Memorandum written by clausewitz shortly before his death. Matthijs jolles at the university of chicago during world war iinot todays standard. Graham translation of clausewitz s vom kriege 1832 published in london in 1873. He studied the human and social factors that affect outcomes, as well as the tactical and. Herbergrothe, andreas, jan willem honig, and daniel moran, eds. On war is one of the most important books ever written on the subject of war. On war is the most significant attempt in western history to understand war, both in its internal dynamics and as an instrument of policy. The result was his principal book, on war, a major work on the. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Eight essays concerning clausewitz s views on the state and the adaptations required to fit his ideas to changes in the nature and role of the state over timeincluding the present and future. He was a professional soldier but his legacy is that of a military strategist and theorist. The first is courage, because war is the province of danger first and foremost. This bibliography was generated on cite this for me on wednesday.
Read the soft copy of this book anytime, anywhere and download it for free. The ones marked may be different from the article in the profile. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Published in 1832, a year after his death, on war is regarded by military experts even today as the definitive study of warfare. But the battle can be applied in an infinite variety of paths depending on the circumstances and, especially, on the desired ends of the war. He is generally well known for his military treatise vom kriege, converted into english as on war. He argues that intellect is not the chief indicator of military genius.
Based on a detailed reading of clausewitz book on war, this paper proposes that clausewitz reflections on strategy unfold along two parallel arguments. Consider the more modern versions and other relevant books shown below. The war on brigandage in france, 17971802 brown sociology and colonialism in the british and french empires, 19451965. The translation of clausewitzs on war is the 1943 version done by german literary scholar o. Maude, abridged edited with an introduction by anatol rapoport. These three books contain their own analysis of his best known work. Clausewitz was born on june 1, 1780 in the kingdom of prussia to a lower middleclass family. Clausewitz, a prussian general who fought against napoleon, quite literally wrote the book on war. Clausewitz enlisted in the prussian army in 1792, and in 179395 he took part and was commissioned in the campaigns of the first. Clausewitz in his time 2015 berghahn books new york. Grahams translation of the original work is adequate.
Princeton university press, 1984, particularly if you are using this book for your scholarly or research. Since the works first appearance in 1832, it has been read throughout the world, and has stimulated generations of soldiers, statesmen, and intellectuals. His most notable work, vom kriege on war, was unfinished at his death. On war wordsworth classics of world literature abridged. These are the sources and citations used to research clausewitz. Periodically, to be sure, there have been geniuses who. On war has become one of the most respected classics on military strategy. War is nothing but a continuation of politics with the admixture of other means. If you are using howard and parets translation, it will be on page 117. Clausewitz notes that war really has only one means in the form of the battle, the decisive contest between rival armies. Clausewitz, a prussian officer who fought against the french during the napoleonic wars, sought to understand and analyze the phenomenon of war so that future leaders could conduct and win conflicts more effectively.
The genius for war clausewitz next considers the factors that indicate military genius. His final reference to war and politik, however, goes beyond his. Clausewitz, on war 1831 book iion the theory of war context. Peter paret on war is the most significant attempt in western history to understand war. Viii whereas michael doyle, the author of ways of war and peace, criticizes clausewitz for ruminating that war is a constant and never gives an explanation as to how to eliminate war entirely, it would seem that clausewitz never set out to eradicate war but to theorize on how to be successful in war. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study.
However, grahams edition only contains the first four books of the work. On war was part of clausewitzs writings from 1816 to 1830 and appear to be clausewitzs attempts to form a general theory and philosophy on war, based primarily on the historical conflicts fought by frederick the great and napoleon, although he does also cite the punic wars, alexanders conquests, and other minor european conflicts. His ideas remain widely taught in military schools, and are, more than ever, essential to the modern strategist. The 197684 howardparet version is the standard translation today. What is war war is an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will force is the means of war. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read on war. This book argues that clausewitz developed a wideranging political theory of war by reflecting not only on the success, but also on the limitations and the failure of napoleons method of waging war. Clausewitz introduces the fog of war in book 1, chapter 3. Clausewitzs on war and sun tzus art of war in one volume. On war is widely regarded as clausewitz s premier work on the philosophy of war and the first modern book of. Like peace is maintained by the equilibrium of forces, and will continue just as long as this equilibrium exists, and no. It might be better to consult the graham version in some cases, at least for a reference.
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