On War
Although Carl von Clausewitz participated in many military campaigns, he was primarily a military theorist interested in the examination of war. On War is the West's premier work on the philosophy of war. Other soldiers before him had written treatises on various military subjects, but none undertook a great philosophical examination of war on the scale of Clausewitz's. On War is considered to be the first modern book of military strategy. This is due mainly to Clausewitz' integration of political, social, and economic issues as some of the most important factors in deciding the outcomes of a war. It is one of the most important treatises on strategy ever written, and continues to be required reading at many military academies.
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On War Reviews
I don't mind amazon being enterprising, but it constitutes a form of fraud ("bait and switch") to redirect those attempting to find a Kindle version of the Princeton University Press, Peter Paret and Michael Howard edition of On War to this edition. Please stop this practice: the books are not remotely the same.
This is a great book if your a military buff. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the science of war. It was well written and very interesting. Buy this book!!
It is an extensive work, since it fits with the epoch, in which writing little was a sign of inconsistency, little importance and scanty reflection. The books or parts that compose it were finished in variable degree by the author, whose premature death did not allow its conclusion. I am interested in the first chapters on the theory and the philosophy of the war.
Other books treat on the tactics of a period in which the enemy deployment was staying at the sights of the enemy command and his HHQQ and auxiliary, placed in a nearby height. He praises Liddell Hart's opposite: a decisive battle using the maximum own concentration and power on the enemy army.
In an age of masses armies, inaugurated by Napoleon, soon was clear that it was not possible to win a war between full armed nations, in an alone great battle. It was necessary a campaign with successive victorious operations, looking for the achievement of the military goals of the campaign (theatre of operations, Europe, Pacific Ocean, Africa) or the strategy. In addition, already there did not exist a genius advanced to his epoch as Napoleon.
Be careful ordering an abridge edition of this work. Becuase some of the books could be missing.
Carl von Clausewitz's ON WAR is one of the most important books ever written, but it would be a great mistake to dismiss it merely as simply a treatise military philosophy. In this long-winded but brilliant work, Clausewitz (perhaps without meaning it) lays down the fundamental principles by which success is achieved in any field in life.
Clausewitz was a Prussian staff officer who saw his first combat at the age of twelve, fighting against Napoleon - a task which was to occupy much of his life. ON WAR was an attempt to codify the basic principles of warfare as he saw them, using the campaigns of Frederick the Great as well as the lessons of the Napoleonic Wars as his inspiration. Some of his basic assertions were:
- War is just politics pursed by violent means.
- Politics and warfare are therefore two sides of the same coin; if the underlying political purpose of a war is flawed, the war will be unsuccessful.
- However, once war is engaged, political consideration are subordinate to military aims. Don't let politicians try to dictate how you fight!
- Strategy is the overall plan you are following in a war; tactics are how you fight the battles. If your strategy is flawed, no amount of tactical brilliance will save you. You can win lots of battles and still lose the war.
- Everything you do once war is engaged must serve a single, clearly understood objective. Every action taken should be a step in that direction.
- Only a nut-job starts a war without having a concrete idea of how to finish it; don't bite off more than you can chew, and always have a "Plan B."
- In war, everything is very simple, but there is a huge difference between "simple" and "easy."
- Iron will power can overcome any obstacle, but it often wears out the vehicle in which it travels - be it a man or an army. You can win a battle by sheer force of will, but you may very well destroy your army doing it...and no battle is worth that.
- The proper way to win battles is to identify the weak point in the enemy's line and concentrate all your forces there. That's it, period final. Concentrate and win.
- The way to win wars is to destroy the enemy's army, full stop. That is, to destroy his means of resisting you, not to waste time capturing territory, cities, supply dumps, etc. Cut the head off, not the fingers and the toes. Then stomp the head.
- In war, the mistakes that come from kindness are the very worst. The most compassionate war is the one that ends quickly, and the best way of ending it quickly is by employing such overwhelming violence that the enemy is horrified into surrender.
Had military leaders from Wilhelm II to Adolf Hitler to Lyndon Banes Johnson to George W. Bush consistently applied these principles to their military policy, they would have avoided a lot of grief. But it is as metaphor that I think Clausewitz's book is most useful. Rewritten to apply to business, sports, relationships, and life generally, Clausewitz's maxims would make a great self-help book. Consider the value of 1) Always understanding what you are getting into before you start it and why you are getting into it, as well as what you want out of it. 2) Understanding that all human interaction is political, i.e., you can't ignore politics so you must learn how to use them to serve your ends. 3) That your motives can be as important as your objectives. 4) That you should the most of your energy by concentrating it. 5) Making sure all your individual movements lead you toward your goal, not away from it or sideways. Follow these principles and almost guarantee you'll soon forget how to fail.
So, while it won't hurt to skim some of the more outdated or tedious passages if you're not interested in the mechanics of 19th century warfare, ON WAR remains a first-class primer, not merely on the art of war, but on the art of living.
I have the On War published by IAP, in November 2008 and it costs just US$9.99. I like it. I don't know why it is not listed when we search it.
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