War is merely a wrestling match on an extensive scale, an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfil our will. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. Clausewitz s on war and sun tzus art of war in one volume. The translation of clausewitz s on war is the 1943 version done by german literary scholar o. Vom kriege is the basic work on the western way of war. This work has been confounded, misquoted, and defamed by researchers and practitioners the same.
The suffering experienced on a methodology that clausewitz gave to children is as significant today as when they were written. By comparing this theoretical version of war with reality, clausewitz aims to identify how and why these two types of war di. It was a very difficult book to read and i think ive made some errors in interpretation plus grammar and spelling. Though the aim of a war is as variable as the political object and the circumstances of the war, there are three general objects of war. On war free pdf, chm, djvu, fb2 free download ebook pdf. Pagination varies in the different productions of the jolles translation, so interested readers must rely on bookchapter references. Even a brief consideration of these questions will cast light on the development of clausewitz s ideas and on the forms his ideas assumed in the various strata of 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. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Clausewitzs work was highly influenced by the enlightenment and sought to examine warfare as a rational tool for political policy. It concentrates on defeating the enemy by massing overwhelming force at the enemys weak point. In 1991, martin van revelds on future war aka the transformation of war was published, eliciting critical responses on a variety of levels.
Matthijs jolles at the university of chicago during world war iinot todays standard translation, but. Clausewitz defines the single elements of his subject and thus to advance from the simple to the complex while outlining the shape of the whole that is, war. The book is an accessible introductory text for students of politics and war, as well as a. The gatzke translation of clausewitzs principles of war is displayed on the clausewitz. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. It argues that clausewitz abandoned the idea of absolute war which appears almost exclusively in the first half of book viii of on war, that ideal war is a distinctly new departure in book 1, and that clausewitz did relatively little further work to the manuscript of vom kriege after drafting the note of 1827. This book is one of the key writings utilized in professional military education today. This textbased pdf or ebook was created from the html version of this book and is part of the portable library of. He served in the campaigns of 179394 on the rhine, after which he seems to have devoted some time to the study of the scientific branches of his profession. Mar 29, 2016 it is, however, clausewitzs great intellectual triumph, on war, that permeates the book, as well it should. War in which no restraints are present, of the either the social legal, custom, or moral variety or physical geography, weather, or politics, war in this setting is absolute, the destruction of the enemy by complete annihilation is not only possible.
Buy the best translationrecommended for serious readers. Even a brief consideration of these questions will cast light on the development of clausewitzs ideas and on the forms his ideas assumed in the various strata of on war. Graham translation of clausewitzs vom kriege 1832 published in london in 1873. On war has become one of the most respected classics on military strategy. We propose to consider first the single elements of our. Concerned with the political and military aspect, like niccolo machiavelli 14691527, clausewitz was addressing the concept of war as pertaining to a nation state or a political entity. This is an ebook formatted for amazon kindle devices.
It has been translated into english several times as 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. This book is a classic and a must for every one interested in military history and history in general. Stoker does a commendable job of interweaving and referring to the evolution of clausewitzs key ideas on war, including friction 48, 101, center of gravity 100, and defense, including the idea of political defense 97. This is a facsimile or imagebased pdf made from scans of the original book. Princeton university press, 1984, particularly if you are using this book for your scholarly or. Since the works first appearance in 1832, it has been perused all through the world and has animated generations of warriors, statesmen, and learned people. On war is the most noteworthy endeavor in western history to get war, both in its inner elements and as an instrument of approach. Published in 1832, a year after his death, on war is regarded by military experts even today as the definitive study of warfare.
Clausewitz, a prussian general who fought against napoleon, quite literally wrote the book on war. Clausewitzs categories of war and the supersession of. Ends and means in war clausewitz now considers the ends and means of war. Less commonly appreciated is the nature of the approach he adopted which enabled him to arrive at his central. It is, however, clausewitzs great intellectual triumph, on war, that permeates the book, as well it should. Its coherence and ambition are unmatched by other military literature. Thomas waldmans war, clausewitz and the trinity is a convincing antidote to this onedimensional view, focusing on the conceptual trinity that clausewitz argued makes up war. War is an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will book 1, part 2, p. It deals with the different components of war from its nature to its philosophy and to its actual practice such as strategy and tactics.
Consider the more modern versions and other relevant books shown below. It argues that clausewitz abandoned the idea of absolute war which appears almost exclusively in the first half of book viii of on war, that ideal war is a distinctly new departure in book 1, and that clausewitz did relatively little further work to the manuscript of. This is an e book formatted for amazon kindle devices. The elements in this chapter are presented in numbered sections, as follows. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Edited and translated by michael howard and peter paret. A thesis submitted for the degree of phd at the university of. It is an extraordinary attempt to construct an allembracing theory of how war works. The 197684 howardparet version is the standard translation today.
Jan 23, 2012 clausewitz is defining war in an absolute sense. On war, book 1 by clausewitz my interpretation and summary i have just finished reading on wars book 1 by clausewitz. Feb 26, 2006 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Grahams translation of the original work is adequate.
War, however, is not the action of a living force upon a lifeless mass total nonresistance would be no war at all but always the collision of two living forces, the ultimate aim of waging war, as formulated here, must be taken as applying to both sides. However, grahams edition only contains the first four books of the work. Clausewitzs book on war aims to formulate a coherent and comprehensive theory of war. The way in which book 1, chapter 1 sways between the abstract. War is a continuation of politics by different means. Princeton university press, 1984, particularly if you are using this book for your scholarly or research work. Pagination varies in the different productions of the jolles translation, so interested readers must rely on book chapter references. Less commonly appreciated is the nature of the approach he adopted which enabled him to. Publication date 1976 topics military art and science, war publisher. Graham 1808 1883 a classic work on military strategy by a veteran of the napoleonic wars. It is a difficult and dense book that few dare to explore entirely, but many of its ideas have become widely known. Princeton university press books are printed on acidfree paper and meet the.
His ideas remain widely taught in military schools, and are, more than ever, essential to the modern strategist. Clausewitz, the son of a retired lieutenant who held a minor post in the prussian internal revenue service, first encountered war in 1793 as a twelveyearold lance corporal. Graham translation of clausewitz s vom kriege 1832 published in london in 1873. On war, book 1 by clausewitz my interpretation and summary.