Carl von Clausewitz
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.Collection: War
War is not an independent phenomenon, but the continuation of politics by different means.Collection: Politics
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.Collection: Strength
To secure peace is to prepare for war.Collection: Peace
Two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead.Collection: Courage
I shall proceed from the simple to the complex. But in war more than in any other subject we must begin by looking at the nature of the whole; for here more than elsewhere the part and the whole must always be thought of together.Collection: War
Pursue one great decisive aim with force and determination.Collection: Motivational
Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain.Collection: Intelligence
Everything in war is very simple. But the simplest thing is difficult.Collection: War
Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.Collection: Nature
Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.Collection: Courage
Politics is the womb in which war develops.Collection: War
War is the continuation of politics by other means.Collection: War
A conqueror is always a lover of peace.Collection: Peace
The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and the means can never be considered in isolation from their purposes.Collection: War
It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.
The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.
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.
Principles and rules are intended to provide a thinking man with a frame of reference.
Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.
War is regarded as nothing but the continuation of state policy with other means.
War is the province of danger.
War is not an exercise of the will directed at an inanimate matter.
The more a general is accustomed to place heavy demands on his soldiers, the more he can depend on their response.
War is the domain of physical exertion and suffering.
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.Collection: Art
No campaign plan survives first contact with the enemyCollection: Enemy
The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.Collection: Dream
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.Collection: Art
We repeat again: strength of character does not consist solely in having powerful feelings, but in maintaining one’s balance in spite of them. Even with the violence of emotion, judgment and principle must still function like a ship’s compass, which records the slightest variations however rough the sea.Collection: Powerful
Savage peoples are ruled by passion, civilized peoples by the mind.Collection: Passion
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.Collection: War
Knowledge must become capability.Collection: Capability
To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'Collection: Enemy
War therefore is an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.Collection: War
Be audacious and cunning in your plans, firm and persevering in their execution, determined to find a glorious end.Collection: Perseverance
The best strategy is always to be very strong.Collection: Strong
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.Collection: Military
What do we mean by the defeat of the enemy? Simply the destruction of his forces, whether by death, injury, or any other means-either completely or enough to make him stop fighting. . . . The complete or partial destruction of the enemy must be regarded as the sole object of all engagements. . . . Direct annihilation of the enemy's forces must always be the dominant consideration.Collection: Mean
Every age has its own kind of war, its own limiting conditions and its own peculiar preconceptions.Collection: War
If the enemy is to be coerced, you must put him in a situation that is even more unpleasant than the sacrifice you call on him to make. The hardships of the situation must not be merely transient - at least not in appearance. Otherwise, the enemy would not give in, but would wait for things to improve.Collection: Military
The best form of defense is attack.Collection: Military
Criticism exists only to recognize the truth, not to act as judge.Collection: Judging
Given the same amount of intelligence, timidity will do a thousand times more damage than audacityCollection: Military
The first and most important rule to observe...is to use our entire forces with the utmost energy. The second rule is to concentrate our power as much as possible against that section where the chief blows are to be delivered and to incur disadvantages elsewhere, so that our chances of success may increase at the decisive point. The third rule is never to waste time. Finally, the fourth rule is to follow up our successes with the utmost energy. Only pursuit of the beaten enemy gives the fruits of victory.Collection: Blow
Talent and genius operate outside the rules, and theory conflicts with practice.Collection: Practice
The difficulty of accurate recognition constitutes one of the most serious sources of friction in war, by making things appear entirely different from what one had expected.Collection: War
What we should admire is the acute fulfillment of the unspoken assumptions, the smooth harmony of the whole activity, which only become evident in the final success.Collection: Finals
War is the province of chance. In no sphere of human activity is such a margin to be left for this intruder. It increases the uncertainty of every circumstance, and deranges the course of events.Collection: Military