Carl von Clausewitz Quotes - Page 5

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• War is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Peace, Real, War

  Carl von Clausewitz (1943). “On war: Translated from the German by O.J. Matthijs Jolles”

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• In War more than anywhere else in the world things happen differently to what we had expected, and look differently when near, to what they did at a distance.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Distance, Looks

  "On War".

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• Action in war is like movement in a resistant element. Just as the simplest and most natural of movements, walking, cannot easily be performed in water, so in war, it is difficult for normal efforts to achieve even moderate results.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Knowledge, Learning

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.120, Princeton University Press

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• Whenever armed forces . . . are used, the idea of combat must be present. . . . The end for which a soldier is recruited, clothed, armed, and trained, the whole object of his sleeping, eating, drinking, and marching is simply that he should fight at the right place and the right time.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Drinking, Sleep, Fighting

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.95, Princeton University Press

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• The more a general is accustomed to place heavy demands on his soldiers, the more he can depend on their response.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Soldier, Demand, Heavy

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.189, Princeton University Press

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• As each man's strength gives out, as it no longer responds to his will, the inertia of the whole gradually comes to rest on the commander's will alone. The ardor of his spirit must rekindle the flame of purpose in all others; his inward fire must revive their hope.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Men, Fire, Flames

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.104, Princeton University Press

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• We must, therefore, be confident that the general measures we have adopted will produce the results we expect. most important in this connection is the trust which we must have in our lieutenants. consequently, it is important to choose men on whom we can rely and to put aside all other considerations. if we have made appropriate preparations, taking into account all possible misfortunes, so that we shall not be lost immediately if they occur, we must boldly advance into the shadows of uncertainty.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, Men, Preparation

  Carl von Clausewitz (2012). “Principles of War”, p.41, Courier Corporation

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• With uncertainty in one scale, courage and self-confidence should be thrown into the other to correct the balance. The greater they are, the greater the margin that can be left for accidents.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Self Confidence, Balance, Should

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.86, Princeton University Press

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• [...] to introduce into the philosophy of war itself a principle of moderation would be an absurdity

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Philosophy, War, Principles

  Carl von Clausewitz (2016). “On War: Vom Kriege: fog of war”, p.8, Aegitas

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• No other human activity is so continuously or universally bound up with chance. And through the element of chance, guesswork and luck come to play a great part in war.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Play, Luck

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

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• However much pains may be taken to combine the soldier and the citizen in one and the same individual, whatever may be done to nationalize wars, never will it be possible to do away with the professionalism of the business; and if that cannot be done, then those who belong to it will always look upon themselves as a kind of guild, in the regulations, laws, and customs in which the "Spirit of War" finds its expression. It would be very wrong to look down upon this corporate spirit, or esprit de corps, which may and should exist more or less in every Army.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Pain, War, Taken

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• Of all the passions that inspire a man in a battle, none, we have to admit, is so powerful and so constant as the longing for honor and reknown.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Powerful, Passion, Men

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

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• This tremendous friction which cannot, as in mechanics, be reduced to a few points, is everywhere in contact with chance, and brings about effects that cannot be measured just because they are largely due to chance.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Chance, Mechanic, Friction

  Carl von Clausewitz (2014). “Carl von Clausewitz: Historical and Political Writings”, p.11, Princeton University Press

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• If we read history with an open mind, we cannot fail to conclude that, among all the military virtues, the energetic conduct of war has always contributed most to glory and success.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, War, Mind

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.229, Princeton University Press

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• War is nothing but a continuation of politics with the admixture of other means.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Mean, Politics

  'Vom Kriege' (1832-4) bk. 8, ch. 6, sect. B, commonly rendered in the form 'War is the continuation of politics by other means'.

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• Only the element of chance is needed to make war a gamble, and that element is never absent.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Elements, Chance

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

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• 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, Characteristics, Form

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

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• ...as man under pressure tends to give in to physical and intellectual weakness, only great strength of will can lead to the objective.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Men, Giving, Intellectual

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

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• 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".

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• Our knowledge of circumstances has increased, but our uncertainty, instead of having diminished, has only increased. The reason of this is, that we do not gain all our experience at once, but by degrees; so our determinations continue to be assailed incessantly by fresh experience; and the mind, if we may use the expression, must always be under arms.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Determination, Expression, Mind

  Carl von Clausewitz (2016). “On War: Vom Kriege: fog of war”, p.36, Aegitas

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• Architects and painters know precisely what they are about as long as they deal with material phenomena.... But when they come to the aesthetics of their work, when they aim at a particular effect on the mind or on the senses, the rules dissolve into nothing but vague ideas.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Ideas, Long, Mind

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.136, Princeton University Press

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• War is merely a continuation of politics.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Continuation

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• Battles decide everything.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Battle

  1812 Principles of War (translated by J J Graham).

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• In war everything is simple, but it's the simple things that are difficult.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Art, War, Simple

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• Just as some plants bear fruit only if they don't shoot up too high, so in practical arts the leaves and flowers of theory must be pruned and the plant kept close to its proper soil- experience.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Art, Flower, Soil

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.61, Princeton University Press

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