Introduction by Ralph Boerke
Clausewitz bio
This copy of the book
Amazon.com
Table of Contents
On War
Carl von Clausewitz was born in 1780. He served in the Prussian army starting at age 13 in the Rhein campaign. He was captured at Jena, one of Napoleon's celebrated victories, in 1806. He served the Russians in 1812 and 1813 and then rejoined the Prussians and served under Theilmann at Ligny. From 1818 to 1830 he was the director of the Berlin Military Academy.
His writings were posthumously published by his wife in 1832.
Preface to the Pelican Edition
Introduction by Anatol Rapaport
On War
Introduction by Col.F.N.Maude
Introduction by the Author
Brief Memoir of General Clausewitz by the Translator
| What is War? | |
| End And Means In War | |
| The Genius For War | |
| Of Danger In War | |
| Of Bodily Exertion In War | |
| Information In War | |
| Friction In War | |
| Concluding Remarks |
| Branches Of The Art Of War | |
| On The Theory Of War | |
| Art Or Science Of War | |
| Methodicism | |
| Criticism | |
| On Examples |
Book Three OF STRATEGY IN GENERAL
Sketches of Book Eight PLAN OF WAR
Concluding Remarks by Anatol Rapoport
Notes
References
Glosary
Index
Preface to the Pelican Edition [table of contents]
This section explains why only parts of On War were used in making this
book.
The original On War was contained in three volumes. This copy
has most of Volume I, except the last chapter on night fighting, and six
of the nine chapters of Book Eight of Volume III. Basically hey removed
the sections specific to fighting with Napoleonic era weapons and
technology. (RB: I would have liked that information in case I ever
want to play a Napoleonic wargame.)
Clausewitz was concerned with the role of war in human affairs and with the conduct of military operations. This book retains most of philosophical, social, pychological and political aspects war. It removes most of Volume II which deals with tactics and strategy. However some tactical and strategic parts were retained in Books Three and Four of Volume I
The author Anatol Rapaport basically wants to show that Clausewitz's main assertion, that war and politics are part of the same thing. He leaves some military chapters in and mostly shows the philosophical and political ideas that are still relevant for today.
Introduction by Anatol Rapaport [table of contents]
This is an excellent introduction and runs for 70 pages.
Anatol Rapaport gives an excellent discussion on the philosophies of
war.
First he discusses philosophy and the philosophy of different things
by other historical figures.
Francis Bacon's Novum Organum (philosophy of science)
Machiavelli's The Prince (philosophy of politics)
Hobbe's Leviathon (philosophy of society)
Hume's Inquiry into Human Understanding (philosophy of knowledge)
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (philosophy of economics)
Marx's Das Kapitol (philosophy of economics and society)
Here we place Von Clausewitz's On War (philosophy of war)
Part 1: Three philosophies of war: Political, Eschatological, and Cataclysmic
Clausewitz views war as a "rational instrument of national policy."
Rational - fought for goals, based on costs and potential gains.
Instrument - when diplomacy fails use the army as an option, and for
a goal, never for its own sake.
National - war should advance the interests of the national state,
and the whole of the nation should contribute to the war effort.
Clausewitz "War is an act of violence intended to compel our opponent
to fulfil our will."
To go into a war without the goal of absolute victory is absurd.
Eschatological philosophy is based on the idea that an era of history
will culminate in a final war.
This culmination may be divine, natural or human.
The messianic variant assumes that a crusade, holywar or jihad will
unify the entire world under one religion. In recent times American
Manifest Destiny and the Master Race of the Nazis were examples of the
messianic philosophy. War would be eliminated once one side got control.
The 'war to end all wars' was seen as an example of this. After the
war the victors would impose a just peace that would make future wars unnecessary.
The global variant assumes that the design for the war will become
evident during this final war. Christians believe this will happen
during the second coming. Communists believe this will be the uprising
of the world proletariat. In HG Wells' Things to Come the
scientists impose a benevolent dictatorship which bring about a rational
and peaceful world order.
