Carl von Clausewitz
Carl von Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottfriedvon Clausewitz was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral"and political aspects of war. His most notable work, Vom Kriege, was unfinished at his death. Clausewitz was a realist in many different senses and, while in some respects a romantic, also drew heavily on the rationalist ideas of the European Enlightenment...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionSoldier
Date of Birth1 June 1780
CountryGermany
war affair desperate
Desperate affairs require desperate remedies.
men giving intellectual
...as man under pressure tends to give in to physical and intellectual weakness, only great strength of will can lead to the objective.
war distance looks
In war, more than anywhere else in the world, things happen differently from what we had expected, and look differently when near from what they did at a distance.
military war simple
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.
war suffering domain
War is the domain of physical exertion and suffering.
twilight fog action
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.
peace war mean
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.
wisdom intuition fruit
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.
peace war womb
Politics is the womb in which war develops.
war mean politics
War is regarded as nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means.
passion mind savages
Savage peoples are ruled by passion, civilized peoples by the mind.
military victory lasts
There is only one decisive victory: the last.
leadership military ambition
If the leader is filled with high ambition and if he pursues his aims with audacity and strength of will, he will reach them in spite of all obstacles.
war simple doe
Knowledge in war is very simple, being concerned with so few subjects, and only with their final results at that. But this does not make its application easy.