isolation form their purposes.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Peace, War, Mean

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• 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

  Men, Enemy, Human Nature

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.85, Princeton University Press

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• 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

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• Intelligence alone is not courage, we often see that the most intelligent people are irresolute. Since in the rush of events a man is governed by feelings rather than by thought, the intellect needs to arouse the quality of courage, which then supports and sustains it in action.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Intelligent, Men, People

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

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• A general who allows himself to be decisively defeated in an extended mountain position deserves to be court-martialled.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Mountain, Defeated, Court

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.432, Princeton University Press

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• Blood is the price of victory

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, Blood, Victory

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