The cataclysmic view pictures war as a catastrophy that befalls the
entire human race (or a portion of it).
The ethnocentric view has war as being forced upon us by them.
We wage defensive war to prevent harm to us.
The global view has war as a desease that afflicts humanity as a whole.
No one person or state is responsible for war and that it is a social and
historic consequence. Tolstoy's War and Peace has a concluding
chapter in which this view is explicitly described. Princes and Generals
may plan things but they cannot do anything but go with the flow of history.
This view is the opposite of Clausewitz's.
The cataclysmic philosophy is the basis for a scientific theory of war. International systems are dynamic and can be observed and studied like any physical systems that undergo streess and strains and form an equalibrium. (RB When I read this I thought of Asimov's Foundation books and his theory of psychohistory, where history and mass movements could be plotted and predicted; Asimov later throws an exception into the theory and thereby shows its weakness as a dictator, the mule, assumes control.)
Metaphorically we have the philosophies of war:
Political - to a game of strategy like Chess (RB: or Axis and Allies)
Eschatological - to a mission or the denouement (climax) of a drama.
Cataclysmic - to a fire or epidemic
Other philosophies are listed to show that others exist. War as adventure, a pasttime, only occupation of a nobleman, an occupation (Vikings, Celts), an affair of honour (knightly combat), as a ceremony (Aztecs), as an outlet of aggressive tendencies, nature's way of insuring the survival of the fittest, as an absurdity (Inuit), as a custom or human phase that will die out like slavery, and as a crime.
2. The Clausewitzian Century
Here we see how Clausewitz came about his philosophy.
His political philosophy came about as he studied the international system he knew about, namely Europe of the 1700's. Each state was headed by a king and as such each state could be seen as a person. The king wants a territory then the state goes to war. He used this model for developing his ideas. So he saw ten or twenty sovereign states acting together to form a society. The society interacted and to pursue a goal a king would use 1) diplomacy and intrigue, 2) marriage, and 3) war. Before 1648 the International System was dominated by religious wars and afterwards was this society of kings. This lasted until the revolutionary period of Napoleon.
This era used professional armies that were costly to build and replace and thus used only when necessary. Wars were for limited objectives.
The French Revolution introduced the national army. The soldiers had nationalism and were 'patriots'. The old armies did not.
Napoleon taught one great lesson: The universal currency of politics is power, and power resides in the ability to wreak physical destruction. Clausewitz embodied this lesson in unifying a philosophy of politics and a philosophy of war.
A discussion of history of European wars from Napoleon to WWI is given in brief. It ends in WWI which is a culmination of Clausewitz's theory of total war.
3. Temporary Eclipse of Clausewitzian Philosophy
Clausewitz's philosophy of war was in practice from 1648 to 1914. After 1914 other philosophies seemed to better describe war and the eschatological and cataclysmic came to the forefront. But these were never clearly defined as Clausewitz's political philosophy.
4. An Eschatological Philosophy and Its Transformation
Lenin altered Clausewitz's theories. Clausewitz has states with goals and interests, while Lenin has classes with goals and interests. Clausewitz have states fighting each other to attain those goals while Lenin has classes fighting each other for their own interests. With lenin war is used by the ruling class to serve the ruling class's interests not those of the working (exploited) class who fight and die.
Rapaport then goes one to talk about the Soviet military formation. Lenin was in agreement with Clausewitz - the military was subordinate to the politicians. Politics is the reason, and war is only the tool.
The USSR adhered to the eschatological view - that the world proletariat would win the class struggle. However during WWII and the cold war they adhered to the ethnocentric-cataclysmic view - war was thrust upon them and threatened to destroy them. In the 1960's when this introduction was written the USSR was powerful and war was something they wanted to avoid. China offically holds to the global eschatological view.
5. Peace Research and Conflict Resolution
If we view war as a desease, the global cataclysmic view, then we can treat it and perhaps find a cure.
Peace research follows the system-theory approach and the empirical approach.
Lewis Richardson pioneered a model where states have relationships and these have values >0 for armaments spending and <0 for trade. He created some differential equations. He also pioneered the empirical approach. We get instrumental and rational views of war.
