Carl von Clausewitz Quotes - Page 2

Quotes about:

• 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.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, Sacrifice, Giving

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.77, Princeton University Press

  76 Copy quote

• The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Witty, Powerful, Humorous

  18 Copy quote

• In short, absolute, so-called mathematical, factors never find a firm basis in military calculations. From the very start, there is an interplay of possibilities, probabilities, good luck and bad, that weaves its way throughout the length and breadth of the tapestry. In the whole range of human activities, war most closely resembles a game of cards.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, War, Good Luck

  On War Chapter 1, 21 (p. 86)

  53 Copy quote

• Boldness governed by superior intellect is the mark of a hero.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Hero, Mark, Intellect

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.192, Princeton University Press

  6 Copy quote

• There is only one decisive victory: the last.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, Victory, Lasts

  7 Copy quote

• There are very few men-and they are the exceptions-who are able to think and feel beyond the present moment

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Men, Thinking, Able

  19 Copy quote

• Knowing is different from doing and therefore theory must never be used as norms for a standard, but merely as aids to judgment.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Knowing, Different, Judgment

  40 Copy quote

• Desperate affairs require desperate remedies.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Affair, Desperate

  5 Copy quote

• Every age has its own kind of war, its own limiting conditions and its own peculiar preconceptions.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Age, Peculiar

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.593, Princeton University Press

  19 Copy quote

• Talent and genius operate outside the rules, and theory conflicts with practice.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Practice, Genius, Talent

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.140, Princeton University Press

  11 Copy quote

• The object of defense is preservation; and since it is easier to hold ground than to take it, defense is easier than attack. But defense has a passive purpose: preservation; and attack a positive one: conquest.... If defense is the stronger form of war, yet has a negative object, it follows that it should be used only so long as weakness compels, and be abandoned as soon as we are strong enough to pursue a positive object.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Strong, War, Long

  11 Copy quote

• 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

  14 Copy quote

• Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Inspirational, Strength, Courage

  Carl von Clausewitz (2016). “On War: Vom Kriege: fog of war”, p.35, Aegitas

  36 Copy quote

• To be practical, any plan must take account of the enemy's power to frustrate it.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Enemy, Planning, Plans

  10 Copy quote

• Where absolute superiority is not attainable, you must produce a relative one at the decisive point by making skillful use ofwhat you have.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Use, Produce, Absolutes

  12 Copy quote

• In war more than anywhere else, things do not turn out as we expect.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Turns

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

  7 Copy quote

• The Conqueror is always a lover of peace: he would prefer to take over our country unopposed.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Country, Military, Lovers

  "On War (Book 6)". Book by Carl von Clausewitz, 1832.

  14 Copy quote

• 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.

  5 Copy quote

• 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.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Leadership, Military, Ambition

  Carl von Clausewitz (2012). “Principles of War”, p.65, Courier Corporation

  24 Copy quote

• The general unreliability of all information presents a special problem in war: all action takes place, so to speak, in the twilight, which, like fog or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than they really are. Whatever is hidden from full view in this feeble light has to be guessed at by talent, or simply left to chance. So once again for the lack of objective knowledge, one has to trust to talent or to luck.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Twilight, Fog

  Carl von Clausewitz, Michael Howard, Peter Paret (1989). “On War”, p.140, Princeton University Press

  34 Copy quote

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

  Carl von Clausewitz

  War, Violence, Chance

  17 Copy quote

• 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

  4 Copy quote

• The first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish ... the kind of war on which they are embarking.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, War, Firsts

  Carl von Clausewitz (2008). “On War”, p.88, Princeton University Press

  53 Copy quote

• 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

  6 Copy quote

• After we have thought out everything carefully in advance and have sought and found without prejudice the most plausible plan, we must not be ready to abandon it at the slightest provocation. should this certainty be lacking, we must tell ourselves that nothing is accomplished in warfare without daring; that the nature of war certainly does not let us see at all times where we are going; that what is probable will always be probable though at the moment it may not seem so; and finally, that we cannot be readily ruined by a single error, if we have made reasonable preparations.

  Carl von Clausewitz

  Military, War, Errors

  77 Copy quote

Page 2 of 7

First

← Prev

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Next →

• facebook
• twitter
• googleplus
• email
• linkedin