6. Is a Synthesis Possible?
Eschatological, cataclysmic and politcal theories are not opposites of each other but can be used together. In describing the years just before WWI we have an arms race which can be described by Leninist, Clausewitzian and Richardsonian concepts.
Rapaport goes on to try to merge the theories through a descriptive view and a prescriptive view.
On War [table of contents]
Title page from the original 'Vom Krieg', 1932.
Introduction by Col.F.N.Maude [table
of contents]
Introduction by the Author [table
of contents]
Brief Memoir of General Clausewitz by the Translator
[table of contents]
Book One ON THE NATURE OF WAR [table
of contents]
| What is War? [table of contents] | |
| End And Means In War [table of contents] | |
| The Genius For War [table of contents] | |
| Of Danger In War [table of contents] | |
| Of Bodily Exertion In War [table of contents] | |
| Information In War [table of contents] | |
| Friction In War [table of contents] | |
| Concluding Remarks [table of contents] |
Book Two ON THE THEORY OF WAR [table
of contents]
| Branches Of The Art Of War [table of contents] | |
| On The Theory Of War [table of contents] | |
| Art Or Science Of War [table of contents] | |
| Methodicism [table of contents] | |
| Criticism [table of contents] | |
| On Examples [table of contents] |
Book Three OF STRATEGY IN GENERAL [table
of contents]
| Strategy [table of contents] | |
| Elements Of Strategy [table of contents] | |
| Moral Forces [table of contents] | |
| The Chief Moral Powers [table of contents] | |
| Military Virtue Of An Army [table of contents] | |
| Boldness [table of contents] | |
| Perseverance [table of contents] | |
| Superiority Of Numbers [table of contents] | |
| The Surprise [table of contents] | |
| Strategem [table of contents] | |
| Assembly Of Forces In Space [table of contents] | |
| Assembly Of Forces in Time [table of contents] | |
| Strategic Reserve [table of contents] | |
| Economy Of Forces [table of contents] | |
| Geometrical Element [table of contents] | |
| On The Suspension Of The Act In War [table of contents] | |
| On The Character Of Modern War [table of contents] | |
| Tension And Rest [table of contents] |
Book Four COMBAT [table of
contents]
| Introductory [table of contents] | |
| Character Of The Modern Battlefield [table of contents] | |
| The Combat In General [table of contents] | |
| The Combat In General Continued [table of contents] | |
| On The Signification Of The Combat [table of contents] | |
| Duration Of Combat [table of contents] | |
| Decision Of The Combat [table of contents] | |
| Mutual Understanding As To A Battle [table of contents] | |
| The Battle [table of contents] | |
| Effects Of Victory [table of contents] | |
| The Use Of The Battle [table of contents] | |
| Strategic Means Of Utilizing Victory [table of contents] | |
| Retreat After A Lost Battle [table of contents] |
Sketches of Book Eight PLAN OF WAR [table
of contents]
| Introduction [table of contents] | |
| Absolute And Real War [table of contents] | |
| (A) Interdependences Of The Parts In War [table of contents] | |
| (B) Of The Magnitude Of the Object Of The War, And The Effects To Be Made [table of contents] | |
| Ends In War More Precisely Defined - Overthrow Of The Enemy [table of contents] | |
| Ends In War More Precisely Defined Continued - Limited Object [table of contents] | |
| (A) Influence Of The Political Object On The Military Object [table of contents] | |
| (B) War As An Instrument Of Policy [table of contents] |
Concluding Remarks by Anatol Rapoport
[table of contents]
Notes [table of contents]
References [table of contents]
Glosary [table of contents]
Index [table of contents]
Sun Tzu (Ping Fa) done Alexander of Macedonia not started Hannibal not started Roman Art of War (Republic and Ceasar) not started Viking Art of War not started Von Saxe not started Frederick the Great done Napoleon done Karl Von Clausewitz (On War) semi complete Jomini semi complete Heinz Guderian not started Ralph Boerke (on Axis & Allies) done